by Jacques Werth and Carl Ingalls

It’s harder to trust someone whose first thought is to influence my purchase decision.  Even if I can see that they only want to steer me toward something they think will be good for me, I know that they are not focused on listening to what I want, and that it’s going to be a time-consuming transaction at best.  If I wanted their help in making a purchase decision, I would ask for it.

Trust takes more than just good intentions.  Knowing that someone’s intention is to persuade me to go with something that they believe will be better for me is not enough, and especially if they haven’t listened.   Many terrible things have been done by people with good intentions.   I also need to trust in their ability to hear me well, and also in their ability to make good judgments based upon what they hear.  If they start out with anything at all that suggests a desire to influence me, then they have failed on both of those counts.

I would rather do business with someone who listens to what I want and helps me get it, than with someone who wants to change my mind.