The Trust Funnel

Trust is HUGE in business.  It is fundamental to even being considered by a prospect. In an age of limitless choices, if you aren't trustworthy, a prospect can always find someone who is. There is no quicker way to scare off a customer than to give the impression that you cannot be trusted. If a prospect senses the least bit of inconsistency in your words or duplicitous intentions in your demeanor, the opportunity is dead. If you can't be trusted, you might as well not even play the game.

But trust is about more than intention, isn't it? If you have the best of intentions but don't follow through with your promises, are you not still untrustworthy? Stephen MR Covey, in his book The Speed of Trust, lays out four components of trust: integrity, intention, capabilities, and results. Yes, customers are not going to want to do business with you if you are a liar (integrity), if you aren't looking out for their best interests (intention), or if you don't have the necessary skills (capabilities) to do the job. But, when it's all said and done, what really matters to the people making a financial investment in you? That's right: the results.

Do you keep your promises? That's the differentiator. Anyone can make a commitment. The difference is actually being able to keep the commitment. If you can't deliver, you aren't trustworthy. Customers, rightly so, want return on investment; not empty promises. You can have great integrity, intentions, and capabilities, but if you aren't producing the results your customers are looking for, you will not be considered trustworthy.

The problem is that, of the four elements Covey points out, results is the only one (assuming you are part of an organization) over which you don't have complete control. You control your integrity. You are the master of your intentions. You are the developer of your own capabilities. And, though you may be responsible for the results, you are not the only contributor to them. Your team (or supplier network) puts the product or service into your hand, and you merely pass it on to the client. To be able to build trust with clients, you have to be able to trust your team. Enter the trust funnel.

The trust funnel consists of everyone who touches the product or service before it gets into your hands. You must have a great amount of trust in the people before you in order to build trust with the people after you. Did engineering design your product appropriately? Did manufacturing assemble your product appropriately? Did marketing advertise your product appropriately? All of these elements contribute to the expectations of your customers when you sell them what you are offering. Whether or not you can be trusted really boils down to whether or not your people can be trusted.

Do you trust your team? Do you trust your suppliers? Do you trust the people putting the product into your hands? If not, I recommend getting out of that organization. Your customers cannot trust you to produce results for them if you cannot trust your team to produce results for you.