We call it “The Trusted Advisor Theory.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This small piece of paper we shared contains a curated list East Fork Pottery\u2019s favorite restaurants, bars, breweries, and activities in Asheville<\/strong>. It even includes other favorite potters <\/em>in the city. We picked it up at their shop on North Lexington. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To be clear, this isn\u2019t just any<\/em> list. As many of you know, East Fork is an Asheville institution\u2014a well-known pottery brand now famous throughout the country. As far as brands go, they\u2019re about as big as it gets in Asheville. They\u2019ve been featured in Bon App\u00e9tit, Fast Company, the New York Times, and many other publications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While they make their goods in Asheville, they\u2019re not just making it in Asheville. They\u2019re making it everywhere<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So then, why bother to give out a list of their favorite coffee shops, and even more shockingly, other pottery makers in town? Why send people away from their shop to other stores in town to their competition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not a very good salesperson. I often send people away to other companies,\u201d says Gillie Roberts, owner of Ware, a sustainable lifestyle shop called in Downtown Asheville. \u201cI\u2019ll say to them \u2018Here\u2019s the exact thing you need, I don\u2019t carry it for XYZ but this is what you need.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She continued, \u201cIf the goal is sales, that can be good in the short term but long-term success is very much based on trust.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n (P.S. We interviewed Gillie in podcast Episode 004<\/strong>. You can listen to the full episode and review the show notes here<\/a>.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a valuable business lesson in Gillie\u2019s words. We\u2019ll bet that you\u2019ve experienced a pushy salesperson who attempts to pressure you into buying something. How did you feel after that exchange? Pushy salespeople make us feel less trusting of that person and what they\u2019re selling.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, there\u2019s no better way to build trust when someone makes an honest recommendation<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we were brand new to town (not that we aren\u2019t still\u2014but this story was from our first weekend in Asheville), we stopped in Old North<\/strong> and got to speak with Jack, the owner, and Kylie, the manager. We didn\u2019t buy anything that day and they didn\u2019t pressure us to even look around. Instead with left with a list of their favorite restaurants and bars, written on the back of receipt paper. Every recommendation they gave has been amazing. When it\u2019s time to buy a new pair of jeans, guess where Tony is going?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether they were aware of it or not, whether it\u2019s part of an explicitly communicated strategy or not, East Fork, Old North, and Ware are positioned to be our Trusted Advisors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We know you\u2019ve experienced this as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a small scale, it happens almost every time you dine out at a restaurant. How do you feel when you go to a restaurant and the server \u2018recommends\u2019 the most expensive items on the menu? While it might be true that, yes, the $62 filet mignon is<\/em> a delicious dish, it also might be true that the waiter is simply trying to raise the bill to get a bigger tip. It\u2019s always much more believable, and endearing when they tell you what not<\/em> to order and then recommends their true favorite and explains why.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n While becoming a Trusted Advisor doesn\u2019t often happen overnight, it is a valuable strategy. And it\u2019s accessible to you and to every business out there,<\/strong> no matter how small or large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how can you practice this paradoxical wisdom in your daily life and business? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[Trust] is not something that happens immediately,\u201d Gillie says. During the episode, she goes on to reference Bren\u00e9 Brown\u2019s wise words: \u201cTrust is built in small moments.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words: it takes time and you can expect to gain trust in baby steps. It\u2019s uncommon to get someone to trust you in one fell swoop. You have to put in the work every day.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n But how? We sat down and meditated on this concept and came up with a few beliefs on how to build trust in business. We\u2019re no gurus, these are just hypotheses. In fact, over the next month, we\u2019re going to test these out and see how they work for us. We challenge you to do the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there\u2019s someone you follow on social that you absolutely love, chances are your followers probably will too. Social media, especially Instagram, is a wonderful branding platform. It\u2019s not necessarily designed to drive sales but rather tell your brand story and build relationships with others. So, sharing a post from a fellow like-minded business \u2014even if it\u2019s not directly related to your business or, on the other hand, even if it\u2019s from an account that some might consider competition<\/em> \u2014is generally appreciated by your fans. And, in the end, it\u2019s about serving your fans.