About Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Natalie Doyle Oldfield is the President of Success Through Trust, which works with some of the world’s most successful companies to increase sales, become more profitable, and increase customer trust and loyalty. She is also a keynote speaker, trainer, and thought leader. Natalie is the author of The Power of Trust: How Top Companies Build, Manage and Protect It. Success Through Trust has developed a methodology and award-winning programs based on this research. The book was named one of the Top 5 business books of 2017 by the Chronicle Herald. Natalie was named a Top Thought Leader in Trust by Trust Across America Trust Around the World in 2018 and 2017. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Natalie.
In this episode, Nancy and Natalie discuss the following:
- The fundamental importance of trust in business relationships
- Natalie’s experience as a chief marketing officer during the 2008 financial crisis
- The role of trust in business-to-business transactions
- The outcome of Natalie’s research: Trust is a fundament of every buying decision in business-to-business environments
- Why customers are willing to pay more for products and services from trusted companies
Key Takeaways:
- I created a proprietary framework and a model to help people build these relationships of trust with their customers and colleagues.
- Trust is what the most successful companies have in common.
- People and companies that are focused on building relationships of trust are the ones that are going to be most successful.
- Everybody can learn how to build a relationship or strengthen a relationship of trust and we can all cultivate and develop these skills.
“There is nothing more important than trust. And if we think about it, every single decision we make comes down to trust. First, we decide: do we trust? Then, we decide: are we going to listen? Afterward, we decide if we’re going to have a conversation. Following that, we decide if we’re going to look at someone’s capabilities. We make these decisions subconsciously. In fact, in every business and personal relationship, trust plays a crucial role. Because I know most of your listeners are either working in a business, own a business, or are leaders in a business, trust is involved in every single relationship we have. It’s the most important question everyone has.” – NATALIE
“I became deeply intrigued by how customers decide to buy in a business-to-business environment that I went back to school. I did graduate research, which led me to the science of trust. My master’s thesis revolved around how people decide to buy in such environments. I found out quite quickly that it all starts with trust. First, we decide to trust, then we decide to buy. And you know, lonely wolf, there’s a wonderful, very, very strong, much stronger than when I started 10 years ago, business case for learning and cultivating and developing relationships of trust. And, you know, worldwide, as we know, people buy from people they trust. Well, the fact is that 80% of us buy from a company or an organization we trust. And we pay more. We pay more when we trust. If I’m going to go out for a coffee, I’m going to pay more for a Starbucks coffee because I trust that coffee. I trust the company. I know they know how to create and make an amazing coffee and it’s consistent. It tastes the same just like we know in business-to-business environments companies that will provide us with services we trust, or advice we trust, or products that are safe and secure to use, or are going to do what they say they’re going to do. So that’s how I got into it.” – NATALIE
“We all decide to trust. We make, as I mentioned, a subconscious decision. And we make that decision based on another person’s communication, how they behave, and how they service us. So, it really comes down to these three components, Nancy. So, when you and I are buying a product or service, we’re evaluating another person. And when we say we trust a company, well, companies, as we know, are made up of people. So as an example, when we are buying, say, professional services, like an engineering service, design services to ref- let’s say we’re going to renovate a factory, we would and we’re the business owner and we own this plant, this factory. Well, we would most likely talk to a few different engineering firms to get a design. And we would have conversations and as you know, because you know, this is what you share with your audience, it all comes down to conversations and connecting with people.” – NATALIE
Connect with Natalie Doyle Oldfield:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliedoyleoldfield/
- Success Through Trust Inc: https://www.successthroughtrust.com/
Try Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/
Connect with Nancy Calabrese:
- Twitter:https://twitter.com/oneofakindsales
- Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/
- Website:https://oneofakindsales.com
- Phone: 908-879-2911
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/
- Email: leads@oneofakindsales.com
Voiceover: You’re listening to The Conversational Selling Podcast with Nancy Calabrese.
