There was once a tiny Irishman who spoke with a lisp. No one expected much of him but he expected great things of himself. He had a love for football that his frail frame would not allow him to play. Weak and unassuming, this little Irishman had a dream of one day leading men in the sport he loved. He worked and toiled and over the course of many years, he finally became the head football coach of other, much larger Irishman… the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

This coach, as you may have guessed, was legendary football coach Lou Holtz. Lou has had a tremendous career as a Football Coach, a Color Commentator and as a Speaker. An observation he made was that people have three questions they are always asking/evaluating a person by.

Question 1)  CAN I TRUST YOU?

In any relationship whether professional or personal, we always want to know if we can trust that person. Will they do what they say they’ll do? Are they keeping promises? Are they truthful and honest?

My Dad used to tell me that a relationship is based on Trust and Communication. You simply won’t communicate with someone you don’t trust and you can’t trust the person you don’t communicate with.

Question 2) ARE YOU GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO?

This question is more professional in nature but is true none the less. I predominantly work by referral in selling Real Estate. My clients see the good work that I do for them and they tell people. Those people work with me, I do a good job for them and they tell other people, and so on and so on. But I have to prove myself to each person, every time. No one is going to refer me unless I do a good job for them. Much like a football coach, no one cares about the games you won for a different team, they only care about the games you win for them.

Question 3) DO YOU CARE ABOUT ME?

This is where the rubber meets the road. The old saying, “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care” is ironclad. In a transactional relationship this is perhaps less true. We probably don’t care if the person working the fast food counter cares about us. But let’s be real, in every big moment of our lives people want to know we are cared for and about. The higher the stakes, the more true this becomes. If you want people to trust you, they have to know you care.

 

I thought this was pretty useful stuff. It has literally transformed the way I do business and interact with people in my life. I thought maybe you might find it useful too.