Chapter 21
Accelerating Trust
It is often said that trust takes time, yet that is largely myth. In many ways, people form perceptions, trusting and nontrusting, with shocking speed. This chapter addresses how to help both you and your partner form quick, high-trust assessments of each other, which lay the foundation for more trust in the future.
At our Being a Trusted Advisor and Trust-Based Selling programs, participants are asked early on about the one big thing they want from their time with us. Invariably at least a quarter of people in the room will say something along the lines of “I need tools for building trust faster,” and the rest usually nod their heads in vigorous agreement.
How many of these situations can you relate to?
- “We recently lost a key account manager, Ingrid, and I’ve been tasked with taking over her multimillion-dollar account. The primary client is Sara, a CFO with a reputation of being hard on her consultants. Sara had a lot of respect for Ingrid, and rumor has it she’s not at all happy that Ingrid has moved elsewhere. How do I win Sara over quickly so we don’t lose the momentum we’ve gained?”
- “I’m managing a technology implementation project with some really tight deadlines. The leader of the group of users, Amal, has some strong concerns about the project. We can’t afford to miss a beat with him. How can we be sure to get off on the right foot—and stay on it?
Insight: Does Trust Take Time?1
Researchers tell us that the propensity to trust can ...