Nancy Calabrese: Hi, it’s Nancy Calabrese, and it’s time again for Conversational selling – the podcast where sales leaders and business experts share what’s going on in sales and marketing today and it always starts with the human conversation. Today we’re speaking with Natalie Doyle Oldfield, the president of Success Through Trust, Inc. and creator of the Client Trust Index. This index measures true customer sentiment and gives you customer insight in a quantifiable score. She has 25 years of experience in IT and has trained hundreds of technical team members to become trusted advisors to their clients. Natalie is also the author of The Power of Trust, How Top Companies Build, Manage, and Protect It. She was recently recognized as one of Canada’s most inspiring women entrepreneurs and has been named as one of the world’s top thought leaders in trust. Welcome to the show, Natalie. I trust this is going to be a great one, no pun intended.
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Great to be here, Nancy. I’m so happy to be here. I know we tried to do this before, so this is so exciting to be here today with you and your listeners. [1:37]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah, thanks for being patient, by the way. And I want to go back on being named one of the world’s top thought leaders in trust. Congratulations. How did that come about? And what did you do to earn it?
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Well, thank you very much. I was named by an association called Trust Across America, Trust Around the World. And I was named actually for five consecutive years in a row. And each year I had a colleague, or a client nominate me. And focus 100% of my business on helping business owners grow by earning their customers and their employee’s unshakable trust. And I created a proprietary framework and a model, Nancy, to help people build these relationships of trust with their customers and colleagues. And I believe it’s this model that’s, you know, based on science and evidence and all this academic research and working with lots of folks and business owners around the world that makes me one of you know the people that they have awarded this to and it’s a great honor to be named one of the top world thought leaders in trust and yeah. [3:13]
Nancy Calabrese: Wow. Well, that’s a huge bravo to you and a huge accomplishment. I know you’ve said if there’s no trust, there’s no sale. So why is trust so important, especially as it relates to business?
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Nancy, there is nothing more important than trust. And if we think about it, you know, your every single decision we make comes down to trust. First, we decide, do we trust? Then we decide, are we going to listen? Then we decide if we’re going to have a conversation. Then we’re going to decide if we’re going to look at someone’s capabilities. We decide this subconsciously. In fact, in every business relationship and personal relationship but in every business relationship because I know most of your listeners are working at either in a business or own a business or a leader in a business it’s in its involved in every single relationship, we have it’s the most important question everyone has. [4:24]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah, you know, I’m just thinking, I certainly don’t want to be around or be associated with people I don’t trust. So, you know, I guess my question is, what drew you to the science of trust? And why did you decide to focus on it?
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: What a great question. Well, the short and long answer is I spent about 25 years working in various roles in companies that were either in product management or marketing or communications and in sales in a variety of different industries, but all in the IT industry to support people in financial services or education or hospitality. And what I saw was that the most successful companies all had something in common, Nancy, and I didn’t really know what it was. And several years ago in 2008, I was asked to take over while chief marketing officer for a company, a sales role. And I really was quite nervous about doing that, hesitant, let’s say. And didn’t really want to do it. Um, even though I love talking to customers and I love helping customers solve their problems. I’ve always loved that. And I’m curious and always want to help people grow their companies. So, um, eventually I did decide to take over and, um, then the market crashed in September 2008, and I was a month into this new role, and I really wanted to be successful in this new role and looked around and asked the folks that I knew who were very successful in successful companies, how is it that you sell? Like here I am in charge of sales, and I never did have any sales training. And all of them said, basically just keep focusing on the customer relationships, just keep providing value and do whatever you can do to help them out. So, we did, the entire team did, and then within 30-60 days, our sales started going back up. Well, and this was quite significant, Nancy, because our software we were selling to, the hospitality industry, and that industry, just like what happened during the pandemic, was really hard hit with the financial crisis. In the B2B world, people weren’t going to conventions and conferences, they stop traveling. That’s what they do when they cut expenses often. So fast forward, I thought, okay, well, we did all this, and it worked. We actually, not only did we retain customers, but we won some new customers by just focusing everyone on the team. I got so interested in how is it that customers decide to buy in a business-to-business environment that I actually went back to school. [7:36]
Nancy Calabrese: Right.
