© Tweeter Linder 2016 – All rights reserved. Photo by iStock.
Trust is perhaps the most valuable asset a business can own. The trust created with clients. Trust established in our own organization. A sales organization operating at a high trust level will be able to operate faster than low trust peers.
High trust environments
Trust is the most valuable currency in business today. With increasing business risks companies the value of trust is growing. Leaders look for high trust anchor points they can build their business around. Trusted employees as well as trusted vendors become such anchor points.
When trust is in place things move faster. You can cut out the extra insurance steps required in low trust environments. You can start activities faster. Problems get resolved faster. You walk the extra mile when trust is in place. All these factors combined create a faster organization.
The low trust trap
In a tough business climate it is tempting to take short sighted actions. Actions focused other outcomes than building or maintaining trust. Will you keep a deadline, while compromising on scope? Will you negotiate a deal, with single sided benefits? Sacrificing quality, too keep effort and cost down. The rationales can all be clear and delivering short term benefits. But there might be negative trust implications towards key stakeholders down the road.
As soon as the trust level is going down we can expect to see a slow-down in interactions. In low trust environments we ask more questions before taking actions. Hand-overs between individuals are more cumbersome. And the energy level in the execution is lower.
Trust is central in lean concepts
As lean is about increasing agility trust is a central building block. Build from trust in the client interface. Secure trust between sales representatives and your sales support team. and before embarking on your lean journey, secure your teams operating with a high trust levels.
Questions for you and your team
- How would we describe the current trust level we enjoy with clients – start with the external trust perspective.
- What is the current level of internal trust between sales and sales support teams – the internal perspective is almost as important as the external.
- Which trust gaps do we have and how do they slow down critical activities – qualify issues based on importance and shortcomings in pace.
- How can we leverage trust as a market differentiator – expect the level of trust to vary between competitors.
- How do we increase the internal trust required to boost sales – a factor any sales support team can control on their own.
Additional reading
- The Speed of Trust [BOOK SUMMARY] – by Stephen M.R. Covey
- Use this formula to quickly gain anyone’s trust [ARTICLE] – by FastCompany
- The evolution of trust in Business: From delivery to values [RESEARCH PAPER] – by World Economic Forum
- Trust is the most powerful currency in Business [ARTICLE] – by Forbes
- How boyhood helped me better understand Lean and Trust [BLOGPOST] – by Fabio Pereira, Thought Works
Tweeter Linder 