You’ve hit it off with the potential client, you’ve had the discovery chat, you’ve proposed next steps… and now you’re waiting. What can you do to build more trust after the initial conversation?

In this series of 3 articles, I am exploring the question: How can we be intentional about building trust in business?

In Part 1, I introduced concepts from some top ‘trust thinkers’ and described what I have found to work before the business conversation with a potential new client. In Part 2, we looked at what works in building trust during the conversation.

We can’t overlook what needs to be done to maintain and build on that trust following the exploratory conversation… so in the final article of the series, I highlight what my favourite consulting experts have taught me about what to do afterwards.

Intentional Trust-Building in Business Part 3: AFTER the conversation

The ‘waiting time’ after your initial discussion and before the final sign-off from the client is often when we feel least in control of the outcome, but the way you approach this time can set you up for a trust-built, long-term relationship.

1. Immediate Follow-up: Hopefully you and your prospective client committed to some follow-up steps before you left the discovery meeting… but if not, this should be done right away. By guiding your prospect step-by-step (send the overview document of what you talked about, clearly explain the next step and when you’d like to see that happen), you are building trust as the expert who can advise the best path forward.

2. Move from ‘nurture’ to ‘lead’: One of the corporate experts I rate the most highly is U.S.-based Angelique Rewers, who keeps the focus on the consultant or professional service provider’s ability to guide outcomes for clients. She says that the follow-up period is not the time to ‘nurture’ the relationship through continuing to send free content and helpful hints! At this stage – and particularly with busy corporate and SME clients – your aim should be to move them forward making decisions on the solutions you’ve proposed, having already demonstrated the value in doing so.

3. Stay in your power: Another wonderful U.S. coach to consultants and service providers, Leah Neaderthal, also warns against continuing to give away free stuff while you wait for a response, and suggests you use the time more wisely by ‘filling your pipeline’ with other potential clients through your business development plan. She also gives a great tip: re-use proposal content for others you are in discussion with where you need to re-energise or re-inspire the conversation – e.g. ‘I’ve recently put together this plan for a different client and I think it would be a great fit for what we talked about. Shall we make a time to discuss?’

For me, the greatest lessons have been in how to direct my time, energy and communication after the discovery chat, because this is often the difference between a new client and never hearing from that person again – no matter how great the initial conversation! Furthermore, the feeling of personal empowerment you can generate by focusing on what you can and should do at this stage helps create confident and positive vibes that really do keep the ball rolling attracting new business!

In this series of 3 articles, I am exploring the question: How can we be intentional about building trust in business?

In Part 1 I introduced concepts from some top thinkers in the areas of trust-building in business, and I listed out the key steps to get right before the business conversation with a new prospect, in light of what my experience has taught me works best. Here in Part 2, let’s turn to what works in building trust during the conversation.

Intentional Trust-Building in Business Part 2: DURING the conversation

Often, you only get one chance to get in front of the decision-maker for a potential new client. What you do in that 30-60 minutes can make all the difference. It can feel like a lot of pressure, and yet it’s vital to bring clarity and confidence to these conversations, letting the prospect know they are in expert hands.

I have found that becoming skilled at business development conversations with corporate clients is a personal process of deep learning and reflection, in order to find what works for you. Put simply, these are the key components I have found to be important in building trust during the conversation:

1. Taking time to connect: We are human beings first, so having a simple and honest way to get to know each other, find commonalities and build rapport is an important first step. Rather than have a standard set of ‘ice-breaker’ questions, I like to use my knowledge or research on that person to open with a question that is relevant to them and interesting to talk about; I then find the most important key to connecting is to really listen.
2. Coming in with clarity: It’s vital to have a loose structure for where you want the conversation to go and to ensure you gain the valuable information you need to create a true solution-fit for the potential client. This structure should be simple enough to follow in a natural conversation, rather than being too detailed, so you can allow connection and flow in the exploration of business issues. To me, it’s not about a sales pitch on what I do, but an exchange. Having said that, it is necessary to have a confident and succinct way to talk about how your approach and offerings may help! Your structure should also include clear next steps for each party to commit to, following the meeting.
3. Focused on needs and value: To ensure that neither party feels the chat was ‘nice’ but largely a waste of time, focus on understanding the client’s needs and providing value, right from that first exploratory conversation (and every exchange to follow). This doesn’t mean trying to give them all the answers for free in your first chat! I recently heard a sales expert say that a conversation that creates value for your prospect is one that moves them one step further along in solving a business problem – including moving closer to a decision on whether to work with you.

When it comes to business development conversations, I have learned that you can be human, authentic and genuinely interested in helping the client get the best outcome… and at the same time be purposeful and structured in your approach. After all, the prospect knows why you are having the conversation, and wants the discussion to be useful in moving towards a business solution. Having clarity on how you will approach the conversation will give you confidence in delivery… and the best outcomes for both of you.

