BUILDING TRUST
Building trust
One of the most essential success factors in a business is building trust. In fact it is earned after both hard and smart work. Some people might give you trust at the beginning and then it would be your responsibility to retain it. Other people might start the hard way; waiting for you to earn their trust.
Below are some tips to help you build that extremely important value:
- Keep your promises every single time. Never make a promise you can’t deliver; whether to clients or to your team. No matter how small that promise is, such as calling back after your meeting, replying to that email, giving a feedback about a certain project…what matters is that you keep your word. Contracts help but words are even more powerful.
- Express your true feedback. Some people have a tendency to just state the positive issues to keep a warm relationship. Others might think it is better to just talk about the negative issues in order to improve them. In fact, people like to know the truth. They are mature enough to deal with it.
- Communicate efficiently. Never manipulate people, say less than necessary or try to hide parts of the story. Some people even have a tendency to never show their true intentions with the illusion that this makes them predictable and thus reduce their power. The truth is the more genuine, the more correct and the clearer you are… the more people will give value to their relationship with you.
- Keep in touch. When you stay close to people, they feel comfortable and they trust you more. On the other hand, when you get away from them, they feel there’s something wrong or even that you are hiding something. You don’t need to physically be there all the time…But a simple call, message, email or even social media message or comment could do the job. But then again what better then a coffee once a while to keep up with the person and bond together…
- Never miss a chance to greet people. Whether on birthdays, religious days, new born celebrations, career promotions…always get the chance to greet each person you care about and express how happy you are for them. This shows how much you care…if you really do!
- LISTEN. Nothing builds trust more than good listening to people’s stories, failures, successes, etc. People love those who listen to them. Be a great listener and see for yourself…
- Always think win-win. Make sure both parties are satisfied in each transaction, event or project. Once win-win is broken, someone will suffer and it will reflect back on the relationship.
- Be helpful and don’t always look for short term rewards. People might forget how much they got paid, or what happened in details…but they never forget when you help them out solving a certain problem.
- Remember the small details they care about. If you know they like a certain topic, a certain food, drink or simply an artist…or any taste that relates to your relationship…make sure not to forget it, The more you remember the more it shows how much you care! And if you have a bad memory, remember why they created the smart phones…
- Stick to your values. In a world where values are becoming a luxury, people tend to trust those who stick to their values even in tough times.
- Apologize when you are wrong. It never harms your image. In fact, it enhances it! And on the other hand, forgive them when they do wrong. After all no one is perfect…
- Never forget that “sharing is caring”…
So are you willing to share this article with them and show them how much you care?
Jade William Dagher
SME Business Strategist
+961-4-977355
+961-70-226969
[email protected]
www.expand-mena.com
