How Sharing Less creates more Trust

If you’ve been reading my tips or attending my seminars over the years, you’ve likely heard me refer to the importance of being discreet about what you share with customers. Samples are at Six Oversharing Blunders and Keep this Between Us. Here’s the problem – one of our most persuasive tools when helping people to make buying decisions is referencing similar work you’ve done for other customers. Assuming you have your customer’s permission to use them as a reference, its fine to share general information, but rarely is it appropriate to share anything about their monetary affairs. So if you are pressed to reveal your client’s numbers, here’s a handy phrase, “For obvious reasons I don’t share my clients’ financials, just as I won’t share yours with anyone else. What I can tell you is…” It’s ironic how explaining why you’ll share less information actually creates more trust.