Whether you are a salesperson, a manager, a leader or a colleague – It is crucial to learn how to build and gain trust to get others to want to work with you. When people feel they can trust you and what you have to say, they are happy to work with you. If your goal is to sell more or have employees / colleagues feel comfortable talking to you and working with / for you, then building trust first is key. Trust is a key skill in leadership and management, communication skills, and advanced selling.
Here are 8 ways you can build trust:
1. Follow through on what you say
One of the best ways to build trust is to follow through with what you have promised. If you have said you are going to do something, do it! False promises or breaking a promise will cause others not to trust you in the future. If you are asked to complete a task for example, and you know you will not be able to complete it in time, be honest and upfront and explain why not. Even if you cannot complete something it still shows honestly which others will appreciate.
2. Communicate effectively with others
Whether you are communicating through email or in person, it’s important to make sure you are professional and understandable, so you send the right message. It’s important to notice what kind of tone you are setting especially as this will determine how they react to what you are saying.
3. Be honest
A good way to build trust is to always be honest, even if it’s something that hasn’t gone to plan. Honestly builds trust and helps with open communication.
4. Get to know others
By showing a genuine interest in others, it builds rapport and in turn trust. You might find out one person works better in a team, whilst another works better independently.
5. Admit to your mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes at some point, to move forward and resolve the mistake it is important to first be honest and admit to others what you have done. This will create a trust and they will recognise you as an honest person. It is also important to rectify your mistakes and show you are ready to act by coming up with solutions.
6. Value others
It is important to show others you value them, their knowledge, skills, custom etc. When others feel genuinely valued by you, they trust you more. For example if a customers knows how much you value them and their business, they will be more willing to offer repeat business and refer you to others – as they trust you.
7. Give a helping hand
Helping out others is a great way to gain their trust. If you have noticed an employee has taken on a lot of tasks recently and you think they may be struggling, offer them a helping hand to make it easier for them. When you are showing kindness, you are letting others know they can trust you.
8. Gradually build trust
It’s important to understand that trust isn’t built overnight, and can take some time, so don’t push people, as it may have the opposite effect and cause distrust instead. Be consistent, patience and genuine and show you are willing to wait for their trust.
Here is a video on building trust in the workplace:
If you are interested in sales training courses, communication skills training courses, or leadership and management courses please contact Sales Training International on +44 (0) 1704 889325 or email info@salestrainingint.com for more information.
