Building Trust

How would you like it if your clients viewed you with suspicion, expecting that you will disappoint them, and that you will value your own interests above theirs?  

These are typical associations central to the issue of mistrust. It is probably trite to say it, but clients work with professionals whom they trust. The degree to which one party trusts another is a function of the belief in the honesty, reliability, or integrity of another party. To trust someone is to believe that the person will do what is expected. The typical definition of trust contains the following elements:

• Willingness of one party to rely on the actions of another party;
• An expectation that a person will behave in a way beneficial to the other; and
• The absence of enforcement or control over actions performed.

Trust then has less to do with blind adherence to compliance systems or mechanisms and more to do with an innate sense of doing what is right by the client. Furthermore by behaving in a way that creates trust you create more leverage for your reputation and your own adviser business in the form of:

• Social Influence: The more people trust you the greater your opportunity to influence or persuade them;
• Social Capital: The more people trust you the greater the likelihood that they will openly exchange information and to act with care towards you; and
• Economic Lubricant: The more people trust you the more likely they will be to coöperate with you and seek to further business activities with you leading to a reduction in the cost of transactions.

Clearly, there are benefits to building a trust-based relationship with your clients. My experience has been that very little is taught in any financial planner program about building trust. I would argue that whilst being a key element of any adviser’s success, it is also one of the least understood aspects of any adviser’s business strategy. The following points may offer some clues about where to start building trust in your client relationships.

1. Calibrate Expectations

Living up to the expectations you create helps your clients to take you at your word, so it is important from the get-go that you create reasonable expectations with your client: Clearly define exactly what you will do and what is included in your service and what is not. Explain your process, your strategy, and the client’s role. Think through and discuss potential pitfalls with your client. Nothing disturbs the trust of a client more than when something unexpected happens.

2. Show a sincere interest

We trust people who genuinely care about us, and have our best interest at heart. Show that you care in an authentic way. Behave in a way that your words match the message. When the other person hears one thing in your words but your tone of voice, body language and facial expressions say something else, you create discord and suspicion. Avoid making the client feel stupid. If clients feel that you patronize them they will no longer feel valued and will not trust you with their ideas or thoughts. I do not believe that most advisers set out to make a client feel stupid. More often it is an attitude, an inadvertent comment, or a look that gives the client that impression. Be aware of your inner thoughts. They show up without your noticing.

3. Confidentiality

Keep their secrets. Your clients will share some very private information with you or in other words, things that they might not want others outside the relationship to know. If they tell you something in confidence, make sure that you keep that information confidential.

4. Honor commitments

Keep your agreements (whether big or small) with your clients. If you promise delivery on a particular day, make sure to deliver when it was promised. Even something as small as the time you have scheduled an appointment is an agreement. Each time you break an agreement with a client, you break the trust. If you feel that you may not be able to keep a promise, don’t make it. It is tempting to promise whatever the client requests without consulting a schedule or asking if it is doable. Over-promising often causes broken agreements and thus broken trust. It is better to not make a promise than to make one and then break one. If you end up breaking a promise admit it, apologize and explain why as soon as possible.

5. Integrity

We tend to be more trusting of people who are honest and live by high values and ethics. Integrity is a measure of coherence and consistency across situations and time. We trust people who show a preoccupation with the truth and who are prepared to confront issues even when they are negative.

6. Regular communication

Communicate regularly, openly and consistently, sharing information as it becomes available and inviting questions and comments. In my opinion your communication should be in a conversational style and not a lecture. Engage your clients rather than preach at them. Communication will always be important in relationships. Good, open communication helps in so many areas and improves trust and your overall relationship.

7. Manage emotions

It is difficult to trust people if we see them “blow up” over issues. An emotional melt down creates the impression of loosing control. We are always a bit sceptical if we think they are not always able to hold it together. By contrast we respect and trust people who calmly and openly deal with issues even when they are negative. Most of us are afraid of strong feelings or points of contention and people typically respond to them by defending themselves (to a perceived attack), explaining themselves, counter-attacking, shutting down, or walking away. One strategy to deal with such situations is to Charge Neutral. That is to communicate calmness, not only in your tone of voice but also in how you carry your body. Don’t speak with a charge to your voice. Control your voice! Say what you must say, state the truth and do it directly and calmly. It will dramatically change the flow of the relationship. You will be able to point out something big, without making a big deal out of it. You will be in control of you.

8. Consistency

It is easiest to trust people who are consistent and predictable. Any movement away from predictable behavior can become suspect and trust can deteriorate. Focus on acting predictably if you need to build trust. Be consistent in what you do.