You’re walking down the street at 10:30pm, and bump into a man who politely introduces himself. In a deep voice, he asks you if you’d like a free watch…
He explains that it’s in fact a real Rolex, and has the papers to prove it.
He’s dressed well, and, you can see the watch is in its original box.
Do you take it?
Of course, most don’t. It’s dark out, it might be stolen, you aren’t supposed to speak to strangers, and why would he give a Rolex to you?
To create change, implement an idea, sell your service, or even give something away, trust is key.
And for most small businesses, no amount of discounting, hype or advertising is going to help you, if you don’t have trust.
So what can we do?
- Be consistent – if we met the man each day for three months, his consistency alone would help to build trust.
- Tell our story – knowing the man’s story and the story behind the Rolex helps us to make sense of the situation.
- Contribute value – by consistently and generously bringing value, we see good intent, and we trust good intent.
- By showing context – What’s happening behind the scenes? Where was he before this? What does he like to eat? Often, context can help build trust.
- Understand physiology – how we speak, dress, act and show up all significantly impact how much we are trusted.
If things are slow, it’s not necessarily about becoming louder, faster or more forceful – it’s often figuring out how to be more human, more patient and more relevant.
