Why building trust can be a car dealer’s strongest tool for problem-solving – David Horsager, Best-selling author

Every great relationship is rooted in trust. If a customer does not trust you or your business they will most likely take their money elsewhere. On today’s show, we welcome David Horsager, Trust Expert and CEO of Trust Edge Leadership Institute.  Horsager is also a best-selling author of his latest book titled, Trusted Leader: 8 Pillars That Drive Results. David’s work has been featured in prominent publications such as Fast Company, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. Horsager joins CBT News to discuss how important it is for car dealers to build trust and how it impacts leadership development.

Horsager begins by discussing why trust is so critical in today’s society. Trust is often the root issue of every problem a car dealer might encounter. Marketing strategies must center around the trust of the message. Employees must have trust in their managers to effectively grow in their roles.

Trust is a quality that can be instilled in the currently assembled teams at dealerships. Two factors that often dictate trust are expertise and character. High-character employees can be trusted to get the job done effectively and efficiently. Team members with expertise in certain areas of the business can be trusted to deliver trusted information and insight to clients or customers. 

Horsager then dives into the pillars that drive results based on trust. These pillars include clarity, compassion, character, competency, commitment, contribution, consistency. Senior leadership must buy into these qualities to see the best results from the rest of their teams. Adopting these pillars doesn’t take massive adjustments. Car dealers can make small changes that will encourage their staff to follow their lead. In the long run, car dealers will begin to see a stronger presence of trust in every area of their business. 

The integration of trust-based culture must start with showing its value.

“I need to get them to see the impact of trust,” said Horsager. “When I can get them to see that, sales are going to get faster, churn is going to go down, retention is going to go up but there’s only one way- we have to deal with the trust issue.”

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