Building Trust to Enhance Influence

Here's the new rule of GTM for 2025: it's about about TRUST not DISTRACTION. In 2024 and earlier, most companies were STILL playing the volume game: More cold emails More ads More noise But here's what I learned building partner programs at WeWork and Amex: 1. Identify Trusted Advocates Customers are more likely to trust recommendations from voices they already know and respect. Who influences our target audience? Who already has their attention and trust? These could be industry leaders, complementary solution providers, or niche communities. Build partnerships with those who already have a strong connection to your ideal customers. 2. Collaborate to Add Value, Not Noise Instead of interrupting your audience with another cold email or ad, collaborate with partners to create meaningful, value-driven touch points. - Co-host a webinar addressing a shared customer pain point. - Develop a joint white paper showcasing both brands’ expertise. - Offer bundled solutions that make life easier for the customer. 3. Leverage Existing Trust to Open Doors Partners are amplifiers AND bridges. They help you cross the “river of distraction” and reach customers without the noise. A well-placed introduction or co-branded recommendation carries far more weight than another outbound message. 4. Measure the Shift from Interruption to Influence If trust-building is your new GTM focus, your success metrics need to change too. Track things like: - Partner-Sourced Leads: Leads generated through trusted partner referrals. - Engagement Rates: How customers interact with co-created content or campaigns. - Pipeline Velocity: How quickly partner-driven deals progress compared to direct sales efforts. Breaking through the noise requires genuine relationships. It's no longer about whose voice is the loudest, it’s whose voice your audience already trusts. The future isn't about interruption and distraction. It's about trust.

Trust doesn't come from your accomplishments. It comes from quiet moves like these: For years I thought I needed more experience, achievements, and wins to earn trust. But real trust isn't built through credentials. It's earned in small moments, consistent choices, and subtle behaviors that others notice - even when you think they don't. Here are 15 quiet moves that instantly build trust 👇🏼 1. You close open loops, catching details others miss ↳ Send 3-bullet wrap-ups after meetings. Reliability builds. 2. You name tension before it gets worse ↳ Name what you sense: "The energy feels different today" 3. You speak softly in tense moments ↳ Lower your tone slightly when making key points. Watch others lean in. 4. You stay calm when others panic, leading with stillness ↳ Take three slow breaths before responding. Let your calm spread. 5. You make space for quiet voices ↳ Ask "What perspective haven't we heard yet?", then wait. 6. You remember and reference what others share ↳ Keep a Key Details note for each relationship in your phone. 7. You replace "but" with "and" to keep doors open ↳ Practice "I hear you, and here's what's possible" 8. You show up early with presence and intention ↳ Close laptop, turn phone face down 2 minutes before others arrive. 9. You speak up for absent team members ↳ Start with "X made an important point about this last week" 10. You turn complaints into possibility ↳ Replace "That won't work" with "Let's experiment with..." 11. You build in space for what really matters ↳ Block 10 min buffers between meetings. Others will follow. 12. You keep small promises to build trust bit by bit ↳ Keep a "promises made" note in your phone. Track follow-through. 13. You protect everyone's time, not just your own ↳ End every meeting 5 minutes early. Set the standard. 14. You ask questions before jumping to fixes ↳ Lead with "What have you tried so far?" before suggesting solutions. 15. You share credit for wins and own responsibility for misses ↳ Use "we" for successes, "I" for challenges. Watch trust grow. Your presence speaks louder than your resume. Trust is earned in these quiet moments. Which move will you practice first? Share below 👇🏼 -- ♻️ Repost to help your network build authentic trust without the struggle 🔔 Follow me Dr. Carolyn Frost for more strategies on leading with quiet impact

