5 Ways to Quickly Build Trust with Your Client

Yesterday, you read how as trainers and consultants, we need to be sincere and always tell the truth when we meet with our client, as well as to instantly build credibility so they have confidence in our credentials.

Today we touch on another important step to build trust quickly with clients we meet for the first time:

3) Build Rapport

Building rapport is finding or creating areas of commonality between two parties.

Like what I always tell people attending my seminars: People like people who are like themselves. Notice how people from similar backgrounds “flock” together?

The two easiest ways are clothing and body language.

(i) Clothes create an identity for you.

Have you ever noticed how a group of teens hanging out on the street tend to dress like their peers? Dressing gives them a sense of belonging. When you dress like your client, you are complimenting their taste – indirectly. For this reason, people start to like you, without they themselves knowing. As you know, if you want someone to trust you, they must first like you.

Another school of thought says that you should dress like the expert that your client take advice from. Thus if you are meeting a franchise owner, wear what his advisor will normally wear. If you are meeting a human resource manager, than dress like what someone who advises a HR manager will wear.

In my opinion, either approach is fine. The key is to be aware of your dressing to make sure you are not “out of frequency”.

(ii) Body language

In 1967, professor Albert Mehrabian from UCLA carried studies to show that we are perceived in 3 ways: Body Language, Tone and Words. The impact of the 3 components are broken down below:

Body Language 55%
Tone of Voice 38%
Words 7%

Today, it is almost impossible to attend a class in communication without being taught the importance of body language.

Many experts preach that we should match and mirror the body language of our clients. However, these if not carefully manage, may make you look “fake” and therefore lose credibility.

From my experience, in most cases, as long as you don’t over mismatch, that will suffice. Hence, if your client is relaxing in the couch, you may not want to be too “forward”. If your client is speaks really fast, you may want to speed up a little too.

Watch out for the conclusion of this article tomorrow where I share the last two suggestions on how you can build trust quickly with your client.


Article is contributed by Tan Teck Beng, Certified Professional Trainer, IPMA (UK). To find out more about the Certified Professional Trainer course, or to register for a free introductory seminar on training as a profession, in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Shanghai, email jessica@qscasia.com, or visit Website: http://www.CertifiedProfessionalTrainer.com