In traditional marketing and sales the best way to build trust is in building rapport. This is the feeling of engagement that people have with the sales person, or anyone in any situation really.



If we can build huge trust rapidly the cautious defences we have about us in any new meeting will drop and we will hear what is being communicated. Without it, nothing will really get through.

In face-to-face encounters there are a number of things people can do to build trust - on a physical level and a psychological level.

The Seven Second Rule

There is an initial summing up people do on meeting us - the seven second rule of an initial assessment. This is mainly based on our physical appearance and initial words. Once the first impression is formed it is difficult to change.

For the next element of building trust (although as noted above about how quickly we judge people it is important this is incorporated in that initial seven second assessment time) there are two elements.

These are in the physical and psychological realms.

Physical Rapport

Physically we can rapidly build trust by mirroring people. This occurs on a number of levels. General body posture is important, rate and depth of breath, blink rate etc.

Standing facing someone does not allow this to be done as effectively. Being at an angle to our subjects allows us to subtly mirror them. It is better to adopt this as we respond in speech and not to be too obvious. Just try matching someone's breathing sometime and see what happens.

Psychological Rapport

On a psychological level people tend to hear according to their personality types. If we take the simplified personality types mentioned before (shark, whale, dolphin and urchin) each has a different response to pace and engagement concerns.

Personality Styles

Sharks and dolphins tend to be fast-paced. You can hear it when they speak and see it when they walk. Whales and urchins are slower and will not follow a fast-paced presentation as well.

The urchin and shark are more fact based. The other two relate more to emotion. Sharks, though, prefer succinct details and value results, urchins are concerned with finer details and a lot of it.

The dolphins will relate to fun and excitement and the whales to helping people and contribution.

Sharks respond to elements of power and control (they like things - fine cars, houses etc). Urchins value respect and making the right decision. Dolphins love fun and recognition, while whales need support and teamwork.

You are often more correct in assessing what personality type people are not than exactly what they are. But this can narrow the field down quite quickly.

To assess these personalities rapidly it is best to allow the person you are meeting to talk about themselves, their needs and wants as much as possible. This in itself builds trust. People trust those who are interested in them.

Group Presentations

In large group situations finding out particular personality types of our audience is not often possible. But it is possible to have elements that appeal to each personality type in the presentation.

Internet MLM

On-line we have a different situation. So how can we build real trust? Is it even possible?

Yes it is and in many ways it corresponds to the above criteria.

1. A picture

An image of us instills trust. That initial seven second evaluation can be done even more rapidly. There are characteristics we trust and others we do not.

Our dress, expression, posture, though comes across well in an image.

Video gives even more information. And you may well want to consider whether or not to use this. Some people prefer audio files only. These are valuable as the quality and tone of your voice builds trust as well.

2. Personal Details

Some description about ourselves can help establish rapid trust. This again can form part of that rapid assessment. Our background, age, experience and the degree this relates to our prospects can have a huge bearing on whether they will trust us.

Is this a problem? Would it be better to appear bland to not offend anyone?

There are two parts to this. One is that the internet is such a huge medium with a such a massive audience that there will be people out there who relate to us. As in life generally we should not worry about pleasing everyone. By being ourselves as much as possible we are more likely to strongly attract those who resonate with us. This will build a more committed team or prospects.

Being bland can make it harder for people to hear us too. They are looking for points to judge us on. The quicker they can make this assessment the more likely they are to hear the rest of what we are saying. Otherwise a part of their mind is always engaged in evaluating who we are.

3. Communication Styles

Communicating at all the levels of the different personality styles can help establish rapid engagement. If you chose to only engage the same style as yourself, or one style only, you will reach 25% of the people out there. Or rather 25% of those who make it through the other judgment calls. By relating in the different styles it is possible to increase your prospects or audience by 400%! Doesn't sound too shabby does it?

So what would these styles relate to? Well sharks like fast, hard facts, things that relate to status etc. So details that reinforce this are helpful. Details of the history of the company, how big it is, how quickly it has grown, and placement in the market are important. Urchins might be more impressed by in depth details about legal aspects of the case and exactly how it all works.

Dolphins would rather see how much fun it would be or the ways it could enhance their social needs. Whales like to see it helping humanity or enabling them to be more able to engage in volunteer and team work.

4. Consistency

Being predictable and consistent in your communication methods, timing and content is helpful in establishing trust. This can be within the body of any communication you make and also with ongoing regular communication like with e-mails. Again this is not to say it should be boring. But some degree of consistency creates a reliability scale. People can relax knowing where you are coming from and feeling like they already know you. They will look forward to your e-mails and other calls.

A large variation will mean they will have to re-evaluate you again.

Overall Evaluation

Beyond this though there is the reality that we are all growing and learning. So don't be too rigid in running your on-line communication. Life is organic and growing so we should allow ourselves to do so too. Authenticity comes through. If we try to maintain some posture, style or method when we have grown beyond that or realize it is no longer serving us, people will read it and the walls of distrust can start to rise again. Communication is dynamic too.

All the best for building your network marketing online.