6 Tips to Increase Sales by Building Relationships [2023]

When selling a product, our first instinct is to talk about the product. According to trust-based selling expert Ari Galper, the wrong approach to starting a sales call is a mini-presentation on your company and what it has to offer.

Instead, begin your talk with a conversation around something social and then learn about the problem(s) your client is facing. This way you’ll build rapport first and it’ll be about them, not you. They’ll really appreciate it. Eventually, you can step in with a solution: your product, but not at the start. You aren’t pitching anything; you’re solving their problem.

Talking with previous customers about why they bought your product will help you understand what makes your product useful. Using this information, pinpointing new clients becomes far easier.

Reaching out to your clients routinely has become more important than ever in the time of social distancing. By staying in contact and asking the right questions, you’ll keep your relationships alive and foster future sales.

Marketing expert Elizabeth Harr recommends pinpointing your best, most valuable clients, and focusing your efforts. Show interest in their business and express your willingness to help them. Make sure you’re not always selling your product and that you reach out on a regular basis.

Keep track of all your client relationships by using UpHabit for Salesforce. The Salesforce AppExchange partner app, now in private beta, gives you everything you need to maintain consistent contact with clients. To make sure you don’t lose touch, the Reminder feature comes in handy. With reminders set with different intervals for every contact, you can maintain a strong relationship after each sale.

With smart technology, you can seamlessly integrate your UpHabit contacts into Salesforce, and enjoy the effortless contact management UpHabit has to offer, such as suggestions to add dozens of contacts to Salesforce with a single tap. It can’t get any easier than that.

Trust is the cornerstone of any sales transaction; customers have to trust you, your company, and your product. Knowing this, where should you start and how can you build trust with your clients and increase sales?

Samantha Harrington, a writer and journalist, highlights two key ways to build trust with new and existing clients. The first and easiest way is to connect with your clients via mutual connections. We are far more likely to try a product or service our trusted friend or acquaintance recommends and has done business with. You can use UpHabit Introductions, available late August 2020, to introduce your prospects to your reference accounts too.

For those lacking connections, showing that you are an expert in your business is another great way to establish trust. Guiding your client reliably to a viable solution and away from costly mistakes will demonstrate your expertise and that you have their best interests in mind.

Building trust and having conversations are great ways to develop your relationships, as mentioned before. But going beyond that by creating a personal connection is priceless for forging long-term connections.

Marketing strategist Alp Mimaroglu highlights Paul Teshima’s personalization hierarchy: shared interests, current employment, and work history. Connecting with your client on these three levels will add a personal touch to your professional relationships. By having strong personal relationships with your clients, they’ll be more likely to work with you again and even recommend you to their peers.

With integrated contacts from UpHabit for Salesforce, plus their easy LinkedIn and other social integrations, it’s easy and efficient to manage all your contacts. You can reap all the benefits of a contact management app while seamless integration will save time wasted on manual contact input. And the best part: it can all be done on-the-go via mobile. Less time spent on contact management means more time spent on building lasting relationships.

Finding new clients is central to business growth, but maintaining a loyal client base is the key to a sustainable business. Happy and satisfied customers are paramount to the success of your business, even more so during the COVID-19 crisis.

Andy Bailey, an author and business coach, recommends reaching out to clients to let them know you are here to help. If any issues arise, they should come before any other concerns. Most importantly, never sell additional products or services when dealing with these issues.

By addressing issues swiftly and effectively, you are building the clients trust and confidence in you. Establishing strong client relationships from the beginning and maintaining the best service can turn them into long term clients. Use UpHabit’s reminders to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Throughout your relationship with a client, you should be learning about them and understanding what they need and want. Our own Founder Neil Wainwright recommends using this knowledge to do things that help them succeed.

This doesn’t have to be limited to selling your product to solve their problems. Instead, introducing them to people in your network can open up plenty of opportunities for them and shows that you’re putting their needs above yours.

To connect your client and a member of your network quickly and professionally, use the upcoming UpHabit Introductions feature. With custom introduction templates and connection feedback, bringing your network closer together is going to be easy and efficient.

Now, more than ever before, building relationships with clients has become a central part of sales. With COVID-19 having massive effects on our professional and personal lives, retaining clients has become key for continued success. Using these 6 tips, you can create a strong network of client relationships and increase sales in the process.