Karen Keller
Know. Like. Trust. It’s usually easy to let people know you. Knowing someone doesn’t necessarily have an emotional attachment that goes with it. You don’t have to ‘buy into’ someone’s beliefs just by knowing them. The relationship can be informal … arbitrary … shallow.
But what about something more significant? What does it take to get an audience to actually trust you on a deeper level?
Trust is the crucial part of this age-old tripod. In fact, it’s the most important leg for me. If I don’t know or even like someone I can still be impacted or buy if I trust that person. Why? Because I place stock in a person’s information, their credibility, and what it can do for me. So what if I don’t like their hairstyle?
Relationships are the most important asset of your business. And trust is the key factor to building solid relationships. Here are a few tips you can use to build trust with any audience:
Be Consistent. You’re all over the place – keeping your audience guessing. That’s when they entertain the idea that you don’t know what you’re doing. Hence the trust factor starts to slip. When you are leaving the ‘predictability nest’ tell your audience. Let them know you are moving in a new direction. You want them to know when the tide is changing so they can go with it and not fight against it.
Trust Your Audience
Walk the Talk. Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you tell your audience you will be rolling out new information or programs that will help them become financially independent starting in the New Year then you’d better be able to surprise them with something that will WOW them! Nothing is more of a turn off than getting ready for a huge offer, announcement or secret only to have it fizzle. Keep No Secrets. Nobody likes to think the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing - intentionally. Once you disguise, misrepresent or falsely brag you are on a slippery slope to disbelief. For example, the person who receives a piece of junk mail from a noted celebrity then tweets to her friends that she got a personal message from so-and-so. Really? I got the same form letter! Don’t try to swindle your audience. They will catch you EVERY time. Have Faith in Your Audience. The audience needs to recognize you know, like and trust THEM. Whatever you share they need to believe and feel respected and trusted. It’s a mutual thing. Never forget that trust is the awareness of the intent behind the obvious message. Your audience is smart. They know you have a purpose. They understand your intention to build your reputation. It’s up to you to safely convey your purpose, intent and message to gain lasting trust.
