Trust Is (and Will Always Be) a Competitive Advantage

Trust Is (and will always be) a Competitive Advantage

True story.

I received this LinkedIn InMail message from a financial advisor in my area.

As an extroverted business professional, I am always looking to meet new people and find new ways to partner together – especially if I can help someone early in their career.

So, we connected and set up a call to get to know each other.

Once I joined the virtual meeting, the life was immediately sucked out of me.

Why?

I thought this was a networking meeting as a get to know each other.

But alterative motives were in play.

The financial advisor had invited a senior rep, without my knowledge, to join.

Together, they immediately jumped into ‘profiling’ me and started hard selling financial solutions.

Here’s what went through my head:

I can answer the third question.

Absolutely, yes.

Over the next couple of weeks, I received the same LinkedIn messages from three other advisors at the same firm.

I imagine these advisors are sitting in a room and one has the bright idea for a new outbound sales call workflow.

And everyone erupts in thunderous applause thinking they’ve just purchased the winning lotto ticket.

How did we get to this point?

The use of misleading sales tactics is a result of a combination of short-term, sales-driven incentives, aggressive sales cultures, and limited financial knowledge among clients.

‘By profiling’ me during a brief 30-minute call and offering recommendations based on minimal information, these advisors demonstrated a lack of understanding and empathy for why I was on the call.

In short, they were acting in their best interests, rather than mine.

What this means for you

Businesses today face a twofold challenge:

Competing against other companies
Overcoming negative perceptions within the industry

What negative perception?

Remember the Wells Fargo scandal?

Even when your business operates with integrity, the poor reputation of the wider industry can cast a wider shadow over you, making potential customers hesitant or distrustful.

The ‘trust gap’ means that you aren’t just competing on price, product features, or service offerings, but also on trustworthiness.

5 Steps to building trust in sales and marketing

Building trust is more than just a handshake or clever pitch – it’s the foundation for lasting relationships and sustainable success.

Whether you’re nurturing a new lead or maintaining an existing customer relationship, trust is the glue that holds it all together.

There are five essential steps to keep at the forefront of your mind when conducting sales and marketing activities.

Step 1: Customer-Centric Messaging

Example:
Instead of leading with “Our advisors provide comprehensive wealth management solutions,” lead with the customer’s actual concern:

“You’ve spent years building your wealth. We help you understand what you can confidently spend, invest, and leave behind.”

Tactic:
Build messaging around customer life events and financial concerns, not products. Create separate messaging for prospects approaching retirement, business owners preparing for a sale, young professionals building wealth, or families planning for college.

Trust Builder:
The customer sees that you understand their situation before you try to sell them something.

Step 2: Transparency

Example:
Don’t wait until the proposal to explain fees, commissions, minimum investment requirements, or potential limitations. If a product has tradeoffs, explain them upfront.

“This solution may provide the income stability you're looking for, but it also comes with higher fees and less liquidity than some alternatives.”

Tactic:
Create a “What You Should Know” section for every major financial product or service that clearly explains:

What it does
Who it’s appropriate for
What it costs
Its limitations
What alternatives customers should consider

Trust Builder:
You demonstrate that you’re willing to explain why someone shouldn’t buy something, not just why they should.

Step 3: Consistency Across All Channels

Example:
Imagine an advisor’s website says “We put your interests first,” but their LinkedIn posts constantly promote products, and their first sales call immediately turns into a product pitch. The disconnect creates skepticism.

Tactic:
Conduct a trust audit across the customer journey:

LinkedIn → Website → Email → First Call → Proposal → Onboarding

Ask one question at every stage:

“Does this experience deliver what we promised?”

Make sure the tone, promises, terminology, and customer expectations remain consistent from the first interaction through the relationship.

Trust Builder:
Customers experience your brand as one organization, rather than a series of disconnected sales tactics.

Step 4: Personalization and Authenticity Matter

Example:
In the intro story, the advisor tried to profile me after barely knowing me. That’s personalization in the wrong order.

A better approach would have been:

“Joe, I'd like to learn more about what you're trying to accomplish financially. I have a few questions, but I'm not going to recommend anything today. If there's an area where we can help, I'll explain what that looks like after I understand your situation.”

Tactic:
Adopt a “diagnose before prescribe” approach. Give advisors a structured discovery framework that requires them to understand the customer’s goals, concerns, financial situation, and priorities before presenting a solution.

And give the prospect permission to say “not yet.”

Trust Builder:
You demonstrate that understanding the customer is more important than hitting the next sales milestone.

Step 5: Ethical Sales Practices

Example:
Don’t measure an advisor’s success solely by assets gathered, products sold, or revenue generated. Those metrics can unintentionally encourage the exact behavior you experienced.

Tactic:

Add trust and customer-outcome metrics to the sales scorecard. For example:

Client retention
Referral rate
Customer satisfaction
Complaint frequency
Product suitability
Time from first meeting to recommendation
Percentage of prospects who receive alternatives or educational resources before a recommendation

You can even track “no-sale wins”: prospects who weren’t ready to buy but left the interaction with a better understanding of their financial situation.

Trust Builder:
When you reward advisors for creating successful customer relationships rather than simply closing transactions, behavior follows.

The Short of It

Trust must be integrated into every strategic priority for long-term success, not just short-term gains.

By focusing on customer success, rather than simply selling a product or service, you build credibility, loyalty, and ultimately set your brand apart in the market.

Failing to do so damages your brand’s reputation, contributes to negative industry perceptions, and could make you appear as unreliable as an unqualified financial advisor using deceptive tactics.