Book Review: Trust Agents
Written on November 9, 2009 by Susan Payton
I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to get around to reviewing Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s Trust Agents. This book, which I read a few months ago, is so chock full of good stuff, I don’t even know where to begin.
Let’s start with the authors. As you regular readers know, I’m a big fan of Chris‘. He truly is all about the human connection, and he teaches readers how to focus on the human element in this book. Julien, I’m less familiar with. Still he’s in good company, and from what I glean, he’s more about the technical side of connecting people. Combining these two elements makes this book perfect (and all the awards it’s won are a testament to that).
This is already starting to sound like a sponsored review. But it’s not. Let’s just clear that up. I’m just a big fan.
Trust Agents talks about how to really interact with people in an era where we’ve got thousands of connections through social media. I know I’ve had trouble connecting. I already blogged about the 150 concept they discuss (and I’m not attributing it to them solely; if it’s been talked about in previous books, great. I just read it here first). Chris and Julien encourage you to develop stronger relationships with a select few of your network rather than shallow ones with thousands.
They talk about making connections, and how being a part of multiple groups and networks helps you become what they call a trust agent. A trust agent is a person who shares and connects, is helpful simply because he should be, and delivers value without asking for anything. I like that. I like to think I do that with this blog, which is designed to help entrepreneurs navigate their way through marketing on their own.
There’s just so much good stuff in this book. You’ll have to read it yourself. Here are a few takeaways:
- Be human. People would rather buy from a person than a company.
- Ask questions. Get to know people.
- Bury your agenda. If people see you as a trust agent, the sales and business partnerships will come.
- Give. Give. Give.
- Connect other people that can provide value to one another.
Hmm. This sounds a bit like Buddhism. Do good because it’s the right thing to do, not to seek a reward. I like it!
Have you read the book? How can you apply the idea of being a trust agent to your business?
