Monday, 8 October 2012

Creating Trust through Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth and your brand reputation
When meeting a contact for the first time, within the first few seconds, you plant a relationship seed which can either flourish or fail. It’s all about building trust when working on a relationship. 

Trust is one of the most powerful tools when generating a relationship with contacts. Primarily, it is the first impression that always leaves the most impact on an individual, and will later decide how they will want to interact with you.

Attitude that builds

So, it’s up to you to start things out the right way. What are some things that you can do to create a good first impression? When first meeting a contact, be sure that you make a positive impact on them with several different techniques that are small and simple, but carry the most powerful impact during an initial meeting. 

You may have seen those cliché movie scenes where one person instructs his comedic, yet faithful companion to act proper and don’t be a fool. Often, this situation turns out as a complete failure with the benefit of a few good laughs, but it teaches a valuable lesson. Be honest to yourself and to others. Don’t try to play a role or a part in a play. Smile, but don’t force it. Others will quickly notice if you are trying to be someone you are not, mostly because you aren’t being honest with them. This is imperative to trust, and how you act needs to present an honest image. 

Upon introductions, shaking hands combined with balanced eye contact ensures the other person that you are confident. Your handshake should be firm, but not too overwhelming. Don’t break their hand or shake more than three times. 

While shaking hands, be sure to look your contact in the eyes and confirm your name. During a discussion, balance your eye contact in a group and avoid any stare-down contests that could intimidate others. You don’t want to seem overwhelming or unapproachable. A friendly attitude is the most effective tool to building trust. 

What to say is basic- stick with a greeting that suits the occasion. Don’t be interrogative or overwhelmingly emotional about the situation. The best practice is to affirm your name and ask theirs. Follow up with something similar to: “This is quite the event, I’m glad I could come, how about you?”

This topic brings us to the importance of asking a question and listening. Stop dominating the conversation by sharing information about yourself or they might get bored, consider you self-centered or even sales-y.  It’s important to showcase your ability to listen and comprehend when interacting with others, especially prospective clients.

Openly display your expertise in your field, especially if asked, yet do refrain from being ‘all about you.”   Tell them about what you do, but do keep it short and simple (in order to leave a taste they will be intrigued with for a later follow-up) so they will know if you are a viable source of networking material for them. Always remember that networkers are searching for valuable contacts, so be prepared to make yourself one of them.

Basically, you are building a rapport that is influential. What will others say about you? Trust depends on the impression you impact on your contacts. This is one of the best methods by which we can apply word of mouth marketing because when others trust you, they will be inclined to endorse you as a quality prospect.

Others included

You build through the connection towards other connections. Each person has access to a new network of people, so there is never a useless contact. Never turn away from someone who is interested in you, even if they themselves don’t seem to benefit you.

This is often where many networkers go astray, because they are searching for something specific that they need…right now. But, there is always the future to include, so it’s good to consider that everyone will at some point prove beneficial to your business needs. Be ready to add anybody to your contact list.


“Building trust through word of mouth marketing is crucial to your success.” [tweet this].


While time is a resource we all feel we don’t have enough of, it is important to concentrate on leaving a good impression, especially during your first encounter with a contact. You never know who they will know or who they will talk to, so be ready to impact the entire world positively and create a network of trust. 

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