1528 – How to Build A Relationship of Trust with Success Through Trust’s Natalie Oldfield

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0:59with us right now natalie doyle oldfield natalie you are the founder ceo of success through trust and you're found on the web at successthroughtrust.com i like this subject natalie thank you so much for joining us thanks for having me josh all right so when we're talking about trust Who are we talking about and why trust? We're talking about all business owners, all leaders. Trust is the most precious and most critical asset we have. And I really believe it is the issue of our time. And why trust? Well, 15 years ago, Josh, well, who was chief marketing officer for a software company in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, my boss, the CEO, came to me and asked me to take over the sales role.

1:58And I really wasn't keen on it. I've been doing marketing, had a great career for about 20 years, had great relationships with customers, and I actually really loved everything. And everything was going just fine. yet he kept asking me to take it over so finally I thought well I better do this because I realized I kind of had to and so it was September 2008 and I was sitting in my office I remember this day like it was yesterday all by myself and the news started coming in of the financial markets crashing and then my phone started ringing and I started getting emails from our customers who were in the hospitality industry saying we're discontinuing our project we can't go forward we're gonna have to put this on hold not do this and po's weren't coming in and here i was in this new role and i thought oh my gosh i don't want to fail so i just decided that i gotta take control of this and figure out what to do so i call all the people i knew that were good in sales because i didn't know how to sell Josh, I'd spent my career in marketing.

3:07I didn't know about that. To say, you know, how do you do this? And what I learned is everybody said the same thing. All the really successful people said, there's no formula. Like you just focus on your customers. So we did that. We listened to them. We focused, we committed to helping them out in any way we can. And that's really worked. And three months later, our sales started going back up. And within six months, we had one of our best quarters ever. What I realized is it all comes down to building relationships of trust. So I got so excited about this that I actually did my master's, Josh, I went back to school and went in to try and solve the question of how is it in a B2B environment do customers decide to buy?

4:01And that's really when I confirmed it truly is all about trust and relationships. So why trust? Because it's the most important thing. And my model and framework that I teach people through training is based on science and evidence. I built it in academia and then tested it after with now with hundreds of companies. That was 10 years ago that I found it success through trust. And it's the most critical issue of our time. Yeah. So the million dollar question here is, you know, I think it's one thing to be like our character is our character. And hopefully, you know, of course, everyone listening to this podcast has a phenomenal character and is absolutely trustworthy.

4:51But then there is the concept of communicating that trust, which is really important. So when I think about how people do business today and, you know, I'm going back on, you know, 16, 17 years as a consumer expert and encouraging consumers to be very diligent, you know, before they make buying decisions. so you know i've been championing this for nearly two decades you know about do your due diligence do your research on people do you know which again we've got all the tools to do that today and this is really critical it's i believe and i'd love your take on this my little belief is it's like it's absolutely fundamental like you you cannot be a dishonest person you've got to you can't get away with bad behavior today i believe long term um and but so part of that that's so critical though, is that it's not enough just to be a good person.

5:46We need to know that people are making their decisions when we're not in the room with them. So they have to make their decisions on something. Natalie, would you mind talking about what that something is? Sure. Well, I would start with, I totally agree with you, Josh. And in fact, I would say that now more than ever, people are doing their homework, as you say, but in addition to that, they're more skeptical and cynical than ever before. And not only are they demanding honesty, but transparency. And let's face it, I mean, we have access to so much information, right? We can check. We, we, and they do.

6:36And not only are people demanding this honesty and transparency, they also want to work with companies that have a social conscience, companies that are trustworthy. So how do you do that? Well, you can teach people. And, and, you know, to your point, probably a lot of your listeners are trustworthy. However, not everyone knows how to build a relationship of trust. It is a skill that you can learn and you can cultivate and develop. And when you practice it, you become even more trustworthy. Now you used a really big, important word and that was communications. You know, how do we communicate it?

7:25Well, I have an undergraduate degree in public relations and communications and a graduate degree now in communications. However, communication is only part of trust. It's about behavior, right? Communication, you can think about if you have a trust problem and I would say a sign of a trust problem if I was a business owner is or leader in a company is flatter declining sales, long or stressful negotiation, projects maybe that aren't renewing, or maybe the people in the company have a lack of focus on the customer, or customers are saying, you know what, we have a poor customer experience. To me, these are all signals, and these are all point to low trust.

