Know Like Trust: 5 Ways to Upgrade Your Credibility

“Don't confuse visibility with credibility.” - Harvey Mackay

You might not think about your operations and your professional credibility in the same moment - but how you run your business is a reflection of your capabilities as a consultant or coach.

If you want to earn top dollar for your services, it’s clear you’ll first have to become the go-to expert in your niche. You’re already experienced in showcasing your skills and probably have been for some time. But how well we run our own business makes an impact on how we’re viewed in the marketplace and our networks.

A business that runs smoothly is demonstrated expertise that goes a long way regarding the almighty Know, Like, & Trust. Relationships are the core of any business and nothing says, “I’m an expert” like walking the walk.

Here are 4 ways of improving your operations and how they can influence your credibility.

1. Invest in your content team and tools

The old adage of ‘content is king’ is still true. But it’s most effective when you add consistency. Content does the critical legwork of building a bridge between you and your audience. This is one of the most effective ways to shorten your sales cycle. I’m not saying your content doesn’t need to be quality. I’m saying taking 3 months between blog posts and not putting them on a social network that drives people to your site means a lot of missed opportunities.

Credibility: Investing in a team putting out quality content consistently - content that’s closing that Know, Like, & Trust gap - means when it’s time to talk about an offer or collaboration, there’s less resistance and fewer objections. They’ve seen you be dependable and capable. Whatever your team looks like - a copywriter, or a social media manager or some combination of subject matter experts and tools that make this a painless, efficient, and maybe enjoyable process - invest in this part of your operations.

2. Build video into your repurposing strategy

Just because your last blog post was three months ago doesn’t mean you can’t use video to drive your audience there. If you enjoy being on camera it’s easy to batch videos and hand them off to your content team (see above). You can also have your team create videos with your voiceover if being on camera isn’t your jam.

Credibility: You’re leading your audience through your content, which automatically positions you as an expert. The more engaging the content, the easier it is to follow. Video is standard and is expected when positioning yourself as an authority. Leverage your older existing content to show how long you’ve been an authority. Add video to it to update, contextualize, or reinforce the message.

3. Optimize your tech implementation

Would you feel confident spending thousands with a business that has a site full of broken forms and dead links? Have you ever had some buyer’s remorse when you started working with someone and discovered a disorganized mess? Invest in optimizing your customer experience.  If tech isn’t your strongest skill, invest in a subject matter expert like a business architect. 

Credibility: Coming from tech, I’ll be the first to say that technology is wonderful…until it isn’t. How well you implement and manage your tools to support what you’re bringing to a client, speaks volumes about the quality of the final product they can expect you to bring to the table. Constant tech issues, cumbersome customer experience, and a constant sense of being “under construction” erode the Know, Like, & Trust progress you’ve made.

4. Automate your CRM

Keeping up with your contacts is a high-impact task that’s often overlooked. Putting them to work in your pipeline should be one of the most streamlined systems in your business. It’s important that you’re spending more time building the relationship than struggling with your tools and cringing at missed notifications.

Credibility: How quickly and effectively you manage interactions communicates a sense of urgency. It makes your people feel important and that their needs are a priority. This makes a big deposit in the bank of Know, Like, & Trust in the beginning. it becomes the backbone of long-term customer value.

Keeping your own business optimized is the purest evidence of your expertise

If you can’t keep your own house in order, how can anyone feel certain about what you’re bringing to their business?

The all-important Know, Like, & Trust begins with people getting to know you and your brand. The first place prospects look is how your business performs - your processes, people, and principles - to decide if it's a good fit. No amount of marketing will ever replace the trust gained when they see you walking the walk. Seeing you run your show confidently and effectively makes working with you on their business needs an easy yes.

Where should you start?

Optimizing your operations can be time consuming and costly if you're not following the right strategic plan. What are your priorities when it comes to improving how your business runs? Are they the right priorities or are you simply putting out fires? Pro Tip: It's time to identify and address the root core problems that make things run less than smoothly.

Not sure how? That means it's time to talk to a subject matter expert, like me.

My Assess, Apply, Adjust framework is a simple but powerful method of root cause analysis that walks you through creating the best possible business processes. It's based on your custom needs and resources, not vague influencer strategies. Most importantly, it's designed to get you un-stuck right now. Today.

It all begins with a 90 minute 360-business view, my Start Where You Are assessment, to determine what's most important to you, what's holding you back, and what you need to get your business operations aligned with your goals. Visit hustlesmarter.co to set up your tactics call today so you can stop struggling and start making progress.