credibility |ˌkredəˈbilitē|
The quality of being trusted and believed in.
The Journey
As you begin to delve further into building your network the next important task is create, nurture, and maintain your credibility. Once expectations form, your credibility stage begins. It is important to understand how vital this stage, if each party is confident of attaining fulfillment from the relationship, it will strengthen it. How is credibility attained? When appointments are kept, promises are acted upon, facts verified, and services rendered. Then and only then does credibility get whittled out in small, meager, diminutive portions.
Don’t Mess This Up
If there is any lesson concerning credibility it is knowing how to manage expectations. If there is any quicker way to throw away your hard work, it is to fail at living up to expectations. Expectations, whether explicit or implicit, must be kept because people remember when expectations are not met. They remember when phone meeting was skipped or an email not sent.
Determining How Credible You Are
What people say about you when you are not there is a great indicator of how credible you are. People often turn to third-parties to get a second opinion about you so knowing what other people think is crucial to improving your network. People in your network want to know if you’re reliable and honest, they want to know if your products and services are effective. Basically, everyone wants someone they can count on in a crunch. If have been called upon in the midst of someone’s crisis multiple times then chances are you’re pretty damn credible. One of the defining factors of your credibility is repeat business. If someone uses you once it only establishes that they can navigate a phone book and the internet. If someone uses you repeatedly, it demonstrates the reliability, dependability, and integrity.
Fixing Up Your Credibility
If you have read this and found your credibility lacking then I suggest you immediately put a plan together on how to fix it. I suggest you start small. When expectations are created for you or by you, ensure you meet them with exceeding excitement. As you create a reputation of consistency you’ll find your credibility will thrive.
What’s Next?
Continue building your network, next is profitability.
