You can receive no greater gift than someone’s trust. In business, when you’re trusted by someone else it means they believe you will place their needs and interests on a part with your own. It’s trust that allows two businesspeople to work out a deal that’s mutually beneficial, each getting all they need, if not all they want.

And it’s trust that lets someone go out on a limb, break a rule, or accept a loss of face, by reversing course or bucking a trend. Remember, in business, no is the automatic, almost instinctive response to any situation, since it reinforces the status quo. No one gets fired for saying no. When the person you’re dealing with trusts you, however, it’s much easier to turn a no into a yes.

That’s great for those who deal with the same individuals over and over again. When two parties have a long history of mutual respect and cooperation, trust is the natural result. Time is to trust what good soil is to plants. So, it’s relatively easy to turn a no from your spouse, a family member, or a friend into a yes. They’ve known you for a long time and you’ve a history together.

But unfortunately, many, if not most, of today’s business and financial dealings are between two people with little or no history. Generally, the banker you’re approaching for an operating capital loan won’t know you or your business and, in fact, won’t be staying at that branch long enough to get to know you or your business. The supervisor you’re asking for a raise may have only come on board a year ago, or it could be you who just recently joined the team. In today’s business world people move too quickly for trust to develop naturally. Personally, I think that’s why there’s an ever increasing trend toward quantifying every business relationship and deal entirely with numbers and memorializing all of them with formal contracts. You can’t (and probably shouldn’t) accept the word or handshake of someone you’ve never met before. I also think that’s why there are more nos that need to be turned into yeses today than ever before.

Since trust is an essential ingredient in solving problems, and since you can no longer count on it developing naturally in our fast-paced business world, it needs to be intentionally cultivated . . . quickly. I’ve been facing this hurdle ever since I became a legal consultant. In order for me to provide quality service to my clients, I need them to open up to me and feel comfortable enough to discuss what may be very painful, personal issues. That, obviously, requires them to trust me.

I must admit I’ve always had a skill for gaining people’s trust. I think I inherited it from my father, who has always been able to connect with people very quickly. Before I went into private practice, my instinctive abilities at gaining trust were enough to get me through the common business situations I faced. But When I launched my consulting business I knew I’d need to do better. That led me to do an informal study of how to develop trust. I spoke with businesspeople I admired and . . . trusted. I read everything on the subject I could get my hands on, from Benjamin Franklin to Norman Vincent Peale. I tried out techniques on family and friends. Finally, I used the techniques on my earliest clients, refining the devices that worked and discarding those that didn’t. All this research, trial and error, and refinement allowed me to develop a system for creating trust within twenty-four hours of meeting someone.