As human beings, trust is fundamental to a successful life. From forming and maintaining relationships in our personal lives, to achieving our annual goals in the professional world, everything is built on trust. We rely on trust in ourselves and the people around us just to get through the day. But on a larger scale, the absence of trust makes it almost impossible to drive progress and innovation. A well-functioning business cannot happen without trust.At Zero Down, trust is at the forefront of everything we do. It is a core value that not only defines our business model as a logistics partner, but also drives our success in that role.
Building Trust With Your Logistics Partner
While the value of trust cannot be overstated, it’s not something that is built overnight. Each interaction we have with a client, co-worker, or partner is a chance to grow that bond. Or, if we’re not careful, break it.In a talk from the TED stage, author Jean Oelwang, president and founding CEO of Virgin Unite, explores seven ways to guide our partnerships and relationships towards greater trust:Assume Good Intentions: At Zero Down, we believe in helping people and companies be better. As your logistics partner, we’re not here to point fingers and call people out. From carriers to customs agents, we know that everyone out there is just doing their best. Our technology and services are designed to provide our clients with the data and expertise they need to strengthen the bonds within their supply chain. We’re here to drive efficiency, not assign blame.Create a Safe, Honest Space for Trust to Grow: We’re not looking for a quick buck. Quantity over quality doesn’t work for us. As a family owned and operated company, we want to grow with our clients, and create meaningful relationships. Be Transparent and Clear: Transparency is another core value of our company, and we design that into every process and procedure. We’re not here to make money off our clients. We’re here to make money with our clients. At Zero Down, we don’t profit unless you do, and we go out of our way to demonstrate that value at every turn.Make Hard Conversations the Norm: Trust cannot be built without honesty, and sometimes that means having difficult conversations. We always encourage feedback, both internally and externally, and we go out of our way to create opportunities for open dialogue. Nothing gets better when it’s ignored.Allow Mistakes to Build Trust: While we love to point out our wins, we’ll just as quickly let you know if we make a mistake. We’ll then work with you to mitigate any fallout, and institute process improvements to better serve you next time. Everyone makes mistakes, but how we handle them does matter. Any logistics partner who doesn’t own up to theirs, and doesn’t strive to be better, isn’t worth your time.Watch Your Body Language: Professionalism is key to building trust in the corporate world, and at Zero Down we pride ourselves on behaving as such in every interaction.Trust Yourself: This is not a sales pitch. We don’t sell to our clients. We work together to create meaningful relationships, because we know that growing together is more valuable than a quick buck. We know our approach works, because we know the value we bring to every partnership. We know the time, effort, and creativity we have poured into our technology to make it the most advanced logistics platform on the market. We know what our staff’s abilities and expertise bring to the table, and the effort we put in every day to maintain those standards.We know your company can be better. We know we can help. Do you trust us?
