Boosting the Speed of Trust

Boosting The Speed of Trust

I remember looking at his business card.
(The one he’d thrust at me, beaming, at the end of my seminar.)

Then I remember looking up at him (he was that tall).
Then back again to his card.

I must have had a questioning look on my face.
(of course, it might have been something other than that: perhaps downright weird!)

“What’s up?” says he.

“Well Fred,” says I.
(All of my anonymous characters tend to be called “Fred”!)

“It’s this list of business qualities at the bottom of this card.
You know:

• “Integrity”
• “Excellence”
• And so forth.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” continues he.

“I was thinking, Fred.
I was thinking about this “Integrity R Us” list of yours.

Seems to me…
If you have to tell the world you’re beautiful…
You’re probably not!

Fred… I believe, all these qualities are a given!”

It’s fascinating what Leaders, Advisers and Planners do to try to earn the trust of existing and future clients.

Some very curious and exhausting antics indeed.

Which suggests that they assume everybody learns to trust… the way that they themselves have learned.
Which could be an expensive assumption.

And they’ve never taken time out to consider this frighteningly simple question:
“What Increases the Speed of Trust?”
Which could be an expensive omission indeed.

So, I thought I’d take a step back…
And share just three things I’ve learned about Speeding the Process of Trust with our future and existing clients.

Here we go…

1. Relevance
   When it’s clear (long before you meet with them) that you really, really, really understand them…
   My experience (and considerable research) indicates that the Trust Barometer climbs.
   
   That means being pretty specific about who you’re talking to in that mass of beguiling humanity out there. (You can’t appeal to everyone n’est-ce pas?)
   
   You clearly understand their world… their language… their problems…what appeals to them…what outcomes they tend to desire in life.
   
   When you’re convincingly able to articulate all of that.
   You become relevant.
   It’s so much easier to trust you when you ‘get’ me.
   
2. Integrity
   Most of us use the word.
   But the definitions tend to be a little woolly and confused.
   
   Does your firm have values that people know about, believe in, and have observed you consistently act upon?
   
   (Do you even know what they are?
   Does your team?)
   
   Do you have a reputation for admitting and quickly repairing mistakes?
   
   (Or would you have everyone believe that you don’t make any?)
   
3. Intent
   Underlying all the clever (hard-earned) technical skills you’ve developed, and technology stuff you’ve installed…
   
   What exactly is the intent of you and your team?
   And, if the world around you senses that intent…
   Are they impressed? Are they in love with it?
   
   For example…
   Is your brand (now, there’s a workshop or two in that word!) perceived as slick or smart or profit-focused or pretentious?
   
   Or do people feel that you genuinely care; that you want to help them win?
   And how on earth would you know?
   
   Of course, there are more. Aren’t there? More Trust qualities.
   I’m sure you could list three more without blinking or pausing for breath.
   
   What’s more-than-good about this Speed of Trust thing, is that it can be so…
   Well, you know…
   Speedy!
   
   Knowing how trust works not only gives you an edge in business.
   It gives you something to live up to in life.
   
   Then you’ll probably be more careful what you put on your business card, website or other material.
   
   Because, in spite of what we observe in the antics of politics…
   
   At least half the population have become smart enough not to swallow “Integrity R Us” these days.