RAB Trust Tool

Trust is the foundation of any relationship. On Friday, we shared our experience of last week's Leadership MasterClass coaching call and the Marketing With Purpose playbook from Microsoft. You'll find it by clicking here.

Jack Myers publishes the Myers Report Survey of Advertisers . In a recent version of that study, they found that trust was ranked as the number one attribute for clients when working with salespeople. Due to the importance of trust in building solid, long-lasting relationships with clients, we created an acronym and a new RAB tool for the word trust.

T — Transparency: Your clients and prospects deserve the straight story — no spin.

Things change, mistakes happen and sometimes with the best intentions, strategies fail to deliver. When they do, don't sugarcoat it or try to spin it in a favorable light. Tell the truth — even the ugly truth, and work with the client to make the appropriate adjustments.

R — Responsibility: Behavior — not words — mean the most.

Take responsibility for your actions. This can be as simple as showing up for appointments on time, making calls when you said you would call or more complex follow-up on campaign attribution, recaps, etc. If you commit, take responsibility for it and follow through. When mistakes happen, (and they will) admit them immediately and take action to create solutions.

U — Understand: It's our job to understand our clients and prospects.

Running a business today is more complex than it ever has been. The more you can demonstrate that you understand your client's unique challenges, the more likely they will be to buy from you. People buy from us because we understand their unique challenges and help them see opportunities.

S — Service: Super-serve your clients to demonstrate their value to you.

You can never maintain a long-term competitive advantage based solely on product and price. What you do beyond the product — your service — will set you apart.

T — Truth: Be truthful in all interactions.

Truth is the foundation of trust. In the other areas of trust-building, there is likely some latitude and room for mistakes, but when it comes to truth, a single lie or misrepresentation can kill a relationship.

If you'd like this in a simple easy-to-read PDF, send an email here and ask for the RAB Trust Tool.

Happy Monday!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.