STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Business

• DOW FALLS 128: Stocks end wild session mixed
• Business Buzz: October 7
• TAX SECRETS: Multiple owners, multiple problems?

Share and Enjoy [?]

If there’s one thing Joe Healey and I know, it’s that when our wives get together there’s no need for Joe and I to talk. Our wives have enough words for everybody!

It’s fun to watch Jill and Sheryl in action. They never really end a conversation, it’s more of a continuation of the preceding one.

While they don’t see each other often, they seem to have this unique bond. This special chemistry.

Perhaps it’s because they also have for one another a high level of trust.

And that’s a topic, Joe and I like to yak about.

Joe is a talented guy and a good friend. He has extensive experience as a banker and entrepreneur. And, one of Joe’s clients, CCG/FASTER, a software/solution company, recently named Joe their part-time CEO.

He’s also a speaker and author, (“Radical Trust: How Today’s Great Leaders Convert People to Partners”)

Excerpts from our conversation:

Jeff Blackman: Joe, define “trust.”

Joe Healey: Trust is the most important element of any relationship, sales, management/leadership, personal. With it, everything moves faster. Without it, everything is slower and more complicated.

Here’s an example:

When a sales rep has trust with a client, the sales process or cycle is less complicated and often shorter.

CCG/FASTER was finalizing the details on a million dollar sale. Along the way, there were lots of complexities and frustrations. Especially with our customer’s procurement negotiator. He felt obligated to play “hard-ball” in an attempt to squeeze us for significant discounts.

However, since our people operate with such a high level of trust, other members of our customers’ team, told us, they had already decided we were the preferred choice.

They also shared, the next closest bidder had inflated prices. We were transparent with our pricing and value and validated all we do.

Initially, “Mr. Negotiator” insisted our support pricing had to be at 10 percent instead of the total investment, versus the standard 20 percent.

Thankfully, we finalized the terms and had the agreement approved. And “Mr. Negotiator” apologized for his aggressive, unreasonable, tough-guy tactics.

Unfortunately, we encounter this often. Because our competitors are selling manipulative transactions, instead of long-term partnerships and alliances.

JB: How is trust a competitive weapon?

JH: It lets you deal with real issues. Fast! When prospects trust you, they buy sooner.

With management or leadership, “trust” creates engagement or involvement, extra effort, the desire to go above and beyond, and the willingness to pursue risk and innovation without fear of reprisal or consequences.

To build trust, there are four key competencies:

1. Character Trust: (some call this emotional quotient); 2. Execution Trust: (how well you fulfill promises); 3. Communication Trust: (how well you communicate); 4. Loyalty Trust: (how much others are willing to invest in a relationship with you.) JB: What’s ‘radical trust’ and how do you create it?

JH: It’s a level of trust so high, that a sales person or manager delivers unprecedented levels of cooperation.

We earn trust, when people believe in:

— Who we are (character trust)

— What we do (execution trust)

— What we say (communication trust)

Next week, how to recover and rebuild lost trust, the role of trust in our personal and professional lives and how to create high levels of trust within your company.

Until then, head your trusty fingers and eyeballs to www.joehealey.com/trust-model.html

---

Jeff Blackman is a speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer who lives part-time on Marco Island. His clients call him a “business-growth specialist.” Send an e-mail to jeff@jeffblackman.com or go to www.jeffblackman.com to subscribe to his free e-letter.