Building Trust in Business Relationships

In a society filled with Super Committee failures, rampant Ponzi schemes, continual terror threats and pervasive identity theft, you may rightfully be tempted to ask, “Whom can I trust?”

The truth is, trust is a rare thing — especially in business today. In fact, a 2011 GfK Corporate Trust Survey indicates that “distrust of corporations remains high among American consumers three-plus years after the nation’s financial crisis, with a majority (64%) saying it’s harder for U.S. companies to gain their trust today than it was a few years ago.”

It seems faith in our economy, and perhaps our society as a whole, is faltering these days.  It’s up to us to turn things around.

Here are a few things we, America’s business managers and owners, can do to help build and maintain a sense of trust:

Listen. Effective listening involves much more than just “not talking.” It requires understanding, empathy, training and practice to master. When you meet with a client or customer, let him or her tell the story. Put yourself in the client’s shoes as he or she shares concerns, purpose, vision and needs. Focus on taking in information and suspend judgments.

Speak with candor. Clients value honesty when dealing with any type of salesperson or service provider. Train everyone in your organization to be straightforward in business dealings — about what will and won’t work when it comes to the products and/or services you provide. Whether the news is good or bad, people will trust you more when you are consistently honest.

Demonstrate concern. From a client’s perspective, genuine concern is a critical element in maintaining trust. Instead of listening only for what you can solve, listen to what is truly important to your client.

Live up to your commitments. Create detailed action plans for the commitments you make to your clients — then do what you say you’re going to do. Make “under-promise and over-deliver” your business mantra. If you say you will be there for a client, honor that commitment at all costs.

Leverage your successes. Use referrals, endorsements and testimonials to help you establish credibility and build trust with prospects. Ask your best client to write a testimonial detailing his or her experiences with you, or create a customer case study that demonstrates your reliability. Develop a list of referrals you can provide to prospects, so that they can learn from satisfied clients how trustworthy you are.

While living out these principles in your daily business is no small task, it’s worth the effort. Over the long term, you will foster solid working relationships that are built on trust — an invaluable source of competitive commitment to building and maintaining trust in your business relationships.

Snelling Staffing Services – A Partner You Can Trust
For more than 60 years, American businesses have trusted Snelling to:

• find the right candidates;
• effectively manage people problems;
• develop creative ways to improve productivity, reduce risks and save both money and time;
• and provide exceptional talent to capitalize on new opportunities.
 
These aren’t just “feel good” claims – they’re the way we’ve earned our clients’ trust, by consistently delivering workforce solutions that improve staffing return on investment.
 
About Snelling:
Snelling is a full-service workforce solutions provider serving temporary, contract and direct-hire staffing needs. For more information, contact Snelling at www.snelling.com.

You may contact your local Snelling at www.snelling.com/odessa. In Odessa, Snelling Staffing is located at 4001 Penbrook, Suite 1002. Call 432-367-7066 or email them at snelling@snellingodessa.com. In Midland, Snelling Staffing is located at 1031 Andrews Highway, Suite 111. Their phone number is 432-520-6140/432-699-4799.

NOW OPEN: NEW MIDLAND OFFICE

1031 Andrews Highway
Suite 111
Midland, TX 79701
432-520-6140

Snelling Wishes All a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!