Welcome to the sixth lesson in your e-course on using the power of the mind in your marketing.

In this lesson, we’re looking at positive thinking skills and how they can help you develop a more customer-focused attitude. And we’ll look at how they help build your customer’s trust in you and your product or service.

In order to develop a customer-focused attitude, you need to use your positive thinking skills to realize that your attitude is a choice. You can either choose to focus solely on the benefits that you will reap from your business. Or you can choose to focus on the benefits that your customer will gain from your business.

If you shift your focus from yourself to your customer, you will be more likely to concentrate on their needs and wants. This new customer-focused attitude will enable you to meet their needs better, thus improving your product or service and increasing your sales.

Plus, with your new positive thinking attitude you can anticipate your customer’s needs before they voice them. If you are concentrating on your customer, you will be attempting to see things from their point of view. With this change in perspective you will be better able to understand their needs and problems.

You can also use positive thinking skills to help build trust between you and your customer. And, let’s face it; the bottom line is that customers buy based on trust. Since they often cannot see or feel your product in advance, they have to trust that it will be what they want and that it will deliver what it promises. So, how do you build this trust?

There are three ways to build this trust using your positive thinking skills. If you use the following techniques, you will soon be on your way to a better relationship with your customers.

Use positive language
Positive language brings out positive feelings. If you present your product in an affirmative way, customers will perceive it as positive. Once they begin to associate positive feelings with your product or service, they will be more open to trusting what you have to sell.

One note of warning though, try not to use too many cliché words in your product or service descriptions. Words like ‘cost-effective’ and ‘easy to use’ may be positive in nature. But they have been used so many times to sell so many things that people tend to view these words as fluff or covers for second-rate ideas. If your product really is more cost-effective than the competition’s, then by all means use the words. However, if possible, you may want to first try using similar words that do not carry the same connotations.

Give your customer positive proof
Use positive testimonials or money-back guarantees in your sales letter. These types of positive proof portray a solid belief in your product or service. Thus, by convincing the prospective customer that you and your current customers believe in your product or service, you will be able to influence their belief in your product too.

You can also use positive proof in your product or service descriptions. When describing exactly how your product can help a customer or what problems your service can solve for a customer, use words that focus on the facts:

• What has your product been proven to do?
• Who has it been proven to help?
• In what situations does it produce tangible results?

Once you narrow these answers down, use them to create positive proof descriptions.

Point out the benefits and opportunities your product or service will provide
Take time to write out a list of all the positive benefits that your product or service will produce for the client. Focus your thoughts on your customer’s needs, wants and dreams. A well written list can leave a customer feeling excited. And, more times than not, this excitement will lead to a purchase of your product or service.

In the next lesson, we talk about the 12 emotional ‘hot buttons’ you need to hit in your marketing.