You know, it’s really ironic when we stop to think about it.
As business owners, we work hard to create a great “X” (program, product or service), announce it to our database list and the world and sit back wondering why few, if anyone, invest.
And yet when we’re on the other side of that table, considering investing in something, we scrutinize every word on the info/sales page, ask ourselves what we know about the person (Do we like their social media posts? Are they consistent with their newsletters/email communications? Etc.) and whether our intuition tells us we can trust them.
It’s the case of the double-edged sword.
We want trust and yet are loathe to give it as easily as we want it.
So what’s the answer to creating trust with your prospective clients?
There’s no one single answer. . .at a minimum, you want a mixture of the below:
- Familiarity breeds trust — the more familiar with you and your business your prospects are, the more likely they are to trust you. Science has shown that familiarity actually rewires our brain so that we prefer what’s familiar to us. We must be consistent, relevant and helpful in our communications with prospective clients in order to gain, and keep, their trust.
- Be yourself and chart your own path — don’t worry about what everyone else is doing/charging. Be yourself and those who resonate with you will invest with you and, if you provide Extreme Client Care™, they’ll not only invest, they’ll reinvest and refer.
- Affinity/Referrals — We’re more likely to trust those who come to us from referrals (our friends, colleagues, etc.) or from others who are like us and have similar goals, challenges and lifestyles.
The above speaks both to people and relationships as well as “things”. For example, if you use standard credit logos on your site, people are more likely to trust making an investment with you. Or if you belong to groups/associations/communities which they recognize and respect, you earn more of their trust as a result of that association. (You can learn more about website/online trust enhancers/indicators here.)
And if our prospective clients have had a poor experience with someone else, it’s going to take them longer to trust, no matter how authentic and *real* we are.
Creating and building trust is a never-ending process — once you’ve built trust with your clients, it’s your responsibility to keep it by providing great service and keeping the communication channels open.
I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts below. . .