Here’s how to apply the “trust equation” to build stronger, more trusting relationships with your prospective and current clients.

As the Saying Goes, Clients Buy Legal Services From Lawyers, Not Law Firms
Accordingly, selling legal services is relational, not transactional. It takes time. It requires consistency. Unless youโre selling a commodity, which means youโre competing on price, you need to invest in relationships to attract and keep clients.
So, how do you go about this?
In their book โThe Go-Giver,โ Bob Burg and John David Mann provide a helpful heuristic that serves as an important starting point for this discussion:
All things being equal people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust.
The โknow, like, trustโ framework is pretty simple and youโve undoubtedly heard it before. Hereโs how it works:
- A prospective client must become aware of you and your services (know).
- A prospective client will choose to work with a lawyer they enjoy interacting with (like).
- A prospective client must gain confidence in a lawyerโs ability to deliver on their promises (trust).
Trust Is Everything
Many lawyers mistakenly assume that each of these factors holds equal weight, but trust is paramount. Susie may like Bob the lawyer personally, but Susie is unlikely to retain Bob if she doesnโt trust him professionally. On the other hand, if Susie gains a high level of trust in Bobโs ability to deliver the outcome sheโs looking for, sheโs probably willing to overlook the fact that Bobโs โbedside mannerโ isnโt great โ heโs a bit of a curmudgeon.
Trust is everything. The stakes are high in the buying process for legal services. When a client seeks your services, it means they’re dealing with important issues and need assurance that you’re the right person for the job.
Unlike purchasing a physical product, where customers can โkick the tires,โ procuring a service โ especially a sophisticated legal service โ is fundamentally different. Clients are buying based on a promise that youโll deliver in a high-stakes matter, which is why trust is so vital.
A Dale Carnegie study explored the role of trust in the buying process, and the results were striking: 73% of respondents stated that trust is โveryโ or โextremelyโ important to them for building relationships with salespeople. While we like to call it โbusiness developmentโ in the legal industry, make no mistake: Lawyers are selling themselves and their services โ business development is the result of sales. In the same study, 71% of respondents said they would buy from someone they trusted versus someone else who offered a lower price. (Read “Sell Yourself One Hour of Your Time.”)
Building trust with clients, prospective clients and referral sources requires a long-term commitment.
This journey requires patience, dedication and, above all, consistent delivery on your promises. Over time, small, consistent investments in understanding other peopleโs needs, adding value to relationships, and maintaining strong communication solidifies trust. This is the hard but rewarding work of business development.
Now letโs dive deeper and explore another framework that will help you consistently build trust with both existing and prospective clients.
The Trust Equation
The trust equation, originally conceptualized by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford in their book โThe Trusted Advisor,โ provides a formula to understand the variables that contribute to building trust. The equation is: Trust equals Credibility plus Reliability plus Intimacy divided by Self-Orientation, or T=(C+R+I)/S.
Letโs break down the trust equation into its component parts. The goal here is to equip you with an understanding of how to build trust in the business development process.
Credibility
Credibility, in the context of business development, is synonymous with reputation. To what extent does a prospective client believe in a lawyerโs ability to solve a problem based on the lawyerโs past experiences?
How to establish credibility: Highlight a successful track record (case studies); create thought leadership content (make your expertise visible online); leverage social proof (testimonials and credentials).
Reliability
This is all about delivering on promises, and meeting, or better yet, exceeding, expectations. Before a lawyer will get a chance to demonstrate their reliability in a legal matter, they must preview their capabilities during the business development process.
For example, I recently reached out to a contractor about doing some work on my house. He told me that he would call me back within the next few days to set up an appointment to come to my house to prepare a price quote. Itโs been more than a week and I still havenโt heard from him. Heโs off my list. If I canโt rely on him to call me back when he said he would before I hire him, how can I trust that heโll reliably perform the work? It works the same way with clients buying legal services.
How to establish credibility: Do the “little things” well when engaged in business development. When you show up three minutes late to the conference call, send the proposal a day later than you said you would, or spell the client’s name wrong in an engagement letter, you erode trust. Fulfill every commitment you make with a sense of urgency and you’ll establish trust and confidence that you’re the right lawyer (the reliable lawyer) for the job.
Intimacy
This is where โtrustโ and โlikeโ intersect in the business development process. Intimacy is all about the personal connection a client feels with their lawyer.
How to establish intimacy: Flex your emotional intelligence muscle. Engage in empathetic communication. Ask questions and show genuine concern for the clientโs well-being. A lawyer who can create a strong personal connection with their clients is more likely to be trusted.
By establishing credibility plus reliability plus intimacy (the more the better) with a prospective client, you’ll lay the groundwork for trust and a successful business development outcome. However, youโll erode trust if you seem too self-interested.
Self-Orientation
This is the extent to which a lawyer is perceived to be focused on themselves versus the client’s interests. High self-orientation (focusing on the lawyer’s own needs, interests or priorities) can diminish trust, while low self-orientation (prioritizing the client’s needs and interests) enhances it.
How to lessen self-orientation: It is pretty simple, and is at the heart of what I call โclient-centric business development.โ In all interactions, think โHow can I help you?โ instead of โHow can you help me?โ โ leading to greater trust and stronger relationships.
Navigating Trust Erosion
Think about the last time you were at a restaurant and something went wrong โ maybe they mixed up your order. Now, imagine the server quickly acknowledges the mix-up, the chef personally apologizes and whips up a new dish just for you, on the house. This moment, which could have ruined your evening, instead leaves you impressed with their dedication to making things right. It’s a perfect example of how a mishap, handled well, can actually deepen your trust and loyalty to the establishment. You might even rave about it to friends later.
The lesson here is that trust can be fragile. However, it’s not the error itself but how it’s handled that often determines the future of a client relationship.
When (not if) a mistake or oversight occurs while serving a client or during the business development process with a prospective client, the next steps a lawyer takes (or doesnโt) are crucial for either eroding or building trust. Being proactive in rectifying a problem โ for example, a missed appointment โ shows clients that their lawyer values their relationship and is committed to upholding high standards of service, reinforcing trust even in the face of challenges.
Systematically Apply the Trust Equation
When John Glenn was poised to become the first American to orbit the Earth, his trust wasn’t placed solely in the cutting-edge computers of the era but in the extraordinary capabilities of Katherine Johnson (a central figure in the film โHidden Figuresโ), a mathematician whose calculations had already helped chart the course of space travel. Despite the increasing reliance on electronic computing, Glenn famously insisted that Johnson personally verify the orbital equations. “If she says they’re good,” Glenn declared, โthen I’m ready to go.โ Johnson’s hand-checked computations were a green light for Glenn’s historic flight.
For Glenn, the stakes couldnโt have been higher โ his life and the success of a mission critical to the space race depended on the trust he placed in Johnsonโs calculations. In the legal profession, while the stakes may not be quite so high, itโs critical to appreciate that a clientโs legal issues likely keep them up at night. They place their trust in lawyers to help them navigate these challenges. Thatโs why trust is so important.
Applying the Trust Equation helps lawyers to systematically address the key factors that influence trust. By focusing on increasing credibility, reliability and intimacy, while minimizing self-orientation, you can build stronger, more trusting relationships with your prospective and current clients.
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