“If people like you, they’ll listen to you. But if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” –Zig Ziglar
If you look at the history of money, from barter to the development of currency, all exchanges “of equal value” throughout history are based on trust.
We used sea shells, gemstones, and gold as currency because people attached value to them, and they were only as valuable as the trust people put in them. Even today, the most popular and widely used currencies, the Euro and the US Dollar, are printed by government bodies that people trust.
When trust is broken in even one of the factors that establish this trust, the value of that currency decreases. In a nutshell, the whole landscape of business and the economy is founded on trust.
Even when we talk about content marketing online and on social media, we talk about page rankings, algorithms, and SEO, but how are contents ranked on search engines? Contents that are trusted by the audience, or are deemed trustworthy, are the ones that rank high in Google searches.
Every meaningful relationship is dealt with trust. And like communication, it is best if it is a two-way thing. In the same way you would want others to trust you, others also need you to trust them for a relationship, whether business or personal, to be a harmonious and enriching one.
Despite being the most fundamental principle in relationships, trust is the hardest to build, especially in corporate settings. Over the decades, trust in large corporations and institutions has declined. There are several reasons, but it boils down to a lack of commitment to values that foster trust: humility, transparency, authenticity, and consistency.
As leaders, upholding these values is important.
In business, without trust, no matter how groundbreaking and life-changing your product or service is, others will hesitate to do business with you.
How can you build a strong currency of trust in your business?
“Be cohesive in your dealings. Trust built on and from mutual support, facilitating communication, and encouraging coordination can be rewarding.” –Ogwo David Emenike
It takes humility in your interactions; accountability, honesty, and transparency in your business processes; consistency with your vision and mission; the way your business executes deals and transactions; and authenticity in the way you communicate to build trust. It should be seen in all aspects of your business, and it begins with you.
Thank you for reading A Brilliant Tribe.
