July 13, 2017

Business Brief with… Bill Gilmer @wordsprint

Business Brief asks Presidents, CEOs, Owners and Leaders of companies located at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC) one question...

 “What key lesson have you learned in business that would help others?”

Please enjoy Bill Gilmer's perspective on the question…

I’ve learned that it’s all about trust.

Why do clients buy your goods and services? Because they trust you to deliver.

Why do employees give you their best, day in and day out? Because they trust you to have their back.

It is trust that makes mergers and acquisition work, it is trust that builds partnerships with vendors, it is trust that allows collaboration and team building.

You’ve probably been to sales seminars where the guru du jour claims that “it’s all about relationships.” It is all about relationships… but relationships are all about trust.

So how do you build trust, with clients, employees, business partners? Integrity of course: saying what you mean, and doing what you say. Honesty in all dealings, that’s a given. Transparency is huge. Making promises, then keeping them.

But there’s another aspect to trust that fascinates me the most, and that’s the rhythm component.

I’m not quite sure why, but there is something about rhythm that touches our deepest core as humans. Maybe it’s because we live in a rhythmic universe, where the earth spins on its axis, and circles the sun, with the tides and the seasons and the days and the nights all unfolding in a rhythmic way.

But I do know that rhythm builds trust.

In marketing, when you touch clients and prospects rhythmically, you build more than just top-of-mind recognition, you also build trust. In nonprofit donor relations, when you reach out rhythmically to solicit support, you build trust.

Sometimes folks ask why Wordsprint still recommends print as a vital component of many marketing campaigns. It’s because print too builds trust: there’s something about the tactile that reassures more than just the visual.

But that is another topic for another day. Come visit, and I’ll share some more thoughts on the subject. I’ll talk your ear off about it… trust me.

Learn more about Wordsprint, an affiliate member of the VTCRC, and all their services at www.wordsprint.com.

Bill Gilmer
info@wordsprint.net
2200 Kraft Drive, Suite 2050
Phone: 540-382-9111