Relationships Start with Trust

List out the qualities of your favorite clients.

The list probably includes things like loyal, repeat customer, someone who refers others, values your expertise, and follows your recommendations.

How did you acquire that ideal client?

I bet it wasn’t through annoying sales tactics.

It was by building meaningful, trusting relationships.

Your best client may have taken weeks, months, even years to acquire.

But it was worth it.

It was worth it because today they are your best client.

They refer other clients to you. They not only admire your work; they talk about it to other people.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re selling a product or a service.

What you did was build a relationship and build trust to a point that that ideal client may never leave you.

When I earned my business coaching certification and told the world through a LinkedIn post, part of me expected that simple announcement to turn into clients.

If you’ve been in business a while, you may laugh at the naivete of that thought.

The truth is, it took months before I acquired my first client.

And that first client came from building trust.

I receive sales pitches on a daily basis—promises of leads, revenue, podcast guests, and even offers to ghostwrite my book. If I don’t know you, those emails and InMails go right in the trash.

I tried those tactics a few times myself.

The result? Zero responses.

I know the pressure to get leads and sales can be high. Your manager may have set goals that feel impossible to reach.

And they may be—at least in the short term.

Start with your ideal client.

Get specific on age, demographics, income level, and interests. Learn where they go and attend the same events—not with a plan to sell to them, but to show genuine interest in them.

Rather than asking what they do for a living, start with a question like: “What book are you currently reading?” “Do you have a restaurant recommendation for an upcoming anniversary?” “Are you a dog person or a cat person?”

These types of questions take down walls you didn’t know were there.

They create meaningful conversations that lead to coffee chats and eventually to service or product offerings.

Think about your favorite barista, your favorite restaurant, or your favorite retailer.

You go back because people remember your name, your order, or help you pick out that new favorite outfit.

Those experiences are based on connection.

Remember those connections as you build relationships in your own business.

The pressure to sell will always be there.

It takes patience to focus on the long game.

Your best customers will appreciate how you take care of them.

The pressure to sell will always be there.

But relationships built on trust don’t just create customers.

They create advocates.

And those are the clients who don’t just stay… they help your business grow.

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