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: And I did graduate research. And this is how I got into the science of trust. And I did a master’s in, and a thesis was all around, how is it in a business-to-business environment do people decide to buy? And I found out quite quickly, it all starts with trust. First, we decide to trust, then we decide to buy. And you know, lonely wolf, there’s a wonderful, very, very strong, much stronger than when I started 10 years ago, business case for learning and cultivating and developing relationships of trust. And, you know, worldwide, as we know, people buy from people they trust. Well, the fact is 80% of us buy from a company or an organization we trust. And we pay more. We pay more when we trust. If I’m going to go out for a coffee, I’m going to pay more for a Starbucks coffee because I trust that coffee. I trust the company. I know they know how to create and make an amazing coffee and it’s consistent. It tastes the same just like we know in business-to-business environment companies that will provide us with services we trust, or advice we trust, or products that are safe and secure to use, or are going to do what they say they’re going to do. So that’s how I got into it. [9:15]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah, but what exactly is the science behind trust? I’m confused by that.
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Well, we all decide to trust. We make, as I mentioned, a subconscious decision. And we make that decision based on another person’s communication, how they behave, and how they service us. So, it really comes down to these three components, Nancy. So, when you and I are buying a product or service, we’re evaluating another person. And when we say we trust a company, well, companies, as we know, are made up of people. So as an example, when we are buying, say, professional services, like an engineering service, design services to ref- let’s say we’re going to renovate a factory, we would and we’re the business owner and we own this plant, this factory. Well, we would most likely talk to a few different engineering firms to get a design. And we would have conversations and as you know, because you know, this is what you share with your audience, it all comes down to conversations and connecting with people. [10:49]
Nancy Calabrese: Okay.
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: And in order to connect, we have to trust. So, I’ll give you a quick example. I worked with, I worked with, I would say, medium-sized engineering firm in the US. And they focused, they do focus on doing design for factories and for, you know, they put in they have a lot of industrial engineers and mechanical engineers, and they focus on renovating plants and factories. And the owner, the senior managing partner of this firm, came to me and he said, you know, I’ve been getting a lot of complaints from my CFO, the head of finance, that our sales are down. I said, okay, your sales are down. And we’re not getting repeat business. See, typically what happens when we trust someone, we get repeat business, and we get referrals. So, he said, you know, someone suggested, another one of my clients, actually, Nancy, suggested we talk. I said, okay, well, tell me a little bit more. He said, well, here’s the problem. He said, our sales are down from our long-term customers. And I said, well, why do you think that is? He said, well, I don’t know. So, I said, well, let’s talk about your team because it all comes down to- I’ll share an example with you. I have a client, his name’s Richard, and he’s a managing partner of an engineering firm that focuses on renovating and refurbishing and bringing factories up to date to make them more efficient. And he shared with me that his sales were down and that he didn’t understand why they weren’t getting and keeping repeat customers. You see, in their world of professional services, a very large part of their revenue comes from retaining their customers, just doing more projects with the same customers. So, I said to him, it is. So, I said to him, well, tell me about your team. And the reason I said that, as you can imagine, is because trust is built in interactions with people. Companies are made up of people. So, he said, well, I have a great team. I have a lot of incredibly talented mechanical engineers, talented electrical engineers, talented project managers, junior design people, junior engineers, and they do an amazing job. I said, great. So, what else about them? Do they build confidence in the customers, in the conversations, and in the meetings? He said, well, no. He said that’s a real challenge for me. He said, you know, they’re so skilled, but they don’t know how to build relationships and they don’t know how to manage client expectations. And they’re not great communicators. He said, so, you know, not only are the sales down, he said, but he said, you know, I see new leads, expensive leads slipping away. So that was an issue. So, I said, okay, well, this is where we’re going to start. [14:12]
Nancy Calabrese: Right? Hmm.
