Example strategies to build trust

TRUST
EXAMPLE STRATEGY
ELEMENT
• Ensure the customer is aware of your credentials – without showing off or
adding lots of letters to your business card
• Only give advice when you are sure its being asked for – don’t jump to
solutions
• Never exaggerate – or lie
Increase • If you don’t know, say so – quickly and directly
Credibility • Don’t gossip about staff or competitors
• Be passionate about your subject
• Know all you can about your customer (company and individual), their
market, challenges and keep it up to date
• Where it is mutually beneficial, be prepared to introduce your customers to
each other
• Under promise and over deliver...
• Conversely, never over-promise and under-deliver
• Be clear where there are challenges and obstacles that you will struggle with
and that may impact the customer
• Find opportunities to demonstrate your reliability – meeting agendas,
Increase
summary notes, sending interesting articles/research
Reliability
• Let the customer know if you are away, and ensure they know how they will
be cared for in your absence
• Be timely for all meetings and calls
• Match the customers working patterns, terminologies, communications
preferences – ask how they prefer to be looked after
• Have the courage to move beyond the obvious business transaction
• Uncover and explore interests and passions
• Find commonalities, but explore differences
• Listen, ask questions and demonstrate your understanding
Increase
• Remember what’s been said in the past and refer to it
Business Intimacy
• Check if you think you are going too far, and discussing things they may not
be comfortable with
• Care about your customer, their well-being and concerns
• Treat your customers as you would like to be treated yourself
• Be aware that this is the biggest threat to trust and customer focus
• Put the customer ahead of your needs, fears, desire to win, be in control, be
seen as clever, or any other agenda that is for your benefit
• As you plan for meetings, think about the best outcome for your customer
Reduce
rather than just you
Self-Orientation
• Avoid passive listening, interrupting, name dropping, putting forward
solutions before understanding the customers perspective, pushing
timescales to suit your personal needs, or taking a short term deal-led view
• Seek to understand the customer’s personal risks and challenges

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