How to Get Customers to Love You

I am more of a balloon entertainer rather than a balloon decorator but there is one little trick that I have been doing for about 20 years which I think when applied to any industry makes our jobs so much easier and it is a simple method I use to get customers to like me. 

The trick I use is simple: it takes no effort and can be used anywhere, anytime. The key is that I always use it when I first meet a customer face to face.

The first time I usually meet my customers is when I arrive at their venue to entertain, since I don't have a shop, I rarely meet them before the event, and most of the time, my work comes through an agent, so I may have never even communicated with them at all. It can be daunting not knowing who you're going to meet or whether they'll like you.

Here is the trick - I pay them a compliment, lets say I am arriving at a customers house to do a balloon show, as I pull up to their house I scan the area, I am looking for something, anything that I can pay them a compliment on. It could be their flowers, their car, the colour of their front door, It could be literally anything, just find something that you think they may have had a hand in. I ring the doorbell and they open the door and I say "hello, I love the colour of those flowers in your garden, I am Rob, your entertainer for the party today, how are you?".

What if the customer has hired a venue? well the same applies, find something to compliment them on, "Wow what an excellent hall this is", " Hey I love what you have done with the decorations" (no matter how much you dislike them) or maybe even "Thank you so much for the directions, they made my journey so much easier" (I never follow customer directions, they are usually terrible).

Some other examples I have used in the past are "wow you certainly have picked a lovely day" (as if they have control over the weather) "I love the colour of your car" (I have no interest in cars but they do) and just recently I used "Hey I do love a freshly mown lawn"

The key point here is to find something that THEY have had a hand in, by paying THEM a compliment you - put them at ease, - increases their and your happiness, - decreases stress, - create and strengthens the relationship you have with your customer, - creates a ripple of positivity

Here are some things to think about, If you are a man then I would avoid commenting on the appearance of a women, telling a lady you like her dress COULD be seen as slightly creepy and may set you off on the wrong foot, always best to play it safe. The same COULD apply to women commenting about a mans appearance, the last thing you want to do as a woman is to compliment a husband and then have a disgruntled wife think you are trying to steal him. I do generally avoid saying anything about a customers appearance so usually pick something else. And lastly try not to go too over the top with your compliment "Hey that cat is the most beautiful cat I have EVER seen in the entire UNIVERSE" just makes you sound like a complete weirdo, the idea is for your compliment to be short, natural and almost a throw away line just to get you onto the right track in the first few seconds of meeting.

As they say 'First impressions last' and I am a firm believer of this phrase, why not give it a try?