Well, do they?…

… and what does trust matter in a business relationship?

If you only care about a one-off sale, then I guess you could try and argue trust isn’t as important. But if you can’t build trust, the chance of you getting second and third transactions rapidly diminish.

But with the competition every business has out there, and the economy we are currently in, trust is actually more important than ever if you want to do well today.

So what is trust in the eyes of your client?

That depends on the client and what they view as important but at the very least, these 3 things are crucial:

1. If you state something, make sure it is true.
2. If you make a promise, stick to it no matter what.
3. Always under-promise and over-deliver.

But do you need trust to make a sale?

Think about this for a minute…

You can walk into any bakery and buy a loaf of bread without ever having been in there before, but you still have a basis of trust – that they know how to bake a loaf of bread.

You can ring a plumber you haven’t used before to come and fix your leaky tap, but you still have a basis of trust – that they can fix the drip without having to replace the tap.

You can employ a consultant for their area of expertise, but you still have a basis of trust – that they know their field of expertise and will deliver on the solutions they propose.

But that trust can be easily shattered…

What happens if you were to find a dead mouse in the loaf of bread? Would you buy from the bakery again? Unlikely.

What if the plumber snaps the tap fixing whilst trying to change the washer? Would you call them again? I doubt it.

And what if the consultant charged you a lot of money, but didn’t actually deliver something which solved the problem you called them in for in the first place? Would you use them again? You’d be mad if you did!

Would you recommend any of them to your friends, associates or colleagues? No way.

The problem is that without trust, there can be no lasting relationship.

Without a lasting relationship with your clients, you will always have to go out and get more new clients (which is actually around 6 times more expensive than keeping the ones you have already).

But it goes deeper than that.

Without trust, not only will people not come back to you again, but they will actually tell other people they don’t trust you, which then sets up a measure of distrust in the mind of a prospect who hasn’t even bought your product or service!

Not a good position to be in. And It’s a position you can be in very quickly – I seem to remember reading somewhere that bad news travels 11 times faster than good news – but it’s one which is much harder to get back out of.

[If you don't believe me just think of the traditional reputation of second-hand car salesmen and double glazing salesmen - the actions of a few...]

One of the key parts of building you business is building trust and rapport with your clients. Do a good job by them. At the very least deliver what you say you are going to deliver.

Okay, yes, mistakes happen, but make sure you jump on them and deal with any that do occur in an honest and proactive way – don’t try and make excuses – stick your hand up and say you messed up. It helps strengthen trust.

After all, without trust, you will find it a lot harder and more of a struggle to hold on to your business.

Now onwards…

… to your success!

Jez