Why Bad Girls Get More Buyers (Reason #1)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 11:58AM 
Have you ever had a "feel-good friend"?
Someone who always says you look great, always says your ideas are awesome, and supports every decision you make? I've had a few of those kinds of friends.
I may like them...I may even love them.
But I certainly don't trust them.
You can't trust a "feel-good friend."
The fact is, I don't always look great. Not all of my ideas are awesome. And occasionally I make a bad decision. So I know my "feel-good friends" have lied to me at least a few times. I know that I have gone to them, looking for an honest opinion, and they have looked me in the eye and lied.
They lied because they didn't want me to feel bad. "Good girls" don't make their friends feel bad. But sometimes it's okay to feel bad. I'd rather feel bad now then look like an idiot later. Wouldn't you?
So would your clients. And here's the thing:
If they don't trust you, they won't buy from you.
Scott Stratten calls it the "Trust Gap," and explains it as follows in his book, Unmarketing:
This is the amount of trust you have to earn before your potential customer will consider buying from you. The trust gap can be practically nonexistent, like buying a newspaper, but even then you have to trust that the content will be good. For many service-based businesses the trust gap is much wider.
Think about it. Every time you ask someone to buy something from you, they have to make a decision: Do I trust this person enough to give them my money? Do I really believe this person is telling me the truth? Do I really believe this person is capable of doing what she says she can?
My point? Your "good girl" habits are costing you business because they're preventing you from building trust with prospects and clients. Here are just a few of those habits - see if you recognize any of them:
- Telling a prospect you can absolutely finish the job in 48 hours when you're really not sure.
- Taking on more projects than you can handle because you "don't want to let anyone down."
- Promising a certain price because you know it's what the prospect is looking for, and then asking for more money when the project ends up taking more time than you quoted.
- Telling a client you love her logo idea (because she's so excited about it), designing it, and then letting her put it out into the world when you know it doesn't reflect well on her.
These habits are costing you a lot of money. Cut them out and focus on building trust instead.
Why I trust Naomi Dunford
Some of you may be a little concerned at this point. You may be thinking, "So I'm supposed to tell my clients their ideas are terrible and that I can't finish their project within their timeframe? Sounds like a great idea." I don't blame you. As I've said before, good girl habits are hard to break.
Well hold on to your hats, ladies. I'm about to introduce you to a very bad girl.
Her name is Naomi Dunford and she's the creator of IttyBiz. WAIT. Before you click on that link I have to warn you that you will encounter some, ahem, colorful words there. If so-called "bad language" offends your sensibilities, DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK. Otherwise, go right ahead. In fact, I encourage you to check it out. Her business advice is rock solid, but more importantly (for purposes of this post), she knows how to build trust with her buyers.
I trusted her within just a few minutes of discovering her blog. So much so that I bought my first "information product" from her when I was just starting out. Why? Because she tells it like it is. She doesn't pull any punches. You never feel like she's telling you what you want to hear, but you always feel like she understands what you're dealing with.
She may not make you feel all warm and fuzzy, but she does make you feel like you want to buy from her. Remember that.
Here are a few things you can start doing now to build trust.
So I've convinced you that building trust requires ditching your "good girl" ways? Excellent. Here's what to do now.
First, get to know your buyers. Who are they? How do they think? What are they worried about right now? What's frustrating them? What do they really want? If you haven't already, download the free book my business partner and I wrote and complete the worksheet at the end titled "Understanding Your Clients: Creating a Basic 180 Mindset."
Second, demonstrate that you understand your buyers and that you know what you're doing. Create a series of short pieces (these can be blog posts, articles, videos, free reports, whatever) that your target market will find interesting and insightful. Give these away for free.
Finally, diagnose your buyer's needs before prescribing a solution. Don't tell prospective buyers what you think they need before taking the time to understand their circumstances and goals. If your product or service is very expensive, you will need to do a more detailed diagnosis. For inexpensive products, it may be as simple as an online "guide" that helps your buyers figure it for themselves.
That's it for today. In future posts we'll examine the 6 other reasons "Why Bad Girls Get More Buyers."
In the meantime...
What do you think? How have you built trust with your customers or clients? Can you think of a time you lost a client or a job because your "good girl" habits kicked in? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
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Previous Posts in "The Bad Girls' Guide to Business" Series:
Prologue - You Are Not A Work-At-Home Mom (Even If You Are)
Day 1 - Stop Being Such A Good Girl. Seriously.
Day 2 - Wanting to Make A Lot of Money Does Not Make You A Bitch.
Reader Comments (3)
First, thank you. For your trust and for your delightful blog post. Amen, sister.
Second, "So I'm supposed to tell my clients their ideas are terrible and that I can't finish their project within their timeframe?"
YES. This is EXACTLY what you're supposed to tell them!
xx
N
yes... when someone always agrees with you and tells you you're always fabulous = only good when you need to be lied to to prop you up! :)
Good tips on building for clients... I'm loving your 30 day blog series! :)
Naomi - Thanks for stopping by. Good to hear that you're with me on this :)
Shelly - Thanks for your support! Really glad to hear that the blog series is working for you...