By Kanji Usui
Recently, I attended an event hosted by TBP (Trust-Based Philanthropy), an NPO organization.
The keyword that came up there—"Trust-Based = building on trust"—has been stuck in my head ever since. While TBP operates in the social contribution space, I realized this approach applies far beyond that sector and extends broadly across business in general.
The reason is that lately, I've been noticing an awful lot of pushy sales DMs on business-focused SNS platforms. By the way, whenever I receive these kinds of DMs, I simply ignore them completely, so please understand♪
These DMs focus solely on selling their own products and services, completely disregarding the recipient's business or values. There's no empathy, no respect—in short, there's not a shred of intention to "build a relationship of trust." It's just "buy our stuff!!" I genuinely wonder if anyone actually buys from this approach.
In a sense, this is what you might call a "Trust-Less Approach (TLA)"—and honestly, I don't believe for a second that this method produces results.
Would you buy something or a service from someone you don't trust? Of course not.
At its core, business is fundamentally about solving the other party's problems and challenges. Approaching people randomly without even knowing them is not only inefficient—it seriously damages your company's reputation.
The complete opposite of this is the Trust-Based Approach.
First, understand the other party → Next, let them get to know you → Build trust → As a result, this leads to profit
Of course, immediate profit might not come from the person right in front of you, but once trust is established, connecting with other customers through that person increases the probability of eventually generating profit.
Slow and steady wins the race. First, start by understanding the other party.