I always tell people in my speeches that when you meet people for the first time (IRL= In Real Life as they say), that you need to begin to build trust….and that it takes a long time and you should not trade on this trust too soon. Take it slowly.

But, how do you build a relationships that only happen online? When Terry Starbucker spoke this past weekend at SOBCON, he listed the steps when approaching someone online in order to build a successful relationship. This is the type of content you should provide:

1. Keep My Faith in Humanity

2. Make Me Laugh

3. Inform Me

4. Teach Me

5. Inspire and Challenge Me

6. Sell Me

The order here makes alot of sense. Making people laugh is a good way to get noticed. Informing someone makes you helpful. Most of us want to learn and be inspired. If you accomplish these things, trust is formed and only now are you in a position to sell something.

What stages do you go through to form relationships online?