Here is the second of three parts of understanding The Trust Equation. (Part 1 appears in our earlier blog.)
A few ways to enhance Reliability:
Make specific commitments to your client around small things (e.g. finding information on topic discussed by Monday) and delivering on it, quietly and on-time.
- Send meeting materials in advance.
- Make sure meetings have clear goals, not just agendas, and ensure goals are met.
- Use the client’s terminology.
- Review agendas with client before meetings. They should have a say in how the time will be spent.
- Reconfirm scheduled events before they happen.
INTIMACY
Intimacy and self-orientation are the most effective source of differentiation in trustworthiness. People trust those with whom they are willing to talk about difficult agendas (intimacy), and those who demonstrate that they care (low self-orientation).
Intimacy is needed to make a connection to the interior, emotional state of the client. It does not mean that private lives necessarily get shared. What it does mean is that things personal, related to the issues at hand, get shared. Intimacy is about emotional closeness concerning the issues at hand. It’s a game of mutually increasing risk. One party offers a piece of himself or herself and the other party either responds (deepening intimacy) or they don’t (drawing an intimacy line). Trying to establish intimacy too soon in the client relationship can backfire. It is the scariest part of trust because it is about who we are more than any other aspect of trust. It requires courage. Many assume intimacy takes the longest to develop but when done well, it is potentially the least time dependent.
A few ways to enhance Intimacy:
Ask questions they haven’t previously heard from an integrated marketing firm.
- When step out to create intimacy, make sure you give the client a way not to answer.
- Practice phrasing. Think or even write down 2 or 3 ways to ask a difficult question.
- Don’t overrate the downside risk. Is saying something going to risk the business or just put us in a place of personal discomfort?
- One of you has to make the first move. It should be you!
SELF-ORIENTATION
There is no greater source of distrust than account service people who appear to be more interested in themselves than in trying to be of service to the client.
Self-orientation covers anything that keeps us from focusing on our client. Things like a desire to jump to the solution, a desire to always be right, fear of not knowing what to do or say next, fear of rejection, etc. can keep us preoccupied with our own agenda and it will directly reduce trust.
Clients recognize excessive self-orientation through such things as:
A tendency to relate stories to ourselves
- A need to finish the clients sentences for them
- A need to fill empty spaces in conversations
- An inability to provide a direct answer to a direct question.
- An unwillingness to say we don’t know
- Name dropping
- Always wanting to have the last word.
- Putting forth ideas on solutions before fully understanding the client’s situation.
A few ways to demonstrate low self-orientation:
Let the client fill the empty spaces in conversations.
- Ask the client to talk about what’s behind an issue.
- Use open-ended questions.
- Focus on defining the problem, not guessing the solution.
- Reflective listening, summarizing what we’ve heard to make sure we heard correctly what was said and intended.
- Saying you don’t know when you don’t know.
- Taking most of the responsibility for failed communications.
- Think about how you would help your client if you were completely responsible for this person’s future success. Make their concerns your concerns.
- Be honest with yourself. If you have little interest in the work, it is almost inevitable that you will focus more on yourself.
Low self-orientation is all about the intensity of your commitment to help your client.
The final part of understanding The Trust Equation will appear in our next Blog. Watch this space! For more information email us at info@gatewaycareers.co.uk, call us on 0845 0035.