“Know, Like, Trust” Starts with Service
“People do business with people they know, like, and trust.” It’s a cliche for a reason, because it’s true. “Know, like, trust,” though, has a preamble: service. Serving with no agenda or precondition is fertilizer for trust to grow.
The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.
TRANSCRIPT
John Ray: [00:00:00] Hello. I’m John Ray on The Price and Value Journey. Some clichés become platitudes when they’re repeated constantly because they are, in fact, true and time tested. And one of those clichés is that people do business with those that they know, like, and trust. Well, like many clichés, this one is repeated so often that the underlying truth of it gets blurred or even lost.
John Ray: [00:00:31] A few months ago, I received a LinkedIn connection request from someone who seemed like a good connection for me. Their profile was solid, so I accepted the invite. This person responded with a note about how he just loves connecting with other professionals in my state and how he is amazed by the relationships he’s cultivated from LinkedIn. Okay. So far so good. I agree with that. And I’m also struck by how you can develop relationships using LinkedIn.
John Ray: [00:01:06] But that was the high watermark of the encounter of our so-called relationship. His message quickly veered to his tax strategy service and how he was certain he could save me money. He didn’t ask one question about myself or my business. Not just a question which might reveal whether I needed his help, which I don’t, but even just an inquiry which might reveal a genuine interest in me and my work.
John Ray: [00:01:37] Finally, his sixth message in four days, literally, began with, “Hate to be that pest but wanted to follow up with you one last time.” “I can only hope so,” I thought. This gentleman’s professional brand is now pest. Yes, I know him now, but not in the way that involves likability and trust.
John Ray: [00:02:04] But it’s worse than that. He destroyed any sense in my mind that he might be an expert in his field. If I need some tax strategy help in the future, do you think I’m going to think of this guy as my go-to source? Hardly. As he’s branded himself more as a hawker of a service than an expert in his field.
John Ray: [00:02:28] Now, in contrast, here’s what serving looks like. I recently got a call from a lady who I do business with and she had a suggestion for a new client opportunity for me. Now, this was the entire reason for the call. She had no other agenda. She wasn’t trying to sell her service in any way or use the call as a pretext for something else, or a pivot to some other subject that benefited her. It was obvious from the nature of her call that she had been thinking about my business in a strategic, not a superficial way, one which revealed that her default operating system was rooted in serving.
John Ray: [00:03:18] Now, this behavior is typical with her, which is why her business has grown and prospered over the years. Now, yes, she’s known, liked, and trusted. But all of that is triggered by her practice of putting service first without an agenda. Yes, it’s counterintuitive and it’s hard to stay in a service first frame of mind, particularly if you are new in your practice or you’re struggling to make it go.
John Ray: [00:03:49] It’s easy to dismiss it and say that it works for this person, or some other person, but it won’t work for you because your circumstances are different. Yet, if you truly make it a practice to serve first in your business, you’ll not only stand out, but your business will blossom over time. Know I can trust starts with service.
John Ray: [00:04:18] I’m John Ray on The Price and Value Journey. Past episodes of this series can be found at pricevaluejourney.com. Or if you would like to subscribe on your favorite podcast app, you can do so, and we would be honored if you would do that. If you would like to connect with me or send me a question, my email is john@johnray.co. Thank you for joining me.
About The Price and Value Journey
The title of this show describes the journey all professional services providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire and trying to do all that at pricing which reflects the value we deliver.
If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line as well as the mindset you bring to your business.
The show is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® and can be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.
John Ray, Host of The Price and Value Journey
John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.
John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneur and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their “grey matter,” such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
In his other business, John is a Studio Owner, Producer, and Show Host with Business RadioX®, and works with business owners who want to do their own podcast. As a veteran B2B services provider, John’s special sauce is coaching B2B professionals to use a podcast to build relationships in a non-salesy way which translate into revenue.
John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Alpharetta Tech Talk, and Business Leaders Radio. house shows which feature a wide range of business leaders and companies. John has hosted and/or produced over 1,300 podcast episodes.
