4 Key Elements to Building Trust
Those of us who expect to be successful in marketing our products and services on the internet need to be consistent in adhering to the 4 Key Elements to Building Trust with our target audience. Actually, these four elements to building trust are critical for any relationship.
Think for a minute about those you trust. What qualities do they have that make them trustworthy?
My dad was someone people trusted.His ability to build trust in a relationship was probably one of his greatest assets.He was dependable. He kept his promises. Except for the fact that he had the typing skills of a duck, he would have made a great internet marketer.
When I worked as a financial advisor, I had a mentor by the name of Charles Greene who wrote a book called, The Trusted Advisor in which he describes the formula I share with you today:
When you break the formula down, the 4 key elements to building trust are:
Credibility
Credibility is about our words—what we say and how we say it. We are said to be credible when our words are believable and can be backed up with experience, expertise or outside authority.
The more you research and write about a subject, the more credibility you build with the visitors to your website. Building credibility is why you need to keep adding high-quality content to your website. Visitors to your site must see you as an expert in your niche.
Reliability
Reliability is established when our actions match our words. People are said to be reliable when they can be depended upon to keep their word. If you say you are going to call someone back by the end of the day and you don’t follow through, you are sending a signal to that person that you are not reliable.
Good intentions don’t count. Actions speak louder than words.
Intimacy
Intimacy in the Trust Equation occurs when 1) you know intimate details about someone and 2) they know you will not violate their trust.
Your website’s Privacy Policy is a crucial element in building trust with visitors who come to your site.They need to be assured that you will not share their contact information and that you will not keep hounding them with endless offers.
Self-orientation
Having worked with credentialed financial advisers I can say that self-orientation or “having a big ego” is one of the biggest deterrents to building trust in any relationship. Self-orientation is determined by where you place your focus. Customers can sense it when your focus is more on yourself than it is on them. They know when you care about them and whether or not you are willing to go the extra mile for them.
From observation, online businesses that are all about displaying the accolades of the owner don’t fare as well as those who keep their focus on the needs of their target audience.
Building trust boils down into being transparent and honest, being authentic and sincere, focusing more on the client than you do yourself and the integrity of doing what is right for the long haul in lieu of the short-term gain you might realize.
It’s Always About People
Notice Self-orientation sits alone in the denominator of the Trust Equation. From my perspective, it is the most important variable in the Trust Equation. An online business marketer with low self-orientation is free to completely and honestly focus on the customer — not for his/her own sake, but for the sake of the customer. Such a focus is rare among people. It’s especially rare in internet marketing sales people.
As my favorite salesman Zig Ziglar would say...
“You get what you want by helping more people get what they want.”
The truth in selling is that you succeed more at sales when you stop trying to sell. When all you focus on is helping prospects, they trust you more and buy from you more as well.
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to share your comments for the benefit of the Wealthy Affiliate Community.
Recent Comments
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Great post, Rebecca. Thank you for writing it. Good old Zig Ziglar - brilliant quote. Yes, I always keep in mind that the other person has "Make Me Fell Important" written on his forehead !! We earn trust and respect, we cannot demand them. By boasting about ourselves (or what we are trying to sell, for that matter) not only achieves nothing, it damages the integrity of ourselves and our product no end. You have a good day, Rebecca. God bless.
Thanks for your comment, Margaret. Zig Ziglar is one of my heroes for sure.
I will keep your word picture of keeping "Make me feel important" on the forehead of other people in my mind. What a great way to think about relationships in general.
Blessings to you too, Margaret!
“You get what you want by helping more people get what they want.”
That is my favorite sentence in the whole post. I think it sums everything up!
Yep...one of my many take aways from the late and great Zig Ziglar. He also said, "It's your Attitude not your Aptitude that determines your Altitude."
Thanks for your comment!
A great post, Rebecca! Ethical selling... it can be a rare thing in certain circles, but I'm glad to say I have encountered it quite a few times.
Once I was in a store trying to buy something electronic and, after I'd described what it was I wanted and what I needed it to be able to do, the tech assistant guy said, 'I don't think the kind we're selling is what you need. You should go to X and get one there.' I was soooo impressed by his honesty and his willingness to put my well-being ahead of his commission.
I went back a good while later to buy something else because of the trust I had in him, but he had left to work at another store.
When it comes to online businesses, though, I can name about ten that are pretty much the only places I ever go to buy certain things (herbal goat dewormer is one). I have such loyalty to those places, because of the honest advice and good vibe dealings I've had with them, I don't even bother shopping around for similar but cheaper products. Which is most unlike me!
Thanks for chiming in with your comment. Building trust with a loyal following takes awhile but once it's built it is gold.
Love your story...there are always those rare exceptions that we want to emulate. Thanks for sharing!!
Rebecca
Great post.
Building a lasting relationship with your customers is a key to
Building a successful business!
Thanks for your comment, Mike. I must admit, I cannot understand why so many internet marketers are clueless when it comes to building relationships. Instead, they are all about the initial sale for the sake of making money and then take a "love 'em leave 'em" attitude.
Putting in the work that it takes to build a successful online business should mean we are in it for the long haul. Building trust is the foundation for long-term business success.
Nice advice! This is a people business in the end of the day. In fact, all business is people business.
You are so right! How we forget that from time to time is puzzling. Business does not exist without people. We are all ultimately in the people business. Treating others as we want to be treated should be our basic business protocol.
Thanks so much for your comment!!!
Credibility+Reliability+Intimacy = believability. As far as i know, if a business do not cater to the needs of people it can never flourish. Thanks Rebecca for giving me the opportunity to read such a wonderful writing.
Thanks for both the comment and the compliment. I appreciate your reply.!
I think the formula Dr. Greene used is an effective one for helping us to see that the better we are at establishing credibility, reliability and intimacy in our relationships and the less we are focused on our self, the more trustworthy we become.
Stop trying to sell. That's the truth. I heard at a seminar that people will make a sale when the pros of buying outweigh the cons. That is the truth and goes along with what you are saying perfectly.
You probably already know a lot of what I'm going to share, but I'll make it brief. So I've learned while studying sales is you aren't selling the object, you are selling what the object can do for them. Like a drill, why does a person buy a drill? Not because they want a drill, but they want a hole. They get a hole from a drill, so if you focus on their needs, (the pros) of why this drill will give them the best hole, they will buy from you.
Very simplified version but for the sake of not having this comment a full length college essay, there you have it. Lol.
And the Zig quote is hitting the nail on the head, always like that one!
Thanks so much for your spot-on comment. How right you are with your analogy of the drill. Focusing on the benefits, i.e. the "WIIFM"... is far more compelling than rattling off a list of non-essential features. It's all about really knowing the customer. and what they want.
Its about time all my study pays off lol. Knowing your customer, and knowing how to talk to them. What language do they use? Meaning what can they relate it to in their world. Make it meaningful to them. And that goes with knowing your customer.
Good thoughts, Josh...relating to people is all about understanding their culture, their dominant personality traits...i.e are they a Driver, Influencer, Steady Relator or a Compliant type...while we cannot know that as we build our website, we can pick up clues from the tone and phrasing in the comments people send and use elements from their phrasing as we comment back which lets them know we are listening.
Everyone wants to be listened to...they want their voice to count. They deserve the dignity of a thoughtful response. How well we listen to our customers is part of building greater intimacy with them.
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I am just delighted to read this blog. It is true life experience that u fail when you try to sell. You are always successful when u try to help. Great thoughts. May god bless you.
Well thank you for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. I think Kyle does a great job in the WA Boot Camp and the Certification course in helping us learn not to push too hard when it comes to selling affiliate programs as well. All good reminders.