Page 201 - Paulisms: Gold Nuggets for Small Business

Trust is about the bank manager who knew that I would not tell lies, and so he would help us. I built trust by strong communication and respect that it wasn’t our money we were using.
Then there were our suppliers whose trust we had (as we always paid when we said we would), and when we wanted extended credit when things were tight, they would support us. We always communicated before there was a problem, not after. They respected that, and we respected them. It was a team effort.
When tradespeople trust you because you paid them on or before payment was due, they will jump for you. If we had a leak in the roof, or the fuse was blown, they would be there for us. They trusted their customer and we trusted them. Tradespeople often became service providers for us for life, as a result of trust both ways. You don’t query pricing if you trust them not to rip you off and they have given good service in the past. Trust offsets price.
Trust is important with your staff, so they know you are there for them and will support them when they need it. It also works the other way if they trust you.