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: We’re going to talk about how to reskill and teach your team how to build unshakable trust with your customers, because when you have unshakable trust, Nancy, you get repeat customers and referrals all day, every day. So, Richard, the managing partner and the business partner, primary business owner, he joined this trusted leadership program that I have, an accelerator program with other business leaders and business owners. And we walk through how is it that customers, the clients decide to buy and how is it that they decide to trust. And we, he gained new tools and methodologies and then taught his team. See, when you teach your team how to build unshakable trust, they start building confidence in the customers. And it was fantastic because within weeks, I was going to say days, but really weeks. They, they started getting calls and Richard specifically said, got calls from some clients that, you know, sales were just flat and there weren’t new projects coming down the pipe. And clients were saying, you know, what’s going on with this person? What’s going on with that person? In fact, there was one guy, Matt, that was a very, you know, new junior engineer who really became a rock star because he really learned how to connect with customers. And so when you learn how to earn your customers trust, You get these referrals and the repeat business and they start talking about new projects and new referrals. And what I find so exciting is that it is a skill that can be learned, Nancy, and everybody can learn how to build a relationship or strengthen a relationship of trust. We can all cultivate and develop these skills. [16:36]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah, how long does it take a person to really learn those skills?
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Well, that’s a great question. And it depends. So, it depends. So, the, you know, some people, it’s quick, Nancy, because they realize it really starts with looking at and assessing your own trustworthiness. And it really starts with, you know, becoming self-aware how we are perceived by others, how we communicate. And so, you know, we have in all our programs, everything in all of the company programs, we have individual assessments that give people tools and ways to see what their communication style is, how, you know, what their strengths are, where the gaps are. And some people, it can take a couple of weeks. Some people, it can take hours. You know, I’m very practical, so we always have a lot of hands-on tools and assessments and exercises. And you know, it’s like any new skill. When you practice it and you focus on it and you’re deliberate, Nancy, big thing, right? It’s about being deliberately applying what you learn and practicing. We see turnarounds and complete transformations. Sometimes we, you know, I’m on a Zoom call in a program and you see the light bulb go off and the person’s changed forever. [18:31]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah, wow. It’s just amazing to me. I guess it’s your mindset. You must go into this being open-minded and it’s like developing a new habit, right?
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Yeah. Yes, and it’s a hundred percent mindset. It starts with that. Nancy, I’m really glad you mentioned that. And part of that mindset is, as you said, being open. And the other part is beginning with the intention that you’re going to see the best and everyone’s trying their best and that everyone can be trustworthy. You know, I would never recommend that someone go in blindly and think, oh, you know, everybody’s trustworthy. And unfortunately, I do think that people are more skeptical now, Nancy, than ever before. I really see that. And because people are more skeptical, it means our customers are more skeptical. And it means that customers are demanding more transparency, right? They have much more access to information than they ever did before. And because they’re demanding this and they want the transparency and they want to know that people are acting in their best interests, the people and the companies that are focused on building relationships of trust are the ones that are going to be most successful. [20:14]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah, yeah, I mean, it makes so much sense. I cannot believe we’re up in time, Natalie. This is a topic that we could go on and on about, but my biggest takeaway is trust is just critical in life. And the sooner we all master the art of building trust, the happier and more successful our lives will be, right? I mean, that’s my takeaway.
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Yeah.
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah. So how can my people find you?
Natalie Doyle Oldfield: Well, my name, as I mentioned, is Natalie Doyle Oldfield. You can find me on LinkedIn at Natalie Doyle Oldfield. You can also find me on my website, which is www.successthroughtrust.com And if you go to www.successthroughtrust.com I actually have an assessment that you can download, complimentary to assess the trustworthiness of your team: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/e8onMX2YSfIm7b402bCi. So, there’s a number of questions there for you to go through and if you’re interested in learning more you can also sign up. I have a weekly newsletter that I send out with some information and some tips always and usually a tool or two around how to build trust and would love to hear from you. The last way you can find me is if you if you’re interested in really finding out about the science of trust and the power of trust, you can go to Amazon and find my book there, which is called, as you mentioned, The Power of Trust, How Top Companies Build, Manage and Protect It. So, lots of ways, Nancy would love to hear from you and or your listeners and continue this conversation. [22:13]
Nancy Calabrese: Yeah, listen, everyone out there, take advantage of Natalie’s generosity. I know that I’m going to get that newsletter. And it’s just in listening to you, I have a smile on my face because you get it. It’s all about trust everywhere. And as you said, it’s a more difficult time in the world these days. So, if you focus on trust, you’re focusing on something good that will make your days better. So, I want to thank everybody for taking a listen, reach out to Natalie. And again, Natalie, thanks so much for sharing your expertise. See you next time. [22:57]