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n By the way \u2014this isn\u2019t limited to social media<\/strong>. Sharing an article, newspaper clipping, quote from a book, or photo with a friend by email or a handwritten letter. We\u2019re giving social media as the example because it\u2019s the primary sharing tool we all use these days, but this practice could take many different forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a customer comes in looking for something that you just don\u2019t have or do, be honest. While there\u2019s a time and a place to expand your offerings to fulfill a client\u2019s needs, chances are you\u2019ll end up feeling icky if you sell them a square peg for their round whole. Most of the time, it\u2019s best to know what you do best and only focus on doing that.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yup. Send them away. If you\u2019re not the right fit, <\/strong>admit it<\/strong><\/em> and then attempt to solve their problem by <\/strong>knowing who is<\/strong><\/em>.<\/strong> Recommend that they try a different store, product, or company that fulfills their needs. While there is a small chance that they might not ever come back, there\u2019s a higher likelihood that they will or that they will recommend your brand to someone else \u2014 someone who needs square pegs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Giving away something for free and not asking for anything in return is a great way to build trust. Also, knowledge and information are rapidly becoming free. If you think you\u2019re in business because of what you know, we beg you to reconsider. <\/strong>People can Google\/Wikipedia\/YouTube search for the info. What they want is someone who knows how to save the day<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n So think about it: what do you know that your customers might want to know, too? Knowing that many of their customers visit their Asheville store from out of town, East Fork built a curated list of their favorite things to do in Asheville. It helps their customers and is aligned with their own brand ethos which is to support small, local businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Be accountable. Do what you say you\u2019re going to do and do it on time. It should go without saying, but the truth is if you don\u2019t deliver on your promise, you\u2019ll lose trust. Trust is like a reputation and as they say, \u201creputation takes a lifetime to build a minute to blow.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Applied to a business sense, we mean don\u2019t talk $#*! about your customers, your competitors, or your partners. One of the most cringeworthy mistakes<\/strong> we see here in Asheville is people talking down on businesses or competitors they don\u2019t particularly like. The truth is we all have our favorites and our non-favorites. Share your favorites and keep your non-favorites to yourself! <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the best Reddit life-hacks we\u2019ve heard is to only speak positively behind people\u2019s backs<\/strong> at work because eventually, everyone will assume you talk positively about them behind their backs as well. That sounds like a great plan to us.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n People can smell imposters a mile away. Speaking of which, avoid hyperboles<\/strong> when talking about your brand. Be yourself and talk about your business openly and honestly. Saying something like \u201cWe\u2019re the best ice cream in town!\u201d is a lot less compelling and trustworthy than \u201cWhile there are many great ice creams in town, ours is different because we use XYZ.\u201d There\u2019s a happy medium between wanting people to be as excited for your product as you are and being real. We think it\u2019s based on finding what makes you or your product unique and why that can matter to the right people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the next month, we\u2019ll be leaning into these themes and testing out our assumptions. We\u2019ll report back in a month or so on the results so, stay tuned, friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, enough of us blabbering. What do you think? <\/em><\/strong>What makes you trust a business? How are you working to be a trusted advisor yourself? Let us know in a message! Email us<\/a> or send us a DM on Instagram<\/a>. “If the goal is sales, that can be good in the short term but long-term success is very much based on trust.” Our most engaging post on Instagram\u2014by a landslide\u2014…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[46,47],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.makingitinasheville.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Screenshot-2019-08-08-at-11.23.24-AM.png?fit=1024%2C656\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBut First, More On That<\/strong> Piece of Paper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why It’s Not Always About the Sale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Gilli](\"https:\/\/makingitinasheville.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_4619-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Path to Becoming a Trusted Advisor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Our 7 Truths of Trust Building<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Share what you love.<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Identify when you\u2019re not the right fit.<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Send people away. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Give away what you know.<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
5. Deliver on your promises<\/strong>. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
6. Only speak positively.<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
7. Be real. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"