I’ve been writing about some of the keys Harry Beckwith has in his book called The Invisible Touch.  The final key, and the one he considers to be the most important, is that of Relationships.

Beckwith makes the point that the other three keys – price, packaging and brand are important, but when you sell a service, the most important factor is your relationship with your clients.

Business is personal; it’s about caring for people, making them feel important, understanding what they’re after and helping them to achieve it.

When you sell a service, you’re selling a piece of yourself, a relationship, and clients will buy that if they’re comfortable with who you are.

Beckwith lists 8 keys to lasting relationships:

• 1. Natural affinity – select clients like you.
• 2. Trust – do this by being consistent and doing what you’ve promised to do.
• 3. Speed – deliver what your clients want – quickly and accurately.
• 4. Apparent expertise – Beckwith says ‘you’re only as expert as you appear’. Look the part.
• 5. Sacrifice – Give something extra to cement your client relationships.
• 6. Completeness – what else can you offer that your clients may value?
• 7. Magic Words – say thank you, welcome customers, use their name.
• 8. Passion – this is what keeps clients. If you’re passionate about what you do, you’ll build strong relationships and get clients for life.

If you work in a service industry where you sell knowledge or information, I encourage you to get hold of every Harry Beckwith book you can and read them.  Have a think about the 8 keys above – how can you demonstrate them better?  What experiences have you had where someone invested into their relationship with you?

Photo credit Katie Tegtmeyer