Here’s a test I run on every client relationship, and I’d encourage you to run it too. Ask yourself: if this deal fell through tomorrow, completely, no explanation, would this person still trust me?
Why the answer matters
If the honest answer is no, that tells you something important. You weren’t actually building trust in that relationship. You were building a transaction, and transactions only hold up as long as the outcome does. The moment things go sideways, so does the relationship.
But if the answer is yes — if they’d still pick up your call, still recommend you to a friend, still believe you had their best interest at heart even after a loss — that’s real trust. And real trust survives outcomes.
How to build a relationship that passes
This is the whole point of training people instead of selling them. A trained client understands your process well enough to know that a lost deal isn’t a reflection of you failing them — it’s just how the market works sometimes. That understanding doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because you explained your reasoning along the way instead of just delivering outcomes.
Run the five-year test on your current clients. If you wouldn’t pass it with most of them, that’s exactly where to focus next.
This is one of the frameworks I teach live in my flagship keynote, Trained, Not Sold. Book Middy for your next event.
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