August 2023 OK These Words Aren’t Magic But They Are Important

Know, Like and Trust.

The longer version is: People do business with people they know, like and trust.

I wrote about these words here at least once before, and I’m thinking about them again this week as I’m in Dallas attending a conference for businesswomen.

I attend this conference most years, not only because it is several days of taking time to learn and think about our businesses, but also because I enjoy it. It’s thoughtfully designed to serve up a lot of content and time to reflect, but it’s also very intentionally designed to facilitate making connections and building relationships. Having fun.

The know-like-trust isn’t mentioned as a purpose of the programming, but it sure effectively happens.

So, as I’m living out the principle in a concentrated way this week, it seemed like a good time to review and remind us all.

When I first heard about Know, Like and Trust, I thought it seemed over simplistic. But then I started paying attention to my own behavior and realized how much I preferred some business relationships over others.

And how in certain circumstances where I am not the expert, I need to trust someone else’s expertise.

Some of those situations can be quite stressful because some of the decisions are important. Trusting the expertise of someone else?

So much easier when I already know, like and trust them.

I believe savvy businesspeople intentionally seek ways to be known and liked, and as a result trusted.

From where I sit now, I’m also aware of how far I’ve come with becoming comfortable with naturally building relationships that someday may turn into a business opportunity.

While one could argue this is different for authors, I’d say that at least for some authors, the same principles apply. The more your readers know, like and trust you, the better they will be drawn to your books. Nonfiction authors are experts in their field, so reader trust is even more important.

So how do you accomplish it? Meeting people face to face is wonderful, and truly a highlight of the upcoming Christian Products Expo next week in Lexington.

Other in-person ways include speaking engagements, volunteering, or participating in local community and charitable events.

If distance is a factor, social media posts can be a great avenue for letting people get to know you a bit better. But so are zoom calls and webinars, video on social media, as well as emails like this one, blog posts, and even media interviews. Anything that helps people feel like they are getting to know you helps build that know, like and trust with your audience.