In Part 3, I will discuss what I know to work in building further trust after the sales conversation, in order to begin a great working relationship with a new client.

On their web page entitled, Why We Study Trust, Edelman answers this question by stating their belief that ‘Trust is the ultimate currency’. This organisation has proven this point year after year, through the global findings of the Edelman Trust Barometer.

“If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you they will do business with you.” – Zig Ziglar

How can we be intentional about building trust in business?

I recently listened to a podcast episode by Cindy Watson, a negotiations expert, on designing your negotiation process to build trust with your business prospect. Unsurprisingly, so much of this was about adequate preparation – and not just in terms of research and formulating great questions – but in taking time to deeply understand yourself, your fears and your motivations, so that you are able to change your mindset and approach your negotiations from a ‘balanced state’.

Cindy also discusses planning the negotiation process carefully and challenges her audience to ask themselves, ‘What are my next steps?’

In this series of articles, I will outline some of the steps that I have used successfully before, during and after the sales conversation to build trust and win great clients. Let’s start with Part 1: what to do before the meeting to start building trust right away.

Intentional Trust-Building in Business Part 1: BEFORE the conversation

There’s plenty to work on before you even approach an exploratory business conversation, to help build trust with new potential clients! Robert Cialdini calls this ‘Pre-Suasion’ (and offers in-depth research findings on subtle actions that make a difference, in his book by the same title).

For me – I like to keep it simple, strategic and transparent. These are the big things to get right before your conversation, in my view:

1. Your online presence – are you building trust right from when someone Googles you? (And they will – even if you have been introduced!) Does your website and LinkedIn bio clearly position you in terms of value to a particular audience, and prove your credibility?
2. Your first words introducing yourself (e.g. via email or on the phone) – are you keeping it simple and clear, focusing on what you do, for whom, and the results this achieves? Your introduction should be brief because you recognise the other person does not care to read an essay about someone they don’t know… and should be directly relevant to this person, because they need to see why they should stop their day to arrange an appointment with you.
3. Your purpose for meeting – have you made it clear, to yourself and your contact, why you are going to have this conversation? What is the intended outcome for each party? I find being transparent and thinking win-win are the keys to booking great meetings.
4. Get present before you engage – I 100% agree with Cindy that you need to really know yourself and approach your business conversations from a balanced state. This, to me, means taking time to get grounded, get centred – taking some deep breaths and setting my intention for the energy I want to bring to the meeting – so that I can be truly present with the person, generous with my listening, and calmly confident in my responses.

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 – what I have found to work in building trust during and after the sales conversation, towards embarking on a great working relationship with a new client.

Develop your spoken introduction and your 1-pager that nails what you do and why it matters

By far the biggest area of interest in enquiries from professional services teams is getting help crafting strong professional value statements and building confidence in using them.

Why a ‘professional value statement’?

Your professional value statement consists of a very short statement (preferably one sentence) that sums up what you do, who for, and why it matters. Your statement is most often used in spoken and emailed introductions where you have to get the point of your work across quickly and impactfully. It can also be extended with a 1-page document summarising the key aspects of your work and your credibility in the industry.

Some call it an introduction or an elevator pitch, but a better term is professional value statement, personal value statement, or employee value statement. These more elegant terms point to the need to understand the value that we bring in our work… and this has a far greater impact on building trust with customers and stakeholders than a generic sales pitch!

When everyone in the organisation has a personalised and thoughtfully-crafted go-to statement that they feel authentically speaks to what’s most important about their work, they are much more likely to use it to help build the business.

The process of crafting your professional value statement

While I help people every day to create and use impactful professional value statements, working on my own has been the biggest challenge. It’s so much harder to make ideas clear and succinct to others when they are about you! I have spent countless hours crafting and evolving mine, and I feel that my current statement is able to quickly point to the benefits and direction of my work, which are not otherwise very tangible or easy to pigeon-hole.

One piece of content that leads with my professional value statement and has really assisted in providing a snapshot of my work in email introductions has been my 1-pager capability statement. This is a 1-page .pdf containing:

• My name and role title
• A photo of me
• My professional value statement (1 sentence, highlighted)
• Key practice areas
• Key clients
• Key speaking engagements
• Contact details.

What you include in your one-pager will be different according to your focus and audience. For some, establishing credibility will be more about listing formal credentials than speaking engagements, for example.

Here is the top fold of my 1-pager, showing my one-sentence professional values statement (this is how I introduce my work in-person, too):

You’ve prepared your introduction for networking events… but does your listener care about what you’re saying?

Perhaps your introduction is boring and lacks impact… just your name and your role title that means little to anyone else.

Or you are rambling on but not really saying anything.

Or worst of all – your practised ‘elevator pitch’ feels like an unwanted sales call to the poor person you’ve cornered at networking drinks.

