Making Sure People Remember You (in a Good Way)

I was reading Andrew Sobel's article on winning new clients with incumbents are already there, and struck by a theme. Sobel has a fantastic summary of things you can do to wedge yourself in and ultimately - hopefully - displace an existing supplier.

What I noticed about this list is how many of these activities revolve around creating a strong relationship with the individual - one that over time can have the desired effect.

Here are the activities from Sobel's list, with those that deal with forming a relationship in bold:

1. Look for trigger events
2. Try to identify something small or non-threatening that you can work on.
3. Focus on an area where you are clearly differentiated or have a tangible strengths vis-à-vis your competitor
4. Invest to earn their trust and respect.
5. Identify executives in the client organization who are not so loyal to the other provider.
6. Emphasize innovation and new ideas.
7. Be patient and persistent.
8. Stay in touch so you are there when your number comes up.
9. Pick your shots.

Easily, 4 out of 9 of these recommendations center on building a relationship with your prospect and demonstrating to them that you place them in high regard and are conscious of their concerns. That you, in fact, are looking out for them.

People buy from people. So many products today are just too difficult for a customer to wrap their heads completely around. Instead, they buy on a network of trust that starts with you - the salesperson - and extends to your sales team, your company, your reference customers, and even further.

What things have you found help make people remember you?