The Know Like Trust Principle

One of the natural laws of the business world is that people do business with those whom they know, like, and trust.

This means that you will do business with those whom you know, like, and trust. And others will do business with you if they know you, like you, and trust you.

You probably didn’t know that, but you do now. Business is personal. Finance and accounting majors listen up, there is no hiding away in an office (or back room) cut off from almost all other people.

As a young professional you must develop your personal skill set to the point of (1) being known for the high quality of services/products you provide, (2) being approachable and likeable, and (3) being trustworthy. Another way of saying this is that people will not do business with you if you are (1) known for shoddy work and cutting corners, (2) self-centered, aloof, obnoxious, arrogant, jerky, and/or you are an asshole, and (3) you are untrustworthy and known for betrayal.

The know, like, and trust principle (KLT) is so fundamental to professional skills that there is no use going on to more advanced topics (such as branding, networking, influence, and team building) if you do not excel on each part of it.

Being well formed by KLT today is more important than in previous years. It’s because the business pendulum has swung back to relationship marketing.

Mark Schaefer is a Rutgers University social media marketing professor and a respected big name in social media. In his recent book, Social Media Explained (2014), he says that through much of human history commerce has been performed in P2P form. That’s person to person. Chapter 1 is titled, “Humans Do Business With Other Humans.” In markets formed since the beginning of commerce, there are four aspects worth noting.

1. “It was highly personal and interactive.” When selling in a local market, you the seller stood face to face with the buyer. He bought from you if he knew, liked and trusted you.
2. “There was immediacy.” Feedback from transactions was quick and loudly vocal. You could expect a visit at home from the buyer if he didn’t like what you sold him.
3. “Success depended on word of mouth recommendations.” Good reviews about your products and services traveled quickly, and bad reviews traveled much faster.
4. “There was a primal need to connect.” The social aspect of business is fun and facilitates all sorts of nonbusiness communications.

Schaefer goes on to explain that after nearly a century of impersonal mass communication, mass advertising and mass selling, the business pendulum has swung back to business being close and personal. He says that the advent of social media.

Schaefer continues his argument that conditions have changed with the advent of global communication and social media. People have something to say about the products and services they use, and they say it over online social networks to their friends and colleages. As a result, business is again (1) personal and interactive, (2) quick and widely heard feedback, (3) reliance upon word of mouth recommendations, and (4) the ability to connect online with friends and new friends.

William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson, authors of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand (2007), Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future (2010), and Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time (2014) also argue that changing business conditions call for increased reliance on personal relationships.

I’ll write much about the know, like, and trust principle in coming weeks and months.

by David Albrecht, Ph.D.

References

• Arruda, William and Dixson, Kirsten. (2007). Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. Wiley.
• Ferrazzi, Keith. (2005). Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time. Crown Business.
• Schaefer, Mark. (2014). Social Media Explained: Untangling the World's Most Misunderstood Business Trend. Mark W. Schaefer
• Schawbel, Dan. (2010). Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future. Kaplan Publishing.

Want more of Skills For Young Professionals? Sign up to receive e-mail notification of posts.

Please follow me on Twitter (@profalbrecht), and follow me on LinkedIn.