8:19Well, if you have a trust issue, you can't communicate yourself out of a trust problem, right? It's about behavior and communication and then the way you serve. So, you know, to your point, you know, how do you get your head around this? Well, we put trust in people, Josh. We trust companies, but let's face it, all companies are made up of people. And, you know, for all business owners, founders and leaders who are listening to us today, for all of us, no matter what industry we're in, the number one trust risk point for every single business is the people, right? How they communicate, how they behave and how they serve clients.

9:04So, you know, it comes down to teaching people, training them, helping them learn and develop this skill. And you can learn it. You can develop it. And, you know, I've lots of stories and examples of companies that do that.

9:23Yeah. And, you know, with social media as well, you know, I think about like the applications of this, like if you are at the helm of a company, people are watching you. They just, They are, they're watching like how you respond to questions, you know, do you keep your cool and stressful situations. You know, I dare say that there's, you know, well, I mean, there's less privacy today. I mean, you can't get away, who is it, James Corden that got in trouble with this last year because he was rude to a server. um listen um you know you gotta there's there's you you can't let your guard down i was i was gonna say what's what's a better way of saying this is like you know be in integrity at all times i think is really really critical but just know that you're being watched not to make you paranoid not to make you paranoid but we you know we have um you know not only are people more skeptical, but we have a lower tolerance for unacceptable behavior than we ever have before.

10:38And, you know, we, people are watching and your customers are watching. So the public is, but your customers are. And, you know, I'll share a quick story with you. I have a client, a business owner, and we'll call him Robert to keep his anonymity. And he is a very successful professional services IT company. So they do network security and cybersecurity. So they have monthly managed service contracts and they do projects for customers. And they were growing quite nicely over the last few years. And then in one week, two of their long term customers who were also large customers stopped and said, here's our 30 days notice.

11:30We're not moving forward. And that was a bit of a, oh, what's going on? So they started to, you know, ask questions about the people on the team, ask the clients questions. And the client said, look, you know, like, we just don't feel that, you know, I'm paraphrasing, you're that focused on us. So they kept looking into it. And he called me and he said, you know, I think we have an issue. Yes, you do. You lost two clients, right? So flatter declining sales or customers leaving customer churn, that's a sign of low customer trust. So his team, what we did with project managers, IT managers, technical support people, they went through a program to, you know, a building trust program to become a trusted advisor over about 45 days, learned the skills and the step-by-step framework to build trust.

12:30And what happened was they learned how to be empathetic and how to listen and how not to respond like that example you shared. And within about 15 days, clients started noticing. And actually, one of the clients who had given their notice said, you know what? Things seem to be turned around. Not sure what's happening. But, you know, this one guy on the team, Mark was his name. He's really, you know, a crackerjack and really getting involved with our account and we're going to stay. And it's, we focused on all of the, all of the skills and the principles to apply to build trust. So you can actually quantify it and make it practical, Josh.

13:24That's the big takeaway that I think is important for your listeners to hear that, yeah, it's a big word, like you said, and it is a great issue, like you said, and we see it all around us, but you can actually make it tangible and practical. Natalie, how do you train on this? Because it just seems like we're talking about like a character trait, which doesn't seem like that can be changed very easily. What's the work that you're actually doing?

14:00It's step by step. I created a proprietary model with eight principles. So I teach people the principles of trust. And we do a lot of exercises, Josh, we have tools, and a lot of discussion that is, you know, interactive and hands on, it's all online. So people are with a group of other people where we have, you know, peer to peer learning and discussions, and then weekly checkpoints to make sure that people are applying. And there are a lot of different exercises that really turn the light bulb on and we make it really practical. So as an example, if you were in the program, we would talk about, okay, your customers and very specific situations so that we, you know, they come out of it with an action plan and change behavior.

