Trust me.

Hmm… well that didn’t work. Asking for trust doesn’t usually produce the desired results. So how do you gain it? You know the answer – over time and by depth of experience and relationship. At least when you’re on your own.

Trust is also transferable. You see it on balance sheets as goodwill, exactly because it is transferable. Trust is what makes referrals work. If you trust me, and I recommend Klaus or Allyson, they gain the benefit of the trust you have in me – because you still hold me responsible for their behaviour and performance.

That transferability of trust makes networking possible. It isn’t about who you know, but who you trust. And that is a distinction that a lot of serial networkers don’t get. I fell into that trap myself. I attended BNI Corporate Exchange as a guest for six months. I got to know a lot of people – a lot of the right people. I got a small amount of opportunistic business from members who had an immediate need, as they gained familiarity. I got none from other guests. They gave all their business to the members – the people they see being trusted. That was when I recognized that there’s truth to the maxim that membership has its privileges.

The main privilege is of trust.

A healthy business networking group trades referrals from many sources – the members themselves (we call this an internal referral), their clients (external), guests, members of other network chapters (there are two other BNI corporate chapters which have close ties to Corporate Exchange), and alumni (former members). As a guest, you really only have access to the first of these, and happenstance for all the others, if you are in the right place at the right time.

Even as a member, you have to work your way up the trust cycle. All the statistics show it takes 3-6 months of association to begin to see benefits, and the trust cycle doesn’t really complete until well into the second year. In my role of chapter mentor, I’m frequently asked how to accelerate that trust cycle – because most of us aren’t that patient.

There’s good news. There are two major ways to gain trust more expediently. They both require considerable effort. The first is to meet regularly with the members of your networking group. The better you get to know each other – and your respective businesses, the easier trust flows. And repeat this as frequently as you can. I personally have about six meetings a month, just familiarizing myself with other members outside regular networking.

The second way to scoot ahead on the trust cycle, is to make visible contributions. Raise your profile within your networking group by being an integral part of it’s workings. John prints all our materials, invitations, folders etc, and everyone sees how he’s contributed. We also see the quality of his efforts. This short circuits the need for us to have to have tried out his services personally – because we’ve collectively seen his ability. He’s earned our trust. And that ultimately is what you need to do – earn the trust. The benefit is that you earn the trust of one – and you reap the benefits of trust earned by all.

So trust me – Simon does. And Marjorie does. And Fred does….

There have been some interesting shifts in behaviour over the past twenty years - especially in the business-to-business (B2B) world. The simplest way to describe the trends would be to say that a general skepticism has crept into the average business person when it comes to partners and suppliers.

Here are a few of the major trends:

1) B2B advertising has little effect other than raise brand awareness.

2) Profiles in publications or websites are viewed as advertising, or inextricably linked to advertising, and not journalism.

3) Referrals from other clients are nice, but rarely a factor in decisions.

4) Testimonials are given less credence than advertising.

I'm not out to bash B2B advertising - there are instances where it can be instrumental. It's just clear that you have to be cautious in its use, and aware of what it costs you. What I'd like to examine deeper are the last two points: referrals and testimonials.

Decent referrals generally come to you from two sources: other clients of the service/product being referred; and other suppliers or partners to you. The tendency of each business owner to view their circumstances as unique, has been the prime cause in discounting customer referrals. The perspective seems to be "It may have worked for you, but my needs are significantly different". If they listen closely enough, they may pick up on similarities of note, but frequently it doesn't get that far.

On the other hand, if I'm providing you with a service (say accounting), and recommend a lawyer, the assumption is that because I know your business well, whomever I recommend will be the best person for the situation. As well, even if it's unspoken, I will be held accountable for the suitability of the referral. If the lawyer is someone I work alongside for clients-in common, this will carry much more weight than if s/he is my lawyer. This means that the best referrors for each of us are synergistic companies, not our satisfied clients!

Testimonials have taken a big hit in an internet dominated world. In print, they still have a place, but on a website they merely take up space. The average business person assumes you a) wrote them yourself; b) got a friend to submit them; and that they are not in any way reflective of reality. Harsh! But there's hope....

If the testimonial is included in a case study, then it is given a context and subsequent weight. And to loop back to advertising and profiles, case studies are the number one thing that business people look for in newsletters and periodicals, so you might consider placing these instead of a "puff piece". Even though not viewed as impartial, that testimonial combined with the problem solving approach of a case study does get attention - and plausibility.