Trust-Building Elements for Selling Professionals

by: Rob Reed

Because trust plays an important role in the buy/sell environment, it can be helpful to know what comes before trust in the relationship between buyer and seller.

A recent research study identified four possible pre-trust elements:

Ethics — Conducting business with honesty and using good business practices, such as high quality products or services, high-value prices, and a high standard of customer service. Ethics may consist of organizational policies or individual moral values.

Bonding — Conducting an individualized and value-added relationship over a long period of time. May include feelings of friendship.

Empathy — The ability to see a situation from another person’s perspective.

Reciprocity — Providing favors or making allowances in return for similar favors or allowances.

In the model constructed by the authors of the study, each of these elements plays a role in developing trust. If you wonder why your interaction with one of your buyers hasn’t developed into a trusting relationship, perhaps one of these elements has been missing.