and a life that you love. And this is Q&A Tuesday and today’s question comes from

Ms. Evelyn and Evelyn writes:

“Hi Marie, after watching all your recent videos I’ve been thinking a lot about the

strong sense of trust you create in your business. Through free phone calls, videos, and newsletters,

you come across as a genuine friend, and a funny one at that, who we can rely on to pursue

our dreams. As an artist it’s crucial for me to communicate the same sense of trust

to potential clients in order to get more commissioned work. However, I’m struggling

with where to begin. Since I can’t really offer full refunds once I put paint to canvas,

I feel like I’m a step behind in the please trust me game. So my question is, what are

some steps I can take to communicate a genuine sense of trust to appeal to potential clients?

Thank you for your time, Evelyn.”

Great question Evelyn. Creating trust is an essential part of creating a business and

life that you love, but before we go any further I want to nip something in the bud. So you

talked about feeling a step behind in this please trust me game and I want to tell you

something, that is not true. You do not have to offer refunds in order to create trust.

Obviously that doesn't work for your business model, so just don't do it. Now, I know you’re

asking yourself, “Well, what do I do then?” and I’m gonna give you some insights. But

I’ve gotta say, in our business ironically we’ve never really thought about creating

trust, and maybe that’s why people feel a great sense of trust with us. There’s

no formula to follow, there’s nothing really strategic we do besides be really honest,

be really transparent, and only do and say what we believe in. So all that being said,

here are two principles that can help you inspire trust in your customers.

Number one is be true to you. So in my company and on this show, we only do things that we

really believe in. We only say things that we can stand behind. And in my own life, both

in the business and personally, if I don't feel it, I don't do it. And if I don't believe

in it, I don't say it. Bottom line is, I don't pretend ever, except perhaps maybe when I’m

playing Smurf Kingdom.

So a little behind the scenes secret from MarieTV. When we start to write out these

episodes, if I start to make a suggestion I always ask myself, “Wait a minute, would

I actually do this or do I actually do this?” If the answer is no, I don't write it. Same

thing if I’m like, “Oh, I can really relate to this fear,” and I check myself and go,

“Wait, I actually don't have that fear,” then I don't say it. And similarly, in our

business, if people try and give us money for things that we don't wanna take money

for, for example, like putting ads on our site, we just say no.

As an artist you can and should do this, too. So, for example, if you’re an abstract artist

and someone wants you to paint a portrait of their pet ferret named Big Dick you can

say, “No thank you. I ain’t panting Dick!” In other words, if you don't feel it, don't

do it. And when you’re honest with yourself and honest with your market, you’ll instantly

inspire trust.

Number two, you wanna set clear expectations. So in my company we are obsessed with letting

people know how things are gonna work. So, for example, if you sign up for our email

list we tell you here’s what’s gonna happen next. Here’s when you can expect to hear

from us. If you sign up for B-School, here’s exactly what’s gonna happen next. We’re

gonna walk you through the process. Same thing with a live event. We’re always trying to

let people know exactly what’s gonna happen next. What this does is remove fear and uncertainty

and completely set people at ease and it inspires trust.

As an artist you can do this too. So you know the biggest concern people have about a commissioned

custom piece? They’re thinking in their minds, “What happens if I don't like it?”

So why not set up a process where you walk people through exactly what’s gonna happen?

So in our business, we commissioned a custom piece of artwork for our office and we love

it, and the reason I love it is because the artist actually took us through the whole

process step by step. She showed us her timeline, she allowed us to give feedback, she showed

us the progress along the way, and the thing came out amazing. Now, for you as an artist,

you may not wanna give your clients an ability to give feedback, so you’ve gotta make the

right choice for you. But the point is, if you walk people through the process and you

give them an option somewhere to say, “You know what? This isn’t for me. I’d actually

like to back out,” they’re gonna feel so much more comfortable doing business with

you. So let’s wrap this up with a Tweetable.

“Build your business on truth and trust will build itself.”

That was my A to your Q Evelyn, let us know how it goes. And now I would love to hear

from you. So what makes you trust someone enough to do business with them? Any do’s

and don’ts that you’d like to share either from your own business or as a customer?

As always, the most awesome discussions happen after the episode over at MarieForleo.com,

so get yourself over and leave a comment right now.

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Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special

gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching and I’ll see you next time

on MarieTV.