Trust is not a four-letter word

I just finished reading Stop Acting Like a Seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer and have been thinking about trust. Paraphrasing the book, if a client trusts you then you can make a sale to them. If they don’t, you are wasting your time.

Tom Sant had a recent post, Calculating Trust, on his Messages that Matter blog that gives a great/simple equation to express the essence of trust: Trust = Rapport x Credibility / Risk

Tom says, "Rapport is based on a gut-level reaction. Do I like this person? Do I enjoy talking to him or her? Am I comfortable with this person's style?"

Credibility is based on cognitive matters and can be demonstrated through case studies, references, testimonials, project plans, timelines, brief resumes of key team members, and other types of evidence. Imagine your prospects/customers thinking "are they an expert in their field and do they understand and have insights into my business to help me achieve my goals?"

Risk - the potential for wasting time and/or money, etc. - is always present. Risk can be minimized by guarantees/warranties like service level agreements, risk-sharing plans, free trial periods, providing good references from similar customers and showing a big potential reward.

Read Tom's post, Calculating Trust, here.