How important is trust in establishing long term business relationships?  Trust is crucial in establishing long term business relationships.  For that matter, trust is crucial in developing any long term relationship.  Whether you are selling a product or a service, your business will need customers in order to survive.  Not only do you need customers, but you need those customers to return, and/or refer others to you.

If you focus on getting the customer what he needs, rather than focusing on making a sale, this customer is much more likely to trust you.  Once you have established trust, the customer is more apt to buy from you long term.  Now think, what if you manipulated that customer into buying your product or service, and then he discovers that what you sold him was not the solution to his problem.  He not going to trust you and he is much less likely to return or refer others to you.  If you do not build trust with your customers, they will leave you, and your business will drown.

Horses are a great example of the power of trust.  I have been riding horses for at least 9 years.  I have been thrown off a handful of times.  I think one of the most important things I have learned, is when you very first put the rope on the horse, you had better have his or her trust right then.  If you do not have the horse’s trust then you are in danger of getting bucked off.  If you want the horse’s trust, you have to give him your trust.  I think the same is true when dealing with customers.  Give them your trust, and they will give you theirs.