There’s an equation to keep in mind when building trust with your community and clients.
Credibility + Reliability + Connection = Trust
These 8 ways create that formula for you to convey trust within yourself and others.
- Trust Requires Long Term Thinking – that means in every interaction, planning out your business and words your credibility and reliability are your primary focus.
- Be Honest – That doesn’t mean you tell the world everything but when you do speak and write it comes from a position of truth.
- Have Commitment – First of all, have commitment to you first. Choose you each time and it will be easy to commit to your business, community and clients.
- Admit When You’re Wrong – That starts with you admitting to yourself first that something didn’t work out or what you promised you din’t deliver on. It’s OK to admit when something goes wrong. Then ask yourself, “what’s the lesson?” And how can I make it right with my client or community?
- Great Communication – Not only great communication is required but effective and consistent communication needs to be present always. There is little room nowadays for success without great communication.
- Be Vulnerable – Showing this side of yourself is a key for others to realize you’re human and not perfect. You become more relatable to others. I’m not talking about vomiting all over social media but people need to know what makes you tick.
- Be Generous – When I mention this, clients think I’m talking about lowering prices. I’m not. Be helpful. Be understanding. Give some of your time. Give something extra.
- Appreciation – This is so simple to do – show people you care. Not everything is about you.
Your community and clients trust you when they have a sense of security and confidence about you. They want the ability to predict that you will communicate, act and deliver your business in specific ways and be dependable.
You earn credibility over time. You show consistency with your reliability. You create a connection with your intimacy. People are relational and these components are necessary for humans to believe they can trust you.