What your audience cares about comes first

While you may not know what matters specifically to the person you meet networking, you can still prepare a thoughtful introduction by understanding what generally gets people to listen and connect with your work, and by knowing what human beings generally need in order to enjoy an exchange with someone new!

When it comes to articulating value, what you personally care about matters – but it matters mostly to YOU. Your listener needs to hear something that makes them listen – something that matters to THEM.

Let me give you an example from my photography business days… As a photographer, I spent a lot of effort and training learning to ‘get it right in the camera’ – using equipment, techniques and knowledge of how light works on the subject, to ensure the photos were as close to perfect as I could achieve, before I got to editing on Photoshop. I was proud of this – it’s how I was taught to practice photography at university – to honour the art of working with the camera itself. But this was more about my lack of interest in digital arts and not wanting to spend any more time than necessary at the computer, because I’d rather be on location, shooting. At the end of the day, the client didn’t care whether I ‘got it right in the camera’ or spent hours Photoshopping – they just wanted great photos (and a great experience).

Knowing that the client’s number one interest was receiving photos of themselves that they loved, and that number two was enjoying and feeling uplifted by the experience of the photoshoot, I had to lead with this in my brand communication. Yet, so many ‘old school’ photographers miss this in their communications – even during the actual shoot, where they spend so much time fiddling with the camera and lighting that the client grows increasingly tired and nervous, ignored and waiting.

If you want your target audience to really listen when you introduce your work, think like a good photographer – think about their experience, not yours. That means keeping it short, clear and human – no fancy terms, no sales speak, no monologues or memorised sales pitch. Just say what you do, for whom, and to what end – that is, what it achieves for them. That’s all… then pause and allow for space for questions!

The number 1 thing holding professionals back in business development (and how to overcome it)

In my April webinar for FINSIA on ‘Network-building plans for finance professionals in the new normal’, I outlined the key problems I see professional advisors stumble on when it comes to their business and relationship development. Some of the stumbling blocks I hear all the time from financial advisors, bankers, accountants, lawyers and other professionals include:

• It’s hard to connect and build trust when so much of what we are doing is online
• I/my team lack confidence in positioning and introducing what we do and ‘why us’
• Networking events are hit-and-miss
• Coffee meetings lack purpose and there’s no follow through
• It’s hard to stay top of mind and be referred often, even by happy clients
• It’s hard to stay focused on business development and networking activities when we are so busy doing the work

While many resonate with these and more, there is one thing that holds professionals back in business development more than anything… and this was reflected in the poll results during our webinar, when we asked 130+ participants what they were struggling with most – and found that for the majority, it was the lack of a clear plan.

Even where many responded that a lack of commitment and accountability from staff was a factor – the vast majority cited the lack of a clear plan as the main problem – and in fact, this lack of planning has a flow-on effect to a lack of confidence in business development and networking, which manifests in a lack of commitment and accountability from staff.

What does a clear BD plan look like for professional services?

There is so much information out there about how professional advisors should network, do sales, use LinkedIn… but this can lead to overwhelm and lack of clarity about what really makes sense for your ‘trusted advisor’ brand, and what really moves the needle in your business. That’s why it’s important to seek advice from specialists who have deep experience with clients in professional services – because the approach is specific to them – and can even vary considerably between different sectors, such as between accounting and finance, for example.

“There is so much information out there about how professional advisors should network, do sales, use LinkedIn… but this can lead to overwhelm and lack of clarity about what really makes sense for your ‘trusted advisor’ brand…”

Here’s a snapshot of the planning format I offered to FINSIA members in the webinar (and you can watch the full recording below for templates and examples).

Step 1. Be clear on exact business development goals (e.g. 3 new clients worth $X in the next month; 1 new key referral partner in the next two months). Once you have your targets, think about how you have achieved similar targets in the past – how many conversations or touchpoints were needed to build that trusted relationship? If you know exactly how many and what kinds of conversations you need to have to get those new clients, you then know what work needs to be done, by when, to reach your goals.

Step 2. Plot your relationship-building flow chart. How do you guide people from first contact (such as a LinkedIn connection or meeting at a networking event) through to working relationship? Brainstorm the key steps and what activities need to be completed at each step. You should also be thinking about creating a suite of resources to support these steps, such as email templates for introductions and a meeting planner with key questions you need to ask. These resources should be informed by what you know makes sense and works with your clients/contacts, and what aligns with your brand.

Step 3. Be strategic in choosing supporting networking activities. With limited time, your networking activities should be focused and well-planned, to get the most out of a few key actions. Be clear who you want to network with and where they are, and choose meaningful events and experiences that move you towards those all-important 1-on-1 conversations. Ensure you have action steps in place before, during and after networking activities/events, in order to leverage them fully.

WATCH THE WEBINAR BELOW: