Step two: Trust index

Trust is the cement that builds and sustains any client relationship. It provides the underlying bond to ensure that promises are kept, work is completed on time and knowledge shared. Even before this, it is what gives the client the confidence to seek your services in the first place. O'Shea and Madigan (1997) ably make this point:

The decision to bring in management consultants is one that can place at stake the careers of the very people who hire them, the jobs of thousands of employees, millions upon millions of dollars invested by shareholders, and long-term relationships with customers. Indeed, the most valuable asset a corporation has, its reputation, can be put on the line. And all these risks are connected to the motivation of outsiders whose primary interest is in fattening the treasuries of their consulting partnerships.

Whenever a potential client thinks about employing you as a consultant, they are betting on the future. They need to make a rational decision based on the premise that you will deliver an outcome. However this decision is often taken on little more than a guess or gut feel and much of this intuitive process depends on the extent to which they trust you.

The choices you make about the baby-sitter, frozen food or new car are all influenced by the trust you have that the product or service will deliver an agreed conclusion. So when you purchase these products, what is it that gives you this sense of trust? While you are thinking about this, you might ask yourself: "how do I engender this same confidence in a potential client? What do I need to do that will help them to choose my products and services over a competitor?"

But before you can start to manage the client's perception, you must first define what trust is and then identify how to measure its impact. This is difficult because trust is such a subjective topic. However, certain core indicators can be used to develop a basic appreciation of the level of trust in a relationship:

• Truthful: The extent to which integrity, honesty and truthfulness are developed and maintained.

• Responsive: The openness, mental accessibility or willingness to share ideas and information freely.

• Uniform: The degree of consistency, reliability and predictability contained within the relationship.

• Safe: The loyalty, benevolence or willingness to protect, support and encourage each other.

• Trained: The competence, technical knowledge and capability of both parties.

There is often a link between the level of trust and the entry method used with a client. There are a wide variety of ways that you can first come into contact. They might include follow-on work, referrals, seminar presentation, journal articles or cold calls. For all of these, the trust factor will vary in intensity: from high, where trust is given without question, down to low, where the trust has yet to be earned.

A matrix can offer a picture of the potential level of trust and the entry channel. In Table 5.1, the status of high indicates that the trust factor has developed between the parties; medium suggests that some opportunity to build trust may have taken place; and low means that it has not had a chance to be established. I am not suggesting that entry methods with low against them are bad or less effective, just that you might need to focus more energy on these areas to develop a closer sense of rapport.

One example is the provisional meeting that takes place after a client reads one of your articles in a trade journal. While the article might help to indicate your reliability, capability and responsiveness, the client will have little direct evidence of your truthfulness or capability to be loyal. At the initial meeting, it might pay to spend a percentage of your time talking about previous assignments. In particular, offer stories, case examples or references that indicate your ability to develop and maintain a relationship that is grounded in truthfulness and loyalty.

In business, as in private life, trust is something that has to be earned and is rarely given freely. Even worse, it can be lost with a slip of the tongue or a mis-directed memo. As such, it is important to ensure that the appropriate energy is applied in the right area and not squandered. There is little point in trying to convince the client of your professional capability if they are actually looking for a demonstration of your ability to keep secrets. Before entering into any client relationship, you should take some time out to map and understand your trust index. You should be able to step into your client's shoes and from their point of view see how much confidence they will have in you and your ability to deliver the required outcomes.

This idea of trust is not focused just on the relationship with the client. Within any project there is likely to be a third person involved — the individual, team or organization that is going to be the recipient of the change. Although in many cases this might also be the client, there will be times where it will be someone different. If this is the case, you will also need to build a similar matrix to understand how the end consumer of the change feels about you. Developing a trusting relationship with the client doesn't mean that corresponding levels of trust will exist with the consumer. In many cases, you will be employed by the client to deliver a forced change into another area. In this case, you will need even more effort to develop a trusting relationship with the end consumer.