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How Trust Raises the Bar

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What Is Trust?

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What is trust?

Trust is a very big word. I talk a lot about being authentic online because we can’t see the person on the other side of the screen. Truth is we can’t see what other folks are thinking even when they’re standing right before us. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about trust, writing about it.

Three years ago, when I was sick and couldn’t do everything for myself, I had to trust that the people who offered really wanted to help. It was trust that they would hold me in the same place with the same affection had I not asked. I had to trust that their help wouldn’t lead them to think less of me.

I choose with care, asked with care, and cared about the people I chose.

The help I received showed itself in ways I will never forget. I had forgotten that trust is a powerful relationship builder. Those old and new friends not only showed up, but came as if my request for a hand was a gift to them.

And because I choose to trust with care in my life. I could trust without fear.

How Trust Raises the Bar

Trust in business works the same. When we worry about who will speak for us, it’s a moment of trust. Whether it’s at a conference booth, in an email, or on a social networking site, we just need people we trust. Employees, vendors, partners, customers — the question isn’t about controlling their words. It’s about choosing people who share our values, because shared values build trust. Choose people you trust to build your business.

If we choose the people we hire with care, assign them to work they care about, and care about them and the work they do, we find out that the trust goes both ways. We don’t have to fear how they’ll respond when the going gets tough. When we take time to answer questions, listen, engage, build relationships by aligning our values and goals, trust occurs in both directions. Build trust relationships and your policy documents won’t have to weigh tons, because …

Trust raises the bar for all of us.

How do you recognize people you trust?

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Pay Attention to the Questions

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Rosemary O’Neill

Answer Questions, Build Relationships with your Prospects

In the classic movie Diner, Eddie subjects his fiancee to a 140-question quiz on Baltimore Colts football trivia in order to go through with the wedding. He loves Elyse, but is compelled to make sure she shares his passion for the Colts before getting hitched.

Have you noticed that your customers are constantly quizzing you, prodding, poking, trying to determine if you are a correct “fit” with their needs and mission? That you share their passion?

Pay attention to the questions


Flickr: Questions count

We’ve started using a gadget that allows visitors to ask questions via live chat on our corporate website. The results have been startling.

By offering a conduit for communication before the sale is made, we have learned what prospects are wondering, what content is missing from our website, how people are finding us, and where they might be confused about the product. In the live chat, they can quiz us with buying questions as well as relationship questions.

We save the transcripts from the chats and use them for sales training, content planning, website updates, and even technical support.

Find ways to bond in case you fail the quiz
Some buyers approach you with a detailed checklist of questions, often prepared by a committee. Many times these checklists include everything from “pie in the sky” dreams to absolute must-have items. It’s your job to help them sort out what’s important, and along the way, start building trust (Steven Covey on trust building: http://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html).

Along the path of sorting out the customer’s true needs, find nuggets of common ground to start building on. Train your mind to actively seek out points of connection. It could be with humor, common experiences, or commiserating over something. That’s the foundation of a real human relationship, which is essential for long-term customer retention.

Key takeaways for today:

  • Start building trust with prospects from the first impression
  • Provide a way to listen to and engage with questions
  • Be honest about what you can or can’t do
  • Share lessons-learned and common questions across your business
  • Build a strong enough human relationship that you can survive the “checklist”

Oh, and Elyse did fail the sports quiz by two points. He married her anyway.

Are you building relationships with your prospects so that they’ll marry you anyway?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Thank you, Rosemary!

You’re irresistible!

ME “Liz” Strauss