I Knew That: Building Trust Agents

I’m on page 88 of Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith.  I wrote a review of it a few weeks from a cursory, fast read of the highlights in Barnes & Noble, I’ll admit.  Why a review from a fast scan? Because I thought I knew all of it already. I read the reviews, read the PR before it hit retail shelves, read the concept in the patterns of my own fabric over many years. It is how I do business already.

But I missed much of it until this FULL read last night and today. Why am I sharing that I made a mistake that I read it too fast or not completely, and told you it was good?  First, because I had trust in Brogan and Smith (I read their blog and newsletter), but more so because I thought I knew what they would say since I believe I’m transparent and honest and looking out for my customers, my readers. I'm a trust agent already.

The book concept kept nagging at me, though. I'm exploring this a bit more at SalesJazz.com which is the current re-branding of the Sales Rescue Team initiative. You can read more there in the coming weeks.

What stood out in the full read?

Chapter 2: Make Your Own Game

You simply have to love that chapter title, but the most important ah-ha for me was on page 65. The Importance of Tinkering. Start tinkering, experimenting, testing, attempting. In short, get off your rear, and don't be afraid to fail. I'm writing, talking to myself in that prior sentence, but if it applies to you, too, well... It inspired me to keep moving, keep iterating, with Sales Rescue Team and while it wasn't the total driver of the move to change it into SalesJazz; it was a small part of it.

Chapter 3: One of Us

Most important nugget is on page 101. "Have a relationship long before the sale," is what Greg Cangialosi, president and founder of Blue Sky Factory suggests.

I couldn't agree more. That's what I've long believed and done, for my own company and for clients. I've expressed it as Lead Nurturing, but that term is way misused now and stands for drip marketing on prospects, not on forming and encouraging relationships to grow, to expand, to become something.

Many times I've heard: Sales isn't  about friendship; it's business. Hmm. Business is about friendship, and trust, and serving another. It may not be friendship in that you'll call that biz friend to come help you move your couch when you move houses (as Brogan and Smith say, more or less), but at its highest, sales does involve friendship.

Next post, looking at Agent Zero from Trust Agents. You can read about it here at Amazon (No Affiliate Link).