Develop Trust To Build Value
As a Customer Relationship Manager for a large telecommunications company in British Columbia, I’ve found that when I get out in the field, my customers are often extremely open and honest with me. Some of that is a result of my passion to help them (and my business partners) clarify and improve results, and some of it is the demonstrated understanding of their priorities and values. I choose to spend time with them, listening to what they want and need and that builds trust.
You need a relationship built on shared values with your end customers and business partners to develop trust. My approach is to focus on their goals and understand how we are working together, while striving to make that path as smooth as possible. Sometimes the path is underdeveloped, and sometimes full of twists and turns, so finding those shared values and developing trust isn’t always an easy process. A focused and concerted effort certainly speeds it along, and in the process, we develop a shared perspective and appreciation which furthers the understanding of values and deepens trust.
Something overlooked at times is developing trust with solution and delivery teams, and this is equally important. Providing business results sometimes carries a high price; especially if solution reliability and functionality aren’t where they need to be. The BRM is just one piece of the puzzle, relying heavily on the communication between disciplines of architecture, product management, operations, etc. In order to be effective, a BRM needs to work with internal teams. Spending time working with internal teams increases awareness and understanding of what is needed to better advocate for our end customers and business partners while removing obstacles and barriers to success.
“Trust is like the air we breathe–when it’s present, nobody really notices; when it’s absent, everybody notices.”
– Warren Buffet
I routinely embark on quests to influence and persuade solution and delivery teams and am rarely disappointed. On these quests, I’ve learned how important it is to take the time to understand what is standing in the way of success before making suggestions on how to improve.
Earlier in my career, I didn’t always take the time to build that deeper understanding before leaping into a suggestion for improvement.
When the opportunity isn’t there for big improvements, simply taking the time to increase everyone’s understanding of commitments and impact for our business partners goes a long way. This knowledge tends to get lost from time to time along the ‘paper-cup-and-string’ line of communication.
Increasing internal communication is so crucial to increasing value for our partners and their continued trust. When things break down or fail (and they will), trust is damaged, and value is greatly diminished. When we work better together, customers feel safe making more demands because they recognize value and they know, even when something goes wrong, we will learn from it and put measures in place to prevent future occurrences.
In this way, something very natural starts to take shape, and internal teams start formulating ideas on how to meet consumer needs in innovative and effective ways. Business partners start to see the proven track record with a trusted point of view, delivering on the commitments you’ve built together, and everyone sees the value of their involvement grow!
