Trust is a feeling and a state of mind in which one person relies on another. Do your clients truly trust you? Do they rely on you to help them succeed in their projects? Are they looking to maintain a strong relationship with you and your company?

Trust is the prerequisite on which a solid, long-term relationship is built. Trust is also relative: the higher the level of trust in you and your company, the easier it becomes to discuss, do business, collaborate and close a sale. It is so important that, once it declines, it becomes very difficult to rebuild. This element cannot be taken lightly if you want to succeed: for a client to open up to you, you must inspire a trust level of 8 out of 10.

Who has the greatest influence in building a client's trust? The company you work for carries responsibility; through its reputation, the quality of its products and services, and its efficiency, the company must constantly strengthen these elements to ensure the trust of its clients and partners. On the other hand, you also carry significant responsibility; your share of that responsibility ranges from 50 to 90 percent. Your expertise, your emotional commitment and your ability to offer value-added solutions to each client are therefore major factors to focus on in your client relationship.

1. Connect: seek eye contact when you begin the relationship and look for common ground to create rapport;
2. Listen: take a genuine interest in the client's needs and concerns, and listen with sensitivity and empathy in order to understand the client's point of view;
3. Respect: the client needs to feel respected, to know that their perspective is accepted and that their point of view is understood;
4. Value the person and the relationship: a true relationship of trust is built on mutual consideration and on appreciating each other's qualities and strengths; make sure you communicate your appreciation of your client;
5. Understand deeper needs: ask all the necessary questions to understand deeper needs, not just the surface needs that are easy to identify; your client will then feel your commitment to truly satisfying them;
6. Help: find or design solutions that genuinely meet their needs, and truly aim to improve their success through your actions and solutions;
7. Reassure: when faced with the client's constraints and the limits of your interventions, reassure the client by offering support, communicating honestly and transparently, addressing difficulties instead of hiding them, and seeking to minimize them;
8. Commit to their success: provide each client with adapted, personalized solutions that meet their deeper needs; they will be all the more grateful to you for it;
9. Show integrity and sincerity: do not play games and do not have hidden motives; be consistently honest and sincere in your actions and in the relationship; the client will sense it and will open up more easily;
10. Analyze all solutions: do not be afraid to review solutions with the client by identifying the advantages and disadvantages of each one, so you can properly guide their decision-making.

The more you work toward the client's success, the more your client will trust you and commit to you and your company. You will know that you have reached this level of trust when the client feels comfortable, happy, proud to work with you, confident, open in discussions and free of resistance. They will take your views and suggestions into account, feel less stressed in your presence, enjoy speaking with you and hearing your perspective, and entrust you with more orders or mandates.

Trust is one of the greatest gifts you can offer your clients. Do not hesitate to invest in this relational quality: both you and your clients will reap substantial dividends from it.

Jean-Pierre Lauzier
Sales, marketing and customer service consultant, trainer and speaker
Author of Le Cœur aux ventes

JPL Communications Inc.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.jeanpierrelauzier.com
450-444-3879

Sign up free of charge for the Le Cœur aux ventes columns: click here

(Photo: YuriArcursPeopleimages)