The Fuel to Double Your Business
by bobrichards ~ March 23rd, 2009. Filed under: trust in business, trusted advisor.Most business owners think that to grow their business, it takes more money or more personnel. But maybe another ingredient is more important, the ingredient of trust in business.
As an illustration of the importance of trust in business, consider the financial crisis. It’s not a financial crisis or liquidity, it’s a crisis of trust. One day, Lehman Brother’s trading partners stop trusting Lehman. So they withheld business, decided not to extend credit and Lehman had to declare bankruptcy. Consider the banks slowness to lend—they don’t trust that the loan will get repaid. Or consider the credit card companys’ reduction in credit lines because they don’t trust that the cardholders will pay.
In fact, the main reason that the US has the largest economy is because its residents have had the most trust in one another. We consider signatures on contracts to be binding (because we truist the legal system to enforce signed contracts) and in most business transactions, we even rely on the other party’s word. But now, we see what happens when trust comes into question. Parties stop dealing with one another and the economy shrinks. Other countries have smaller economies because they have less developed systems of trust and we are now have a taste of what goes on in other economies.
Trust has the same impact on the micro-economy of your business as it does on global trade. Your prospect does not buy from you because the investment has a “terrific ROI.” They buy from you because they trust you. In their eyes, you are the “trusted advisor.” If a stranger approaches you on the street, hands you a dollar and says “I will sell you this dollar for a dime,” the fantastic ROI is insignificant compared to your skepticism that something is fishy. You don’t trust the stranger and you turn down the guaranteed 900% ROI. Your prospect feels the same way.
Your prospects don’t become your clients because you have great financial options. They become your client because they trust you. The next several posts will deal with the issue of how you build trust so that you can rapidly convert prospects to clients.
“You can have all the facts and figures, all the supporting evidence, all the endorsement that you want, but if you don’t command trust, you won’t get anywhere.”
–Naill Fitzgerald, Former Chairman, Unilever
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June 13th, 2009 at 11:45 am
I UNDERSTOOD THAT APART OF ALL THE OTHER THINGS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR A PARTICULAR BUSINESS’S GROW UP IS THE TRUST!I AGREE TO YOU!
Famous quotess last blog post..Father’s day Quotes
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:02 am
It’s true. Just as external shock can affect the economy as a whole, it can also affect your business. Levels of investment and consumption depend mainly on trust and business reputation, so the more trust you can build, the more people likely to buy or invest in your business.
June 29th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
That’s actually really true. A great look at things. But if the economy is to get better, who should start trusting more, the clients or the companies?
July 7th, 2009 at 12:33 am
[...] I read in an article that besides money and people (input), we also need trust to grow our business. Is it true? How can we keep trust when we meet many new people and we know that everyone just wants to benefit? Well, as written in the article, trust has been proven as an essential tool to keep thing going well. Remember how financial crisis was becoming severe and severe in Asian countries because the citizens didn’t trust that their governments would be able to accommodate their needs and safety? See the opposite happened at developed countries? People do business with you mostly because they trust you, that you will do your role well. And you do the same to the others, and your business can grow. Read more here. [...]
July 13th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I strongly agree that trust is very important in the business, even if your product or services is great, if your prospect clients do not trust you or the company they will not invest. Make sure that you build a trust to every prospect clients and you’ll definitely hit the nail on the head.
August 15th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Yes.. I too agree with this. I even tell this to my assistants. At this time of recession, many people never think that its a crisis of trust. Even u have everything, trust plays a major role.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
great post!! i agree with you that Levels of investment and consumption depend mainly on trust and business reputation, so the more trust you can build, the more people likely to buy or invest in your business.
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Building trust is the backbone to any organisation! Great Article!
October 27th, 2009 at 2:17 am
Building trust can be great way to double up the income of business. Because it will create loyalty customers. Thanks for sharing
November 1st, 2009 at 7:16 am
That’s 100% True, that’s why older marketers take out all of the business in the Internet marketing world.
People trust us so they buy, but, if you start getting carried away and begin promoting none to worthy products you will lose your credibility and lose the people who trust you and helped you build your business.
I think its better to give than receive, but, you should get what you deserve.
November 16th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Trust is very important and - like other elements involved in a business’s marketing - is based on perception. Specifically in online marketing, the perceived credibility of items such as landing pages is very important. Components like security seals, telephone numbers, and listing the physical address of the business can all help to build confidence and trust. When a business is not brick and mortar, it’s critical that it does as much as possible to give the right impression in the online space.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
That’s an interesting take on growing your business. I never really thought about it from that perspective. I’ll definitely be sure to make sure that I keep trust on the top of my priorities now.
January 17th, 2010 at 12:58 am
Trust plays a huge part in my divorce practice as well. Potential clients don’t want to hire a divorce attorney who they don’t feel comfortable with. I market my law practice primarily online and the credibility of my page design, marketing scheme, and overall web presence is of primary importance. Keep the great blog entries coming, they are always thought provoking.
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:03 am
It is really a nice post and very true. I share the opinion that you can have whatever you want but if you don’t have peoples trust it won’t mean nothing. This can be applied for every business that exists, peoples trust is the more important one.
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:12 am
I love this blog on trust– how true! thanks.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Yes i agree trust is important, especially when your business model is supplying other businesses with goods and services. The marketing of goods and services to help and support businesses is highly competitive and i have noticed a slight decrease in my monthly sales volume, mainly due to many companies simply tightening their belts when it comes to online spending. As the economy continues to stabilize i am sure that most online businesses like myself are sure to see a nice rebound in sales!
January 31st, 2010 at 4:09 am
Thats true our whole economy is built on trust in one way or the other if people cant trust you they will not do business with you, and you business will fail which will hurt the economy in the long run.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:17 pm
I half agree… trust is part of the reason someone bought from you, however, they only knew about you because of your wider marketing efforts. More money or more people could extend this further.
I guess one cannot exist without the other but which is more important is a tougher question to answer!
February 1st, 2010 at 11:37 pm
I believe the US trust in the legal system is a little overrated.
1st of all the terms and conditions of use. You never see a contract that’s smaller then 5 pages. If it is you know that sooner or later that company will be sued for one thing or another. In my opinion that’s the opposite of trust: you provide some quality services and clients invoke some stupid reason to mooch off of your investment and profits.
2nd of all, it’s because of all this trust that things have come to this. Too many loans have been made. Banks and other corporations don’t care. They knew why they did it, they knew that eventually the economy will collapse because too much money was spent, and that eventually they will be put into a position where they’ll loose their belongings.
Anyway, as far as customer-trust goes, because of bad results on trusting my clientele, right now most of my contracts involve 2 thirds cash payment up front when we sign the contract and the rest when the final product arrives. I hate working like this, i practice good prices and great services yet a golden rule can never be forgotten: “When you work with people you have NO guarantee”. Sad, but true…
February 6th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I see this in my business. The more I trust in the business to be successful the more successful it gets.
February 6th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
All it is true. I agree that the most important thing in a business is trust. When people trust you, they will buy from you.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Ya it is true Bussiness depends on the trust,if no one trust you,then u cannnot stand in the market
February 10th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Yes, trust is important factor for business because without trust you cannot deal with other person & in this recession period so many peoples are do their business very carefully & after that they are interested in small business with no credit facility.
February 11th, 2010 at 8:46 am
When trust goes away, we will see depressions. So we better trust each other LOL
February 11th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Really inspiring article! I appreciate your article moral that “trust is the main thing to double our income”.Today my business is so good and i am successful at achieving profit due to trust among all partners.If there was not trust then we all fight with each other and our company will be collapsed.I love to read your blog and will try to recommend it to all of my friend.