What is the one element which must be in place for a prospect to purchase from you at least once?
Byron Webster, founder and Chief of Whisperlabs, sagely suggests that in order to sustain client relations, trust must be reciprocal. Bottom line: "extend trust to your customers."
In his book, The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey (Steven R. Covey's son), outlines 13 behaviors which establish trust, the last being, extend trust. Whether it is to establish or restore trust, extending trust is essential. Giving people responsibility but no authority or resources to complete tasks stunts the growth of trust. Simply put, you will be trusted at the level you trust others.
The foundation to alliance selling is trust. While many relationships survive on their own, business relationships such as Advisor Alliances, Strategic Alliances and Business Masterminds thrive in a structured environment. To speed up engagement, sustain growth, weather turbulence and endure chaos, intentional business alliance partners can be educated and reminded on the principles and aspects of trust that keep them together.
Structure, whether it be simple systems, technology assisted or institutionally organized is paramount to the speed of growth and sustainability of powerful business alliances.
To maximize the effectiveness of your business networking group, company partnership, strategic alliance or referral partners, send an email to alliancescience at ownershelp.com for the seminal, FREE report on how to get other people to regularly and consistently set appointments for you with your ideal client prospects -- people who don't know you but already like and trust you.

Here's a book review summary for those interested in The Speed of Trust:
http://bookreviewsummaries.wordpress.com
Posted by: Vik | March 11, 2008 at 02:01 PM
Thanks, Vic, I hope to see more of your reviews on books mentioned here. Rick
Posted by: Rick | March 11, 2008 at 02:35 PM