Build Trusted Relationships

We’ve spent more than twenty years figuring out exactly what it takes to have trust-based relationships that get results. Now, we’re excited to share it with you.

  • Understand what it takes to be a trusted advisor and how to develop a trusted advisor mindset

  • Learn trust-building essentials to be more trustworthy, increase influence, and hone fundamental trust skills

  • Significantly improve client relationships and instill a long-term, sustainable framework for building trust that translates into bottom line results

  • Bring trustworthy behaviors into your customer success process to enhance the odds of growing your business

We wrote the book on trust (literally)!

Learn directly from the authors of our best-selling Trusted Advisor book series.

Get the fundamentals of The Trusted Advisor, Trust-Based Selling and The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook delivered to your virtual doorstep—direct from the source via video.

What You Get

Small bites. Fast-paced. On demand.

  • Your Trust Quotient

    Take our online self-assessment and receive your comprehensive Trust Quotient report, full of actionable tips and insights to improve your trustworthiness.

  • Video Lessons

    Learn straight from the source via 29 video lessons, accompanied by reflection questions, "take-action" challenges, and brief quizzes to check your knowledge.

  • Personalized Action Plan

    Use the workbook and worksheets to assess, take action, and immediately improve your most important professional relationships.

  • Bonus Content

    Dig deeper with included bonus content from our books, and explore more resources found in the books and on the Trusted Advisor Associates website.

  • Sustained Learning

    Download the workbook and Action and Results Tracker to monitor your progress and keep improving relationships, long after you've completed the lessons.

Trust-Based Customer Success

Course contents:

  • 1

    Introduction

  • 2

    Re-Think Your Value

    • Overview

    • What does it really take to become a Trusted Advisor?

    • Re-Think Your Value

    • What value do you bring?

    • Move toward a Trusted Advisor relationship

    • Five characteristics of successful Trusted Advisors

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources for re-thinking your value
  • 3

    Earn Their Trust

    • Overview

    • What is this ambiguous thing we all call “trust”?

    • Earn Their Trust

    • Reflect on a critical lesson from the video

    • Take action to improve your trustworthiness

    • More ways to improve your trustworthiness

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources about earning their trust
  • 4

    Get Off Your “S”

    • Overview

    • What’s making your “S” look big?

    • Get Off Your "S"

    • What’s making you uncomfortable with your client?

    • Lower your self-orientation

    • Fast payback actions to shrink Self-orientation

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources to help you get off your "S"
  • 5

    Create Intimacy (Yes, Intimacy)

    • Overview

    • Are you in an intimate relationship with your clients?

    • Create Intimacy (Yes, Intimacy)

    • What’s holding your client relationship at the transactional level?

    • Create more intimacy

    • Fast payback actions to increase intimacy

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources to create more intimacy
  • 6

    Be Counted on for What You Say and Do

    • Overview

    • Credibility and reliability: not as self-evident as they may seem

    • Be Counted On for What You Say and Do

    • What are you holding back?

    • Improve your credibility and reliability

    • Fast payback actions to create credibility and ratchet up reliability

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources to be counted on for what you say and do
  • 7

    Get Your Advice Heard and Taken

  • 8

    Make it OK for Your Clients to Take Risks

    • Overview

    • Are your clients afraid to take the plunge? Are you?

    • Make it OK for Your Client to Take Risks

    • Reflect on an uncomfortable situation

    • Take one risk to build trust

    • Mind your Ps (and take the plunge)

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources on making it OK for your client to take risks
  • 9

    Be Great Off Script

    • Overview

    • Are you ready for your moment of truth?

    • Be Great Off Script

    • Reflect on a time you reacted defensively

    • Two easy ways to practice being off-script

    • Think out loud

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources on being great off-script
  • 10

    Build Client Trust … Faster

    • Overview

    • How long does it take for you to build trust?

    • Build Client Trust ... Faster

    • Reflect on your trust-building strengths

    • Eight ways to create trust … fast

    • Does trust take time? Some further insight ...

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources to build client trust faster
  • 11

    Build Trust at a Distance

    • Overview

    • How can you build trust when your team is virtual?

    • Build Trust at a Distance

    • Reflect on your virtual team

    • Five ways to use technology to create intimacy

    • Five best practices for managing virtual teams

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources to build trust at a distance
  • 12

    How to Have Tough Conversations

    • Overview

    • How do you raise a difficult issue when it’s really hard to talk about?

    • How to Have Tough Conversations

    • Reflect on a difficult conversation

    • Name It and Claim It

    • When to "Name It and Claim It"

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources about how to have tough conversations
  • 13

    Recovering Trust that *You’ve* Lost

    • Overview

    • Stuff happens. And sometimes it’s your fault. So now what?

    • Recovering Trust that *You've* Lost

    • Reflect on an experience of lost trust

    • Three steps to recovering trust

    • How to use Name It and Claim It to recover trust

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources about recovering lost trust
  • 14

    What’s So Different about Trust-based Selling?

    • Overview

    • What’s the purpose of selling?

    • What’s So Different About Trust-Based Selling

    • Reflect on a “tough sell” client

    • Assess your strengths and opportunities

    • 5 ways to get and stay client-focused

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources about trust-based selling
  • 15

    Understanding How Clients Really Buy

    • Overview

    • Do you know how your clients buy?

    • Understanding How Clients Really Buy

    • Reflect on your last pitch or presentation

    • Give your clients the experience of working with you

    • Buyer Psychology

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources to understand how clients really buy
  • 16

    How (Not) to Handle Objections

    • Overview

    • How effectively are you handling objections?

    • How (Not) to Handle Objections

    • Reflect on how you respond to objections

    • Turn an “Objection” to an “Invitation”

    • What it looks like to have conversations rather than handle objections

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources on how (not) to handle objections
  • 17

    Make a Different Kind of Sales Call

    • Overview

    • Why don’t you call more often?

    • Make a Different Kind of Sales Call

    • Reflect on a client relationship you enjoyed

    • Dare to show you care

    • Why (and how) you need to stay in touch

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources about making a different kind of sales call
  • 18

    Earn Follow-on or Repeat Business … Repeatedly

    • Overview

    • Are you asking for the second date?

    • Earn Follow-on or Repeat Business ... Repeatedly

    • Reflect on how receptive your client might be

    • Develop follow-on business

    • Asking for referrals

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources about earning follow-on business
  • 19

    Cross-sell the Right Way

    • Overview

    • Have you ever set friends up on a blind date?

    • Cross-Sell the Right Way

    • Reflect on a recent cross-selling effort

    • Three steps to successful cross-selling

    • Three types of cross-selling

    • Check your knowledge

    • Explore additional resources about cross-selling
  • 20

    Next Steps

    • Course Completion

    • Before you go...