TRUST BUIldS SUccESSThe second pillar of success builds on the first pillar as it allows you to
leverage your honesty and integrity to develop trust. One of the most
underrated aspects of business relationships is trust, if you can build a
strong, trusting relationship with folks, you can build life-long clients.
There’s a saying in marketing circles and among business owners that
clients like to buy from people that they KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST.
During my years as a lawyer and small business owner, I’ve seen this
ring true time and again.
If I can establish a strong foundation of trust with my client, they will
allow me the freedom to do my job WELL. An over-bearing client who
lacks trust in me will have a negative impact on the outcome of their
case. A client who trusts me to do my job well will not second-guess my
decisions and do themselves a favor.
It is easy to build trust by conducting your affairs with honesty and in-
tegrity. Let me give you an example...
A few years ago, I had a job injury case in which my client was seri-
ously injured. In order to try to get his case resolved, we scheduled the
case for mediation. At the mediation, the insurance company offered to
settle his case for $800,000. I have to tell you, although that was a lot of
money, this man was seriously injured and I knew it was not enough to
cover his medical bills and lost income.
I recommended that my client not accept the settlement, despite the fact
that it would have generated a sizeable fee for me. I thought it was in the
client’s best interest to reject the settlement and move forward with his
claim. The case continued for several more years and during that time
the insurance company spent over $2 million on his ongoing medical
expenses, well over the $800,000 they had offered.
Eventually, once again, we went to mediation and the case was settled
for $500,000. While that was less than the $800,000 originally offered,
when you combine it with the $2,000,000 of additional medical bills
they paid in the interim, it was a much better result for the client.
So, by passing up the initial $800,000 the client actually received $2.5
Million of benefits for his claim. Sure my fee was less, and some busi-
ness school professors would think it was a bad choice for me, but I
didn’t mind. I did what was best for my client and I’m glad I did. That’s