Have you ever had that sinking feeling that your client—or your hopefully prospective client—is being less than honest with you? Maybe they haven’t returned that call. The last three email exchanges have been one-way. They haven’t mentioned that meeting they were so eager about just last month. They’re talking constrained budgets. Is it possible your […]
Those of you following US presidential politics have been treated to a truly unique process this year. The role of the personal, of perceived character – and trustworthiness in particular – hasn’t been this central in decades. The Trust Equation provides a simple way of articulating the several elements of trustworthiness: Credibility, Reliability, Intimacy and Self-orientation. […]
I have known Dave Stein for many years. He’s an expert in the sales field, particularly in evaluating sales training. He has always been a clear and incisive thinker, with opinions as well-grounded in data as they are in thoughtfulness. His new book, with Steve Andersen, is called Beyond the Sales Process: 12 Proven Strategies […]
You know the phrase, “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” It’s short for empathy, understanding them so well you can intuit what it feels like to take a long walk—wearing their footwear, no less. Let’s adapt that idea to selling. What if you could understand your client so well that you could intuit how […]
The Associated Press decided to drop the term “illegal immigrant” from its reporting. Their point: the term ‘illegal’ should be applied to actions, but not to persons. It’s the immigration equivalent of, “hate the game, not the player.” Of course, that’s red meat to a lion for some. Senator John McCain said, “You can call it whatever […]
Like trust, integrity is something we all talk about, meaning many different things, but always assuming that everyone else means just what we do. That leads to some vagueness and confusion. But a careful examination of how we use the words in common language is useful. Integrity and the Dictionary Merriam Webster says it’s “the quality […]
The hardest thing about describing Trust-based Selling to Americans is the idea that the first step in selling has nothing to do with selling. They just don’t get it. Maybe this will help. Jim Peterson—lawyer, accountant, former newspaper columnist, blogger—told me this delightful story about himself. I’m an American, and had moved to Paris as […]
Are you having trouble with scheduled client meetings getting blown off? For example: your progress update meeting with the client is scheduled for an hour, starting at 11AM. You’re hopeful it might extend to a lunch invitation. 11AM comes and goes, and the client is still in a meeting. Word comes from the client’s AA […]
John Blakey is a UK-based author, speaker and executive coach. He just came out with a new book, The Trusted Executive. In this issue of Trust Matters, I chat with him about the book, and about his view of trust. John, welcome to Trust Matters. You’ve got a new book out – The Trusted Executive. […]
Too often trust is thought of as a nice-to-have but vaguely soft, squishy, liberal sort of relationship thingy. Not often enough do we realize it also holds the key to reducing costs and time, and to fostering innovation and new value creation. It also mitigates risk. It’s true: trust is highly profitable. Consider how Warren Buffett […]