Sales is a necessary, albeit uncomfortable, part of business—especially for empaths.

But sales is really just about building relationships with people that may benefit from what you offer.

To build a relationship with someone, you need to earn their trust. This is as true in business as it is in personal relationships.

As salesman extraordinaire, Zig Ziglar said, “If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”

So how can you build trust in your business—especially when you run the majority of your business online?

It’s not as hard as you may think! Here are a few ways you can start proving your integrity and building trust with your audience.

Be yourself

Your audience wants to know that you’re a real person. Someone relatable with hopes, dreams, fears, and struggles. Perfection is an illusion, so just show up as your beautiful, imperfect self. People are more likely to trust you if you’re genuine and honest.

Here are a few ways you can do that in your business:

• Include photos of you and your workspace on your website and on social media—even if you can’t afford a photographer yet. Natural light and your phone will do in a pinch.

• Share a behind-the-scenes look at a project or your process. Folks love a peek behind the curtain.

• Use video: Tiktok, Instagram Live, and YouTube are all great ways to connect with your audience more authentically

• Write conversationally, like you’re talking to your audience one-on-one, instead of writing in a formal “business tone” (unless of course, that’s how you speak!)

Action Step: Read the copy on your website out loud. Does it sound like you? Does it feel like you’re putting on a front at all? How can you adjust it so that it reads more true to who you are?

Share social proof

People are more likely to trust you if they see that others know, like, and trust you. It’s what they call social proof in the biz. 

You can show social proof a number of ways: 

• Including client logos on your website

• Sharing client testimonials/customer reviews

• Building your social media community 

• Turning on blog comments and encouraging engagement

• Incentivizing social media sharing 

Action Step: Contact former clients or customers and ask them for a testimonial or review. If they were happy with the service or product you provided, they will be more than happy to sing your praises! 

Present a consistent brand

A consistent brand identity establishes trust with your audience because it provides them with a recognizable experience at every interaction.

For instance, no matter where in the world you visit a Starbucks—it could be Madrid or middle of nowhere, Texas—you know what to expect. It’s the same experience at every location. Plus, you see the same colors, logo + look and feel, whether you’re in a store, on their website, or scrolling through their Instagram profile.

Now imagine you went into a Starbucks and the logo was completely different, they had purple straws instead of green, and the interior was stark white and industrial…you’d definitely notice something was off and you might even question the integrity of that location. Like, ‘is this a legit Starbucks?’ There’d be a sense of mistrust.

The same is true for your own brand. Every piece of your brand—your website, content downloads, social media graphics, etc. should look and feel like your brand (same colors, fonts, and overall vibe).

Action Step: Create a brand identity system (e.g. fonts, colors, graphics) for your business and use it consistently. 

Share your expertise

A quick way to build trust with potential clients is by sharing your knowledge about your topic. You are an expert in your field and you have a unique perspective to share. To help people know and trust that about you, share some of that insight!

You can also share content from others that relates to your field and your audience. This helps show that you’re not just promoting your own content—you’re there to help.

Action Step: Think about the questions clients have asked you and use these as topics for creating content on your blog, social posts, and/or videos.

Use visual communication

The design of your brand and website is instrumental to the perception of you and your business. This is especially true for online businesses, who primarily engage with their audience through a website and social channels.

In fact, a study found that 94% of people determine if they trust a company based on the design of their website.

Design has a direct impact on your business because: 

1. It subconsciously influences your audience’s level of trust in you

2. People assume that if you invest in design, then you offer a higher quality product or service

3. It influences how you perceive your business and can help you shift into an abundant mindset

4. It empowers you to charge more for what you offer

Action Step: If you’re not ready to work with a designer yet, make sure you’re utilizing design best practices on your website and in your content. This includes using white space (the empty space or “breathing room” around images and text that’s key for a clean design aesthetic) and hierarchy (a way to differentiate text by font size and style, which helps your reader navigate the content more easily).

SCARY BUT TRUE…

You only have 0.05 seconds to make an impression with your website.

I didn’t make the rules. But I *did* make this guide to help you make the most of that first impression!

People are craving authenticity more than ever (thanks, social media and AI...) so anything you can do to show up as more real, more human, more *YOU* will foster a greater sense of connection with your audience.

Download the free guide for 3 easy ways to make your website stand out.

Accountability check—which action step are you going to use in your business? I want to hear in the comments below!

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