Cultivating the Trust Factor

Cultivating the Trust Factor - Customer-Service: "Cultivating the Trust Factor


In today's highly competitive economy, it is difficult to maintain a significant market advantage based on your professional skills alone. Developing a trusting relationship with your clients is key to your success. No matter what business you are in, the most powerful value-added you can contribute in any business relationship is the trust factor.
The trust level in Corporate America is at an all-time low, and suspicion of 'all things corporate' is on the rise. Clients and prospects are in search of trust in their business relationships. Although people do business with other people they know and trust, building trust and credibility does not happen overnight.
What is trust? Trust can be defined as a firm belief in the honesty of another and the absence of suspicion regarding his motives or practices. The concept of trust in business dealings is simple: Build on an individual's confidence in you and eliminate fear as an operating principle.
To cultivate trust, take the risk of being open with clients and prospects. This enables them to perceive you as a real person--one with strengths and weaknesses that come into play as the relationship develops. When trust is reciprocal, you will find that your confidence in others is rewarded by their support and reinforcement of what you also stand for as a business entity."

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