Building Trust with Potential Clients Through Education

Creating relationships is a daunting task, but it's part of my everyday responsibilities as Unistrut Midwest's Senior Business Development Manager. Whether I'm chasing a specific project or simply looking to familiarize a contact with Unistrut Midwest, turning a public job announcement into a closed deal requires building trust between me and our potential client. I've found that the most effective way to do that is not to push a sales agenda but to educate potential clients on how Unistrut Midwest can benefit their business.  

Building trust through education 

I have found the most success in my role as Senior Business Development Manager by forging new business relationships through educational engineering presentations. The goal of these presentations is to pique a potential client's interest in Unistrut Midwest so that they want to meet with our team to hear more. In many cases, we accomplish this by introducing the potential client to Sikla as an alternative to welded steel. While many in the industry are familiar with Unistrut as a modular option, Sikla is still a relatively new product in the secondary construction market.   

Our discussions are often the first a potential client is hearing about the benefits of Sikla over traditional welded steel. Because Sikla's features speak for themselves, we have found that simply educating potential clients on the benefits of Sikla, specifically the speed of construction, is enough to start a conversation.  

Because Sikla is a pre-finished product that is assembled with a single screw, it can arrive to a client's site ready to assemble and install, as opposed to welded steel which requires the additional step of being sent out for finishing. Sikla's speed to market is unheard of and is often reason enough for a potential client to consider it over welded steel.  

Working with Unistrut Midwest means partnering with a full-service team that includes engineering, design, prefabrication, and installation, in addition to simply supplying the materials. We include engineering calculations and identify lift points in our quotes, creating an all in one solution. Most structural steel providers require additional engineering services, creating an extra step and cost for the client as well as adding to the timeline.  

Unistrut Midwest's services, paired with Sikla's speed to market, are a winning combination, but we can only truly build trust with a potential client by knowing our audience and presenting them with personalized educational information.  

Know Your Audience 

My initial conversations can be with a wide variety of contractors, from general to mechanical to electrical and more. It's my job to understand their pain points, identify how they go to market, and present the information that will most resonate with them. While Sikla is often the most appropriate alternative to welded steel for these projects, sometimes a potential client would see more benefit from Unistrut, Tate products, or a combination of various materials. Personalizing the information I share with them helps to establish that I truly want to help solve their challenges, not just close a deal.  

Trust isn't built overnight so I work hard to ensure potential clients that they can count on me for a response. I try to be as quick, open, and honest as I can be with my communications, even if it isn't information that the potential client necessarily wants to hear. Being a dependable resource goes a long way in an industry where it's not uncommon to go weeks between sending an email and receiving a response.  

These efforts help to build the trust needed with a potential client to establish a beneficial business relationship. As the first contact contractors have with Unistrut Midwest, I work hard to prove to them that our team has the expertise, services, and reliability needed for their projects.  

Do you have an upcoming project that could use the help of a dependable, full-service partner? See how Unistrut Midwest can help.