The day I finally understood how trust really works, everything changed for me as a CSM. In my first Customer Success role, our leader had us read a book before our team offsite: The Trusted Advisor. Short. Simple. Game-changing. Inside was something that flipped a switch for me, the Trust Equation: Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy / Self-Orientation For the first time, trust wasn’t a feeling, it was something I could build intentionally. So I made a move, and this changed how I worked with customers: I wrote each element of the equation into their account. And every engagement became a chance, an opportunity to build on trust with purpose. Here’s what that looked like in real life ✅ Credibility Know your stuff. Speak with clarity. Bring insights, not just product updates. → When a customer asks how to achieve a specific outcome in your product and you clearly walk them through 2-3 workflows that get them there. → When they ask, “What are other customers like us doing?” and you give just the right amount of relevant context and detail. ✅ Reliability Do what you say you’ll do. No surprises. No dropped balls. → You follow through after every meeting. → You send the recap. → You make the intro. → You deliver on that one thing they asked for, even if it seemed minor. ✅ Intimacy Be human. Build connection. Care about what matters to them. → You remember their kid’s name. → You know they’re prepping for a board meeting next week and ask how it’s going. → You lead with empathy, not agendas. 🚫 Self-Orientation Don’t make it about you. Ever. → You don’t flex your product knowledge to sound smart, you share what helps them win. → You don’t push your goals, you stay focused on theirs. Every CSM wants trusted relationships. Not every CSM builds them on purpose. This equation gave me a new level of intention. What’s one small way you can build more trust? ________________________ 📩 If you liked this post, you'll love The Journey. Head over to my profile and join the thousands of CS professionals who are along for the ride as I share stories and learnings going from CSM to CCO.

Influence isn’t about having the most followers; it’s about creating the right connections. 💥   When I joined LinkedIn, I didn’t jump in thinking, “How do I get followers?” I wanted to build relationships.   After 20+ years in this game and running ad campaigns with all the data and automation you can imagine, I realized that the real connections come from showing up as a human being, not a “brand.   Look, I’ve had times when business was booming and times when it all fell apart. And the people who stayed by my side weren’t there because I “sold” them—they were there because we’d connected over the real stuff.   LinkedIn’s unique because it’s not about flashy content or crazy reach. It’s about creating moments that stick, conversations that lead to opportunities without forcing a pitch down someone’s throat.   Here are 3 things I practice to build influence—without ever needing to sell:   🔵 Be Real: Share your wins and your losses. Those tough times? They’re worth talking about because people connect to it. A sale might get you a transaction, but authenticity will get you a partnership.   🔵 Teach, Don’t Tell: Giving insight isn’t about making yourself look good—it’s about genuinely helping others solve their challenges. The more you give, the more people want to engage with you.   🔵 Engage Thoughtfully: Don’t treat comments or DMs like “touchpoints.” Every interaction is an opportunity to create real trust. So treat each connection like a conversation with a friend, not a customer.   This is how you create influence without “selling.” It’s about building respect and trust over time, showing up as you—and letting opportunities naturally follow.   So, what’s your approach on LinkedIn? Drop a thought below 🔽   #Sales #SocialSelling #Networking #StandOutAuthority #LinkedIn #BusinessAdvice

I have an issue with trust. IMO, "Most trusted brand" is a weak brand message. It annoys me when I see it. Trust is earned, not told. If I want you to trust me, it's pointless for me to say, "I'm the world's most trusted brand strategist." That's not going to earn your trust. If anything, you're more likely to doubt me. Instead, I set the stage for trust-building by sharing HOW I will ... ... create value for you that earns your trust. ... show up for you, consistently and repeatedly. ... navigate plot twists and unknowns with confidence. ... stay in the game with you until the job you want done is done right. Then I do what I say I'm going to do. That's how I earn trust. (And I try to surpass a few expectations in the process.) It's what inspires my current and past clients to tell others that I'm worthy of their trust. That means a whole lot more than me saying it myself. Brand leaders, "trust" is not a brand promise. Instead, tell your customers what you're going to do to earn their trust, and how you do it like nobody else does. Then do what you say you're going to do. That's how you earn trust. (If things go sideways, own it and fix it. That's how you earn trust, too.) Once you earn your customers' trust, they'll be more than happy to tell the world that they trust you — which means a whole lot more to your brand reputation and bottom line than you saying it yourself. How do you turn earned trust into "owned" trust? Give your customers the language to share not only that they trust you, but also HOW you've earned their trust like nobody else could. Do it by setting clear, specific, and brand-reinforcing expectations at the start — then hit your marks. That's how you own trust, brand leaders. #brandbuilding #brandstrategy #strategy #leadership #trust