In the world of networking, trust is the currency of choice. With it, doors open freely. Without it, you can be standing on the outside looking in at the business you wish you could have. Much more valuable than money, it grows in ways similar to money. Consistent effort, living up to commitments and time are key ingredients to building both trust and money.
Why then, do people walk into a strong-contact networking environment and expect to receive business without any currency? Is your sales manager serious when she expects you to walk out of a new customer’s house with a fist full of referrals?
A few days ago, I ran across a great blog post asking if it is possible for businesses to regain trust. “Integrity and honesty are two of the deepest and most human traits, and I say they absolutely translate to a business level,” said Amber Naslund, author of the Altitude Branding blog.
While I wholeheartedly agree, I also wonder why people expect to be referred to others before they have proven themselves to be trustworthy. Building business by referral requires authentic communication, transparency about your qualifications and proving you truly care about the success of your referral partner.
Maybe this is why so many people shun referrals as a way to build their business, preferring the more immediate feedback they get from cold calling. They will live by the cold call and the occasional referral that comes from being active. This model of business building will never die, but it certainly can kill otherwise good sales professionals!
Since trust is necessary to building solid relationships, here are a few things you can do to build that trust more quickly.
1. Be prepared to give a lot more than you receive. Giving the referrals people are asking for is a good way to get started. If you know your referral partner has a particular cause they are passionate about, volunteer to help occasionally. When you see an article that relates to their business, send it to them. These are all things that do not require a great deal of money and show you care about that person and their business.
2. Under promise and over deliver. Admittedly, this sounds trite. And it works, try it sometime!
3. Play fair. Networked Inc. founder Terry Bean likes to talk about coopetition, the art of cooperating with your competition. This can be a delicate balancing act and one that is highly profitable. It requires you to be transparent with your coopetition in every aspect of your business.
4. Drop the scorecard. There are many factors at play in giving and receiving referrals. Just because you give a referral does not mean it is easily reciprocated, so stop expecting a one-to-one referral exchange. Maybe your business requires a greater degree of trust to build before referrals can be given. Or maybe you just are not asking for the correct referrals. Regardless, keeping score will cause you to become bitter which will keep you from becoming referable!
Trust takes time is a correct but incomplete statement. Trust takes time, sincerity and consistent effort. I hope you are ready for the journey!
Get Nspired!
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