Last month, I had a client who was interested in one of the lands in my brief. He inspected the land, loved it and wanted to pay for it. The land was valued for 4.5m. He had spoken with the owner and had finalized agreement on the price. He wanted to make payment as soon as possible but I insisted we do our due diligence before any financial commitment.
He asked me to undertake that and give him the feedback within the shortest possible time. While undertaking the verifications, against the owner's claims, I discovered the land was sitting a government interest area. Sooner or later, government will come for it, the Surveyor said. It was devastating, I literally had to battle with the reality of the possibility of losing over 800k by being truthful to my client because he was depending on my feedback before making payments. You can imagine such trust level he had on me. I couldn't just betray him.
That evening I called "Good evening sir, result of the verification I made showed that the land is a government land, acquired for a market, all the properties you find there are illegal structures, I may have to find you another place". I could feel the disappointment in his voice.
I was sad and depressed after the call, couldn't eat, nor bath, was on my bed till I slept off; but somehow, I was also relieved that I was strong enough to overcome the humanly greed in me. The next few days saw me running here and there to find a replacement, two days after I called him to see the new options I got. Guess the reply? "Akan, we will suspend the land deal for now till am back from work in few months time, have used the money already for something else. Whether he got another land from another agent, I don't know. But am not perturbed, cos I didn't have to make money I will live in perpetual fear n distress. Cos, in 5-10yrs, it will happen and it will definitely fall back at me. You know, such aren't good for entrepreneurs and their brands.
Building trust in clients will require a lot from you. It requires telling the truth always, accepting lose, making refunds when deals got bad or standing by to provide after sales services like repairs, swaps and replacements of faulty items. You must be ready to lose to gain trust and patronages most times. I can't count mine, and its one reason I haven't had a scandal on this platform for two years of selling used items and landed properties in Uyo.
Do you think I don't get bad deals? I do, but how I manage them makes the difference. That's what build the trust.
Your integrity is the soul of your business, it determines if you are a candidate for growth or failure. If they can't trust you, or find you reliable, not only will they boycott you, they will advise their friends and families to do same. You don't need to be too greedy as an entrepreneurs. You will land yourself in dirty waters that many even shut the doors of your venture. Keep your integrity intact if you must grow. You may not have much yet, but be contented with the little you have now.
Tomorrow holds better promises and prospects.
