October 22, 2026
How to Build Trust with a Client
On today’s Ditcherville LIVE session, I was asked:
What are your most effective methods for building trust with clients?
In my personal experience, the times I’ve hit the trust jackpot with a client were whenever I did something that was obviously against my financial interest.
Here’s part of my answer from the transcript of today’s call:
Generally speaking, if you do something that’s clearly not in your best interest - especially financial, but it could be something else - then they’re going to be like, “Wow, this person’s the real deal!”
I’m not saying give a discount. I’m saying that maybe in a situation where the money’s already in your pocket, you do something that is clearly not in your best interest. Something that they probably wouldn’t do if they were in your shoes.
I can think of student stories where they’ve done that, and then later the client sent so much business their way that it was ridiculous, or came back as a client later.
It’s really good for the long term.
Here’s an example from my consulting days:
I had a client I worked with on retainer for years. Eventually, the business started to plateau, and I felt like my assistance was delivering less ROI. So, I offered to lower my monthly fee. Years later, the client brought this up as a turning point in a glowing referral to a new potential client.
(Of course, this is not the only way to build trust with clients and potential clients, so I also shared a few resources that would be of interest to someone looking for a more systematic answer.)
BTW - This is the kind of question that comes up every two weeks in Ditcherville LIVE, my group Q&A session for independent consultants who are done trading time for money.
If you’ve got questions like this rattling around in your head, come get them answered:
Hope to see you inside!
Yours,
—J