Trust

For a moment imagine your best client. All the years you’ve spent nurturing the relationship which has led to the formation of trust between you and your client. In the beginning there was no trust just a prospect who was willing to listen to you. Maybe they liked your personality because it matched with theirs, maybe they liked your persistency or maybe they just couldn’t find anyone else to sit with. As the years went on that first appointment turned into early morning calls with questions about college planning or late night calls whether they had enough insurance. Whether you have been in sales for one year or many years these calls are what help build trust between you and your client. Trust is built over time, sometimes many years and sometimes very quickly. If you are to build trust you must understand the client’s needs. You must listen and learn what makes them excited, what it is that makes them get up in the morning and live.

Zig Ziglar says, “If people like you, they will listen to you, if people trust you, they will do business with you.” So if you want to build long-standing relationships then take the time to cultivate the trust between you and your client. At the same time you better be creating that trust between the important people in your client’s life. The biggest mistake most salespeople and business owners make is they only build the trust between the client and themselves. What about the spouse, or the client’s children? Would you have earned enough trust with the spouse or children to continue that business relationship if something should happen to your client? The key to earning trust with a client is to building the trust throughout their family. When you have earned that trust keep building on it. Trust will not only earn business from your client it will also lead you to new business through referrals. People who trust you refer you to others. So learn to establish trust become your clients trusted advisor and watch your business grow!