Trust Is a Must

S omeone once said, "Get a customer to reveal his true self and you'll get a true customer." And just how does one encourage revelation? Through trust, of course!

Trust is paramount to the exchange of knowledge, and, as every successful ISO knows, merchant knowledge is power. Trust is born of a common sense of commitment and desire to obtain like goals. Trust must be ingrained, a part of your business persona. It is the coaxial cable that connects you with your merchants.

Just imagine how quickly you could do business if your merchants trusted you enough to act on your advice, rather than wait and worry about hidden agendas. Take the following test and if you answer no to more than one, perhaps it's not a lapse in consumer spending that's keeping your sales in a slump - it could be a lack of trust.

+ Do your merchants have your home phone number?

+ Can your merchants call you at anytime with any problem? Do you listen to them and offer intelligent solutions?

+ Do your merchants always take your calls?

+ Do you send congratulatory notes to your merchants for a good sales month? Do you even know if they are having a good month?

+ Do you share meals or even a happy hour with your merchants at least once a quarter? Remember, the more they see you, the more they'll trust you.

+ Do you provide your merchants with a forum to voice concerns about your services? Frank feedback fuels trust-building.

+ Do you regularly offer support to your merchants as opposed to waiting to be asked?

+ Do you know what your merchants' mission statements say?

+ Does your organization have an established CRM program? (Note: If you don't know what CRM stands for, you're even further behind the pack!)

+ Have your merchants referred you to new accounts? What could be a higher measure of trust than your merchants putting their reputation on the line to recommend you to a colleague?