Selling professional services boils down to one word: Trust (according to Seth Godin ). Given my experience in IT professional services, I decided to explore what Trust truly means.
Per Stephen Covey, Trust is a combination of Character (Who are you as a person?) and Capabilities (What results you can deliver?). Trust has to be earned and is easy to lose. I cannot ask a Client to trust me (I can but it never works). I have to exhibit trustworthy behaviors over the long-term. When I dived deeper into what constitutes trustworthy behavior, I realized I was diving into the human psyche as it involved dealing with ego, fear, and insecurities.
Putting Trust in another person is an act of faith and of vulnerability. It is tough to get here. It requires patience and a focus on the long-term.