When I was 22, I worked in door-to-door sales.

The most nerve-wracking part?

The psychological battle that took place every morning when I stepped off the bus and had to walk 200 metres down the road to the office. This had nothing to do with the prospects I had to call, or getting balled at the boss for not hitting sales targets.

No.

It was because of a small dog that lay on the same doorstep half-way between.

Now, a preface:

I’ve had labradors my whole life.

I don’t really class dogs that you can fit in a hand-bag as “real dogs.”

Maybe it was this dismissive attitude that set her off, who knows, but every time I walked past, she’d growl at me, baring her teeth. Normally, I’d just cross and walk on the pavement on the other side, but in this case, there was no pavement on the other side. Thus, the “game” was set. Who had bigger huevos? Me, or the dog?

One day, I get off the bus.

The dog starts growling.

Maybe a bit more than usual.

Mmm, I think. She doesn’t look too thrilled to see me. But I’m sure as hell not crossing..

I slow my pace, and try to relax.

Ok Iain, go!

I walk past.

Ha, I knew i----

“AAHHHHH!!!”

Before I could spit out the next word, I feel a pain with the power of a 1000 wasp stings clamp down on my calf. I look down, the dog’s retreating, and there’s blood coming through my trousers.

Yeah.

Mexican dogs do not mess around.

Well, that was the last day I ever walked on that side of the road. And as you might imagine, I gave every (small) dog an extremely wide berth from then on. Turns out, trust in man’s “best friend” (ha) takes a long time to rebuild.

And you know something?

With your customers it’s the exact same.

People say in the email marketing space that your list is the most valuable asset a business has.

I disagree.

A list that TRUSTS YOU is.

Because without trust?

No-one will buy.

And it doesn’t matter how good your product is either. Your product could legitimately cause dollar bills to spring forth from their front lawn, or rehydrate a man dying of thirst, and they wouldn’t buy it, because they don’t believe you’d make it happen.

Trust, not claims, are what gets you the sale.

And just like how in one split-second, my trust in small dogs evaporated, you can very very VERY easily do the same. All it takes is one “bite” – one bullshyt claim, one false testimonial, one guarantee you don’t honour, one product that’s sub-par – and bam, you’ve lost that prospect for life. (Then they go on Trustpilot and air the laundry, and now you’ve lost 100 more).

As they say, “Once bitten, twice shy.”

So my suggestion?

Before you send out an offer to your list, go over your product, your sales page and your emails with a fine-tooth comb.

Is there anything that’s gonna break that trust?

And if you want an expert nose to sniff-test your sales copy, you can sign up to my newsletter by hitting the link below for a free audit:

https://eo.berserkermail.com/bazinga

Iain