Adventures in Business and CRM

It is a well known fact that in this economy, people are doing business primarily with those they trust. Without this major component, it is becoming increasingly tough to makes sales, increase sales, or even grow a solid brand. Trust isn’t something that is inherently given, it’s something that’s earned. A sleek logo and a polished image won’t get you far without a good reputation to follow. We’ve all seen some pretty messed up things go on in this world of ours, and for good reason, people are more skeptical and wary than ever before.

Have you ever evaluated how trustworthy your brand, product, or service looks to an outsider?

If you happen to be in an industry where trust is already limited, then you’ve got your work cut out for you. Lawyers, investors, and network marketers rank among the lowest trusted in today’s society. Personally, I have an extremely hard time trusting Realtors. I can’t stand about 90% of them.  As a younger person who was recently looking for a home to buy, I can’t tell you how many times I caught the listing agent lying to me about things they had assumed I was uneducated about. This happened repeatedly. While not all Realtors are liars, those 10 that I came into contact with, happened to shape my views on how I perceived realtors as far as trust went.

Think about what it takes for you to really trust a person or an entire organization. What acts, displays, or gestures are you looking for when you’re initially deciding whether someone or something is trustworthy or not. We often perform our “trust” processes unconsciously, but if you really take a moment to brainstorm what factors make you trust, you’ll be gaining valuable insight on what you need to do to gain others trust.

Kurt Mortensen, the author of Maximum Influence and Persuasion IQ, defines the five C’s of trust as:

• Character
• Competence
• Confidence
• Credibility
• Congruence

* Does your personal brand or corporate identity emcompass these traits?

* How can we prove ourselves more trustworthy, without breaking the bank?

* How do you do it?

All comments and input are welcome! This is an open discussion after all!

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