It's Not Just a Trust Recession
Everybody's talking about the trust recession.
Buyers are skeptical. They check everything. They take longer to say yes and are quicker to walk away.
The advice that comes with it is sound: be trustworthy.
Do what you say.
Show your work.
Don't overpromise.
I agree with all of it. But I don't think it's the whole story.
I've been doing business online since 2004 and here's what I've seen happen.
Sometime between 2010 and 2015, a lot of buyers stopped thinking for themselves. They followed whoever sounded most certain. They bought the guru's system because the guru was... "confident". Then they bought from someone else because the guru said they should.
They got comfortable outsourcing their own judgment.
And now we're talking about trust missing because they've had bad experiences.
But trust wasn't the weak link there - judgment was.
They were handing it off.
And now we're seeing buyers taking it back.
They ask thoughtful questions and listen for sensible answers. They compare. They do due diligence. They look for evidence of claims.
And yeah, that looks a lot like distrust.
But what I see is a lot of critical thinking coming back online.
More 'critical thinking correction' than trust recession?
I believe so.
And I don't say that to let anyone off the hook on trust.
Be trustworthy - that part doesn't change.
But a buyer who asks questions and listens for thoughtful responses, who looks for proof of claims before they say yes is doing something I want every one of my clients to do: they're thinking for themselves.
That's a leadership behavior. It's why critical thinking is one of The 6 Leadership Muscles. You check what you've been told before you act on it. You don’t just follow blindly.
So where does that leave you?
Two places.
1 - When you're selling, being trustworthy gets you in the door. Don’t expect it to close for you though. It will take more than being authentic. A buyer who thinks for themselves wants to see how you think. Show them how you got to your answer.
That’s how you win with these buyers. They see through hype - and we’re better for it.
2 - When you're the buyer, vet your purchases the same way your best buyers vet you.
That's the correction. Buyers are thinking again, and the sellers who do well in it are the ones who think as hard as their buyers do.
There’s an advantage to be had by working on it. Critical thinking is a muscle. Like the rest of The 6 Leadership Muscles, it gets stronger when you use it.
Yeah, the trust recession is real.
But buyers are shaking the rust off of their thinkers.
The sellers who win will have to do the same.