15:04That's the key. So it's about changing the results and you do that by changing the behavior. Yeah. Natalie, you're also, you have a book and it's behind you there. It's The Power of Trust. Yes. Yeah. Tell me about the transformation that will take place as someone who reads and applies the principles in the book. Well, there's lots of different stories. I recently worked with a woman who had spent about 10 years in her career in HR, and now she's in recruiting. And it was phenomenal. About two weeks into the program, the program is usually about six weeks, school for about 45 days. About two weeks into the program, she shared in a small group discussion that she was having a challenge with her manager, who's the business owner.

16:02And I said, well, what kind of challenge? And she shared the challenge that she really didn't understand why her manager didn't want her to be talking about the company after a former employee left. And she didn't because the person that left set up a competitive firm. And the aha moment for her was she realized, OK, this is what it must be like to be in the owner's shoes. So an aha comes or a transformation when people learn how to be empathetic. As in that case, you know, she learned that, wow, like this is how my actions affect someone else. Another transformation, I have another guy who went through the program, an IT project manager, let's say.

17:02He had a bit of an epiphany, if you will, and a transformation, and that he realized that it didn't matter that the project was done on time. It all just done on time. It also mattered that everybody was involved and that it was done with quality and also a successful time frame and that people were involved in the company. So what he learned in the program was, you know, how to communicate and how to collaborate with everyone. Another transformation that I really love is that, you know, young engineer that I worked with, you know, youngish, about five or so years into his career, you know, he really learned how to act in the best interest of others.

17:59So his customers were external, but also internal other departments as a junior engineer, he was working on projects that were affecting, you know, outside, but really reporting to people inside the company. And his big transformation was, wow, like, I really got to act in the best interest of the customer. I'm not doing this for the company. I'm doing it for the customer. And so everybody has a different transformation. it's um it's really rewarding and um really fun when you see that light bulb go off and you know it usually it usually starts with someone learning something about themselves right a lot of folks aren't as self-aware as you know we think we are and then when that happens then it's like, oh, and then we show them how to apply this to a customer situation.

18:58And a customer, Josh, could be, like I said, an internal department, but typically it's external. It's whoever you serve. Yeah. Yeah, Natalie, this is really great. Your website, successthroughtrust.com. And I know you've got several ways of engaging with folks. Would you Would you mind just kind of really quickly going through the what's next after someone's, maybe they're doing some research on you. They stumbled upon this website. They've now been listening to our conversation. They're like, okay, I'm ready for the what's next. Where do they go from here? Perfect. Well, if you go to my website, successretrust.com backslash resources books, you can sign up for a monthly newsletter.

19:41I also have a trust assessment if you're interested in doing that and that you'll also find that on the page. and you can download that to see how you're doing. And you can answer the questions personally and then think about, well, how would my customers assess me? Because at the end of the day, all of our customers are deciding to buy based on whether they trust us or not. It is actually the single most important question they all have. and we buy based on who we trust. We support based on who we trust. And the principles and what I teach is all based on science and evidence. So it actually can be learned.

20:30It's a step-by-step process that when you apply it, you can become a trusted advisor, which is the ultimate, right? We all want to buy from people who give us trusted advice. Yeah. You know, Natalie, marketing is not enough. Communications is not enough. It is, that's everybody. Everybody's doing that. Your customers are being bombarded with messages. And I agree. It's, I will do business with the company or the consultant, the coach, whoever, who I feel like I have the deepest amount of trust with. Like, I know that they have my interest and needs. It's like I did. It's just a, you know, feeling of comfort that I know that, you know, they're not just, you know, they did trust is a real differentiator, I think, is how I would define it today.

21:23And a requirement, you know, more so than just more noisy marketing. You know, worldwide, Josh, 80 percent of us buy from companies or organizations we trust. And we also pay more money for products or services or offerings we trust. For those of us that want referrals, which is a great way for us to build our business is to get referrals from our current customers. 68 % of us worldwide refer products and services we trust. It truly is, as you said, a competitive advantage. and I, like you, think that it's a must-have. And with a noisy market, with lots of messages coming at us, we go to who do we trust?

22:18Who do we know that's got integrity? Who do we know that can do this for us? Yeah. Natalie Oldfield, again, Natalie Doyle Oldfield, thank you so much for joining us. Again, your book is The Power of Trust and your website is successthroughtrust.com. Natalie, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Have a great day.

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