The flavors of trust

Whataburgers come in 36,864 varieties.
Baskin-Robbins offers 32 varieties.
Trust, only comes in two.

Trust is something you’re given or something you earn. Which you get depends on who you’re dealing with. One dimension of Myers-Briggs divides us into Thinkers or Feelers. I’m a feeler through and through. Feelers give trust. Thinkers, on the other hand, make you earn it.

Thinkers aren’t wrong. Feelers aren’t bad. Which one you are matters far less than making sure your messaging speaks to both.

Feelers want to believe. Detail blows past feelers while thinkers eat it up like a dog eats meat; feelers are content knowing the dog is happy.

Apple’s TV ads bring the point alive. Watch one. PC thinks. Mac feels. The difference in their trust construct is there in every word. It’s funny in advertising. It’s also true in life. And it can cost you money.

You can keep settling for people like you. Or, speak to both and reach 100% of the market. Here’s how in three easy steps:

 

1. Recognize who you are–and aren’t.
2. Find a trusted sounding board of the other
   variety.
3. Bounce ideas back and forth till you’re both satisfied.

We have a certified immovable thinker here. Unvalidated warm
and fuzzies come back bloodied, circled in red: prove it, she
says. Thinkers are saying the same thing to your warm and fuzzies all
the time–you just don’t get them kicked back like I do. Maybe you should.

Then again, maybe you agree that all those warm and fuzzies are superfluous. You, my friend, need a feeler in your loop to save you from your analytical self. Add
emotion–visceral experience–to your messaging. Connect with the
rest of us and bring your messaging alive.

One more thought on the subject of trust:
How people use trust also comes in two flavors. To some, it’s money in the bank. To others, it’s gas in the tank. Bankers understand its value, while the tankers see it as something to be used. Knowing who you’re dealing with in this dimension is as much about taking care of business as taking care of yourself.

 

[Originally published 7 May 2007]