Clients’ trust is a necessity for any business that wants to succeed. Although you can build client trust through various means, the most impactful way is by being authentic in your business.
A few months ago, I had a coaching session turned “here are all the things I love about you and your approach” call. While I love words of affirmation, I realized there was a lot to learn from that feedback. So I paid attention.
What kept coming through was an immense appreciation for my authenticity in business. “You have really modelled that and it’s been so pivotal for me,” Liz shared. “When you talk your talk and walk your walk, it engenders so much trust and respect.”
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this from a student. And it’s not an accident.
To help you build client trust and respect too, I distilled our conversation down into 10 key competencies for maintaining authenticity in business. Enjoy!
1. Humanize your business.
What if your best was enough? And you didn’t beat yourself up about perceived failures?
When you let it be ok to be a beginner, take breaks, and slow the pace, your clients can, too.
We’re each a work-in-progress. The sooner you realize and embody that, the better for everyone involved.
Work doesn’t have to be hard. And neither does life.
2. Stay grounded in who you are.
Trust in yourself, do what resonates with you, and keep coming back to your core values. This will not only help you cultivate authenticity in your business but build client trust as well.
“The combination of being true to who you are and being so transparent, and being so good at what you do and so on it… It’s just so rare,” explained Liz.
Facing yourself is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do as a business owner. It’s also one of the most rewarding.
While clients will come and go, you will always remain.
3. Never conform or compromise.
Don’t let anyone get in the way of you doing you.
As an entrepreneur, you never have to feel like you must conform to something or compromise in any way. Learn from others, while recognizing that you call the shots.
“You have the curiosity. You ask the questions. You make your decision. Then you move on,” said Liz. “You do what you do because you have a methodology that works. And that’s the brilliance of you.”
Find something of value to others, then sell it. Rinse and repeat. It’s that simple.
4. Know what’s possible, then decide to have it.
I had always dreamt of having someone manage my email inbox, so that everything was already organized and prioritized when I opened my laptop each day. My coach told me that’s something a virtual assistant can do, so I decided to hire one.
You create your own reality. Get inspired. Decide what you want. Then go out and get it.
Part of this is having an abundance mindset, which Liz implemented in her private practice every day. “I thought to myself, ‘If you don’t want to be here, there are others’,” she recalled.
Surround yourself with inspiring people who help you see what’s possible for you.
5. Stop trying to prove yourself.
There is no-one more qualified to know the truth about who you are than you.
When you learn to accept all aspects of you, without shame, guilt, or “shoulds”, you drop the constant need to prove yourself to others and your business can really take off.
“We have to have the balls to face all the things that have happened to us so we can heal. And you totally have the balls,” said Liz. “That’s what separates those who transform and grow from those who don’t.”
As long as your clients get what they want, you don’t have to explain anything. The “how” doesn’t matter—only the transformation.
People don’t have to understand what you’re doing for it to be right.
6. Integrate work with real life.
“Working with Prospology is a very deep, transformative process. I know it’s going to have an impact beyond my career,” shared Liz.
I can barely tell the difference between work and play because work is so fulfilling. What could be better than changing people’s lives every day?
I feel this way because I built my business around my core values. If you do the same, you’ll feel this way too.
Liz compared me to a character in Schindler’s List: “You’re like the person getting everyone out of Nazi Germany, giving them jobs, etc. You just keep funnelling them through and it must be so satisfying.”
7. Practice allowing and having choices.
Once you solidify a vision and realize you can jump from A to B, there’s no A to Z anymore. Time collapses and it all becomes possible.
You can then turn “I can have this now” into “I’m going to have this”.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t “I’m going to try my best and see…”. No. It’s “I’m going to have it.”
In order to jump, you have to allow your desires in. This is a daily practice, especially if you had a traumatic childhood and aren’t used to feeling good. But it’s well worth the effort.
8. Always anticipate what’s next.
Business is all about growing organically, streamlining processes, and re-focusing on what has the greatest impact for your clients in the most cost effective way.
“You’re pushing forward and improving at the same time. You’re evolving at every single moment of every single day,” said Liz. “You’re focused and disciplined in the moment, while also anticipating everything that comes next.”
Never get complacent. Your business and clients need you.
If someone were to ask “What’s next for your business?”, you should always have an answer.
9. Create what doesn’t exist yet.
Instead of doing what you think you’re “supposed” to do, visualize what you want, then create it.
If someone had told me a few years ago that, now, I’d be working full-time as a business and medical writing coach, managing a team of 8, hiring 2 more team members, and living between Toronto and California, I’d have thought they were crazy.
But I allowed myself to create as my heart desired, and it’s absolutely wonderful.
“You’re such a manifester,” said Liz. “Watching you work and seeing the quality, discipline, and responsiveness of your work has been exactly what I needed to push myself. It’s like ‘Look at her go’. It activates something in me.”
10. Keep passing the torch.
The best leaders know they aren’t always going to be around. They want their followers to be able to implement the principles they teach on their own, as that’s a sign of real transformation.
“Some people always want to be led and never lead,” said Liz. “You’re leading me but you’re constantly passing it back.”
Empower your clients to make decisions for themselves, trusting their own intuition and judgement to know what’s best for them and their business without you.
That way, you’ll never be short on referrals and your reputation will precede you.
————————
Which of these 10 principles to maintain authenticity and build client trust are you already following in your business?
For more original articles on freedom-focused entrepreneurship, be sure to subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter.