Do Business With People You Know, Like, and Trust

Unless they begin to lie, cheat, and steal

If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you. –Zig Zigler

You have probably heard the saying that people do business with other people that they “know, like, and trust.” That is something that so-called gurus who are trying to get you to join them in their online business say. They try to get to know you first through a multitude of emails, get you to like them if you read their emails, and then hope you will trust them. If they can get you to know, like, and trust them, they have probably gotten a sale or a taker for whatever they are promoting.

That goes for sales and marketing people that you see in person as well. If you get to know them, like them, and trust them, it is likely that they can get you to sign a deal with them. Whether it is insurance, investments, or whatever, they will try to use that method. Even car sales people try to get you to spend a lot of time with them so that they can try to get you to know, like, and trust them.

A real estate investor had a real estate agent that he knew, liked, and trusted. Then the agent told him about a deal on a property which seemed like it would be a great investment. Then the inspector’s report came back saying that the building had structural problems and could collapse. The agent tried to get the prospective buyer to sign the deal saying that the inspector was probably wrong and the building was safe. There would be no reason for the inspector to give a false report. At that moment, the investor knew he could no longer trust that person who only wanted to enrich himself with the commission he hoped to make. The prospective buyer did not trust the agent any longer. He did not like him either. He did know him, and he didn’t like what he saw. He got a new agent.

Often unscrupulous sales people, whether its is insurance, investments, property, cars, or whatever, will target people that they know who seem to like them. They will try to gain their trust. Then they will sink in their claws and possibly sucker them into a bad deal.

Study things out yourself before you end up taking the advice of someone else. Don’t take their word for it without doing your own research.

Doing business with someone you know, like, and trust may be good advice. However, those people could turn out to lie, cheat, and steal from you. Some have been known to do just that for the sake of taking your money. They are obviously only thinking of themselves.

Some of the most notorious are fellow church members that you know, like, and trust. You cannot believe they would ever lie, cheat, and steal. Maybe they don’t think they lied and they didn’t intend to cheat, but things went badly so they lost your money. Often they know exactly what they are doing. They are trying to line their own pockets and not get caught.

People you know, like, and trust can be valuable assets in your life. They can help you with things you need and sometimes give you good advice. Hopefully, those people you meet will not be the type who will lie, cheat, and steal to get your business.

“Trust is like blood pressure. It’s silent, vital to good health, and if abused it can be deadly.” — Frank Sonnenberg, author of Follow Your Conscience