Earlier today I wrote about how our own trust issues can have a definite impact on how we work in our home businesses. We are not the only ones who might be wrestling with trust stuff, however. Our customers and clients bring their trust issues to the table when they work with us and it can influence how well we are able to work together. There are things we can do to help to ease the tension and help our customers and clients learn to trust us.
In the first place, it might be tough to identify what is a “trust issue” with a client or customer. It may just appear that the individual is controlling, overbearing, unpredictable or flaky. What we think is just an irritating or challenging person may be someone who simply does not trust us. They may be used to being taken advantage of or have a general distrust of people in our line of work for whatever reason. We have the challenge of treating that person in such a way as to help them learn to trust and rely on us.
When people have trust issues, every interaction is an opportunity for us to show them they can trust us. The important thing is to not get all enmeshed or co-dependent, but to simply be professional and do our best. We will not be able to control whether or not they come to trust us, but we can do our part to be trustworthy: answer phone calls and e-mails, deliver products or services on time, follow through on what you say you will do. Often it is these basic customer service issues that can make a big difference. We don’t need to do something huge and heroic, just follow through on what we have promised and be fair and respectful in the process.