Leaping Into Trust

Distrust is an invisible barrier to the sale that often seems to defy logic. In this way, our customers are like first time parachutists.

They want the experience that can only come from making the leap;

They’ve been through briefing, passed the safety checks, and everything is secure and ready;

They’ve shuffled to the edge, and readied themselves to take the final commitment – which is less a big leap and more a tiny hop…

…And they freeze.

What they’re doing is OK, logically. They know the risks are miniscule. And they’re ready, and prepared to go.

But it goes against our evolutionary hard-wiring.

A survival instinct kicks in.

A part of our brain that pre-dates language starts screaming: “Something is wrong! Very wrong!”

Any sale is a leap of faith.

By trusting someone we open ourselves up to the risk of loss – from making the wrong decision ourselves, or by relying on others to deliver something.

It means the decision to buy (or not buy) runs deeper than than logical, or financial considerations.

In other words, trust is more valuable than time, money or effort.

It runs deep in our psyche – and is almost as valuable to us as life itself.

In many ways, people don’t buy your product, service, brand or pitch. They buy a piece of you. And this has serious implications for anyone doing any branding or marketing…

[Related article: http://www.brenthodgson.com/blog/the-best-brand-name-in-the-world ]