Let’s face it, understanding that there is a difference between getting people to know your business and getting to know you or what your business stands for is hard at times. Yes, they have to know of your business in order to consider doing business with you.

What’s on the mind of any potential client is “what’s in it for me?”
So this has less to do with them getting to know your brand and more about you getting to know their business.

Entrepreneurship—and free enterprise—require people who don’t necessarily know one another to work together. This means consistently putting their trust in each other.

Think back to the last time you purchased a key item, a house, car, or a large appliance. Buying these items had you deal with a salesperson. Was the person someone who you liked or trusted?

There are five features we’ve cultivated in ourselves as a crew and what we look for in our team:

1. Never, never be late.

When it comes to video content creation we have to have certain flexibility in our schedules. But when it comes to anything involving our clients, we have a very well developed time sense so that we always show up when we’ve said we’re going to show up—or better yet, our team shows up early.
Whether you’ve ever reflected on it or not, there’s a kind of certainty that you get about people when they always show up on time and are ready to go.

2. Say what you do, do what you say.

When we’re committed to creating content, hosting an event something, or showing up on set, we always come through with what we’ve promised.
We have been producing content in several locations and we’ve never been late for a single one. We are always on time for our meetings, podcast guests, our videos productions, and our Zoom calls and we’re always totally prepared to contribute our part.

3. Finish what you start.

We always finish what we start, with the possible exception where a project might change or have unchanging circumstances.

We always deliver our content, we are committed.

4. Always say “please” and “thank you.”

If I make a request from another person, I always say please. “Please” means that I recognize that other people operate independently from me, and therefore, if I want cooperation from them, I’m going to approach them in a respectful way and let them know that I would be grateful for their contribution.

And when someone’s done something that’s of value to me, I always thank them for their performance and for how they’ve moved things forward for me. The more specific you can be about what you’re thanking someone for, the more of an impact it will have on them.

5. Being appropriate.

Diverse things are appropriate for different situations, and this includes the way you dress, the way you act, and the way you speak.

For example, if you aren’t dressed appropriately for a situation, it shows that you don’t really care about other people’s point of view on reading the room, it also shows in our opinion that have a lack of respect, or you just don’t care about how you show up.

The same principles apply in all areas of life, even if it’s on the job or in a relationship. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants to work with people who are easy to get along with, supportive, likeable, and can be trusted. We want to collaborate with people that do not get upset easily and can keep their calm when things do go according to plan.

Building trust is the natural result of thousands of tiny actions, words, thoughts, and intentions. It just doesn’t happen all at once; gaining trust takes work from all parties. It might take quite of bit of time on a certain client to break through and fully gain their comfort and trust.

Listen and build a relationship from the very beginning. It’s not about just “selling” anymore. Do not be in such a rush to sell to your client. Every customers is not in a rush to buy. Sometimes, you have to look at your pitch as an impartial outsider to calculate the situation correctly and help collaboration succeed as the number one priority.

Even with a remote client, make sure they know you are there for them. Be respectful, focused and empathetic — and at the same time, be pragmatic and objective in your feedback.

Beyond just retention, 83% of customers say they’d recommend a business they trust to others. This means that earning and building customer trust can not only help you keep your existing customers, but it can also help you earn new leads and fresh sales through word of mouth. The referral method is golden.

Just like in all forms of relationships and human interactions, trust is vital. In business, it is what translates to sales and helps build customer relationships. If you can get people to trust your business, you stand a chance of having it around for a long time.

Don’t try to win people over with lofty promises because they’ll leave as fast as they came. Rather, be authentic in dealing with staff and customers, winning them over with your sincerity. Remember, being trusted is better than being loved, and generally, it’s what’s best for businesses.