Building trust with your ideal customer is vital for sales success for any business owner. Without trust, you can’t hope to create lasting and loyal relationships.
Trust is the foundation of your business, but how significant is it to establish practical strategies that establish faith in you and your products or services?
Think of trust as a bridge connecting your business with your ideal customers.
What do we mean by trust?
All your actions, thoughts, intentions, and words create trust in the people around you. It doesn’t happen overnight; building trust takes time and work. It can also be lost in seconds!
If your audience doesn’t feel they can trust you or your products, they won’t buy from you. They may even advise other people to avoid your business too.
Author and leading expert on leadership trust David Horsager refers to the 8 Pillars of Trust in his keynote talks.
He believes you must explore deeper ideas than simple honesty and integrity to build trust. His 8 Pillars are:
- Clarity – people trust a clear mission, purpose, activity, and expectation.
- Compassion – when you genuinely care about others, people notice and put their faith in you.
- Character – pushing yourself out of that comfort zone and doing what needs to be done.
- Competency – consistently learning new things gives others confidence in your abilities.
- Commitment – when your audience sees you are committed no matter what, they believe in you.
- Connection – establish genuine connections and collaborations and show gratitude.
- Contribution – people need to see results! Be a contributor who delivers.
- Consistency – doing little things consistently builds a higher level of trust.
Understanding these pillars and actively working on each area gives you a better foundation for potential customers to trust you and your brand. They will be more likely to make a purchase, recommend your products or services, and remain loyal.
What else can you do to build trust around your business?
- Exceptional customer service.
When you respond quickly to any enquiries, feedback, or complaints, you show your customers how important they are to you and your business. By going the extra mile, you demonstrate to your audience that you value them and are willing to invest in their world. Knowing and understanding their needs will help you establish the exceptional customer service you hope to offer.
- Unique Human Proposition (UHP®).
Over the years, buyers have become smarter and more informed. Business owners need a unique sales process that sets them apart from other businesses. Unique Human Proposition® is a methodology I created following years of being taught that sales was all about your USP – Unique Sales Proposition.
You must think differently about the sales process to build trust with your audience. People buy people, and our emotional wants and needs influence our decisions.
How does your UHP® help you build trust?
- Be authentically YOU, as it’s the biggest asset you have.
- Don’t do what you’ve always done.
- It’s the buyer’s journey, so nurture them.
- Don’t chase the targets.
- Create customers for life.
- Storytelling
Tied into the UHP® is the storytelling element. Sharing the story behind your business – your passion, values, and mission, lets your customers get to know the face behind the brand.
Stories connect us emotionally and help your audience relate to you on a deeper level. When people see you as genuine and authentic, they are more likely to trust you and choose you over your competitors.
- Testimonials
Using social proof, customer testimonials, reviews, or positive feedback from satisfied customers provides evidence that you are a credible business.
Encourage your customers to share their experiences and leave testimonials on your social media platforms, Google, or website. Using these messages in your content creates a positive feeling in anyone looking to work with you.
“I love Jules. She is a wonderful, warm, funny and talented lady. She straight away got to the heart of my business and to the crux of my sales anxieties. After a very short time I felt excited about sales rather than fearful, and I left our session with techniques, tools, an approach and confidence that I had not walked in with. I straight away put her advice into practice and have immediately seen results. I’m so looking forward to spending more time with Jules and to smashing my goals under her guidance.” – Susie Lodge – The Wiki Mama – CEO & Founder – Wiki Places For Kids
- Value
Be sure to demonstrate your industry expertise and consistently provide value for your audience. Share content that educates, inspires, and motivates your customers. Include insights and tips about how your products or services can solve their issues.
Position yourself as the go-to source for reliable information and build trust as your customers recognise you as helpful and knowledgeable.
When I wrote my book Live It Love It Sell It I created a resource for my customers and potential audience that shared my expertise and allowed people to build trust before they started working with me.
Keep building trust
Trust is the foundation for building successful relationships with your ideal customers. By following David’s 8 Pillars and the additional tips in this blog, you can continue to thrive in business.
Be transparent with your audience, offer exceptional customer service, build that social proof, and unlock the key to increased sales and long-term relationships with a loyal following.
Building trust is a journey, not a destination!
Want to find out more about Live It Love It Sell It?
In this ground-breaking book, Dragon’s Den winner Jules White brings you the benefit of her experience and knowledge gained from over 30 years of selling to debunk myths about sales being all about formulas or pushiness and explains how everyone has the power to sell using their natural ability – and to love doing so.
It’s a book that will transform how you feel about sales and selling.
“I have been in sales for only a few years and I needed to learn more to grow my business. I connected with Jules’ methodology and I learnt so much from Live It, Love It, Sell It. For me selling in a human way is the only way and having this book to work through has been invaluable. I am a busy mum and business owner with little time to learn however having this book has helped me develop my sales strategy and I often refer back to it, in fact it’s a permanent fixture on my work space. Thank you Jules, very inspiring also – there is no such word as can’t!” Amazon Reviewer
Grab your copy of Live It Love It Sell It on Amazon.
Looking for an experienced and inspiring Keynote speaker, ready to captivate and entertain the audience at your next event?
Jules White has established a successful International award-winning business, created her own trade-marked methodology, is an Amazon bestselling author, and TEDx speaker. Her mission is to untrain anyone who has been trained to sell.
Book Jules White to speak at your next event HERE.