Coach Dan Foster

Here is an update to the very informative and popular video by Erik Qualman demonstrating the power and influence of Social Media in today’s world.

Building trust with clients is extremely challenging in a world where people are becoming more and more cynical about corporations and professional service providers. One mistake (or perceived mistake) and trust can be lost in a matter of seconds over Twitter, Facebook, or a chat room. Because of this, having a strategy to deliver your message and build trust with your clients is more important than ever.

We have to be careful not to force a confidence or trust onto someone that is not prepared to give us either. In a world of instant gratification, learning how to effectively build trust over time can be tough. You see, people have to hear your message before they can begin to trust you. And, they cannot just hear it once or in one particular way. They need to hear it repeatedly and in many different ways. Consider these five strategies for delivering your message and building trust with clients:

If you’ve been hesitant to engage in social media or if you think its just a fad, this video post is for you. Erik Qualman’s book, Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business and the video below will open your eyes to the social media revolution that is occuring all around us. It’s time to jump in before it’s too late.

Day 3 of the Building Champions Experience for me was about business vision, strategy, and the social media revolution. For a full synopsis of the day I want to encourage you to visit the official blog of the 2010 Building Champions Experience Here are my takeaways from the presentations and focused time on vision planning.

Early on in my career I learned that working by referral only was a comfortable but unsuccessful way to run a sales business. In those formative years I believed the only true way to stay in the business was to focus on the people I knew (sphere of influence). I was told people who were cold calling, door-knocking, and doing other selling activities that helped them meet new people through hard work and determination were crazy and wasting their time. I discovered quickly that nothing is further from the truth and the most successful sales people follow a Business Growth Formula that yields consistent business growth year after year regardless of the type of market. The formula is simple and one that by referral only agents are missing out on: