Often, I hear in the marketplace that people still do business with those they know, like and trust.

You’ve experienced it, but can you explain it?

You meet someone at a business event, a restaurant, or even on LinkedIn, and they make the request to connect.  However, it is not always clear on how to proceed. How do you know whether you want to engage and build a new business relationship or leave it alone? Why? Trust is earned, and the timing and speed vary on you.

Dan Kennedy and Shawn Buck state in the book, “No BS Guide to Maximum Referrals and Customer Retention,” that as humans, we crave trust.  We need trust, but it must come with a sense of safety and security.  Trust allows us to have relationships. What we have found in coaching business owners and senior leadership is that trust in organizations among colleagues is the #1 long term, sustaining competitive advantage in the marketplace.  How well do you and your people work together?  How’s your trust with each other?  Others are watching.

The power of trust allows you to become a provider of a safe-haven, securing a refuge or and a real connection with a person that can go a long way.  Even in customer retention, or stimulating referrals, on the external efforts, the internal efforts in collaboration with those whom you choose to work takes this trust as well.   We all want to trust, but how’s it where you work?

Leadership and building trust needs to be purposeful to make an impact difference.  Take 60 seconds to think “What have I done today to give trust to someone else and create a safe place for them to trust me?”  Let me know your thoughts with your comments or email me directly.  I want to hear from you.