It’s a bit of an understatement that Brent Hanson has built a large real estate business in Boise. After all, together with his team, he’s closed $2.5 billion (yes, billion) in sales.

His foray into real estate started in 2014 after a career selling nationwide mortgages. It’s a job where he gained a huge amount of experience in hitting the phones, in fact, he made 300-800 dials a day. So when he first got into real estate, his mind was geared toward units and he remained focused on having a high-volume business.

Along the way, Brent realized there is a difference between the hustle culture he had been living by just grinding through leads and being an agent that truly delivers value. And while focusing on volume can be a successful strategy, it took him some time to understand how a relationship-focused business would earn him more long-term success and less burnout than a purely transactional-focused business.  

Today, Brent and his team focus on their Client Appreciation Program (CAP), where they do up to 118 unique touches per person in their database each year. Their program is both in-depth and relationship-based, and is curated based on who the person is.

In other words, they look to bring value to the people in their database. And that, comes down to trust.

Brent beliefs that many agents tend to assume they gain the trust of their clients by being knowledgeable or having a strong reputation. And while those things do matter, he believes there are other key factors for building long-term trust.

This is where the trust triangle comes into play.

The Trust Triangle

At the base of Brent’s trust triangle are both character and competence. These two traits may seem fairly obvious. Character can be summed up by doing what you say you’ll do. For example, making sure you always do your best and don’t make assumptions or take things personally. Competence is knowing what to do and how to do it. You’re resourceful, confident, and know what and how to say the right things.

The third component of Brent’s trust triangle is capacity. And for Brent, this trait is responsible for the majority of the trust building (or lack thereof). As he says, capacity is where the rubber meets the road. And for far too many people, its where overcapacity wrecks the trust of our clients. While we judge ourselves by our intentions, others judge us by our actions. This means that even while we have the right intentions, we can show up looking like a bad person if we don’t have the capacity to serve them well. Things like dropping small details, showing up rushed or distracted, or not being proactive fall into this category.

And if you want to build trust, you need to figure out the capacity portion of the triangle as much as the character and competence aspects. Unfortunately, it’s an area that gets overlooked far too often.

You Can Build Capacity

Luckily, if capacity feels like an issue to you, it doesn’t have to stay that way. There are ways to improve it.

• Reduce Decision Fatigue
  Brent doesn’t suggest huge life changes. Rather, start small and focus on simplifying your decision making. For example, make your decisions around what you plan to wear for the week on the Sunday prior. Even better, wear the same color every day. Meal prep in advance. Date night with your significant other on the books? Go to the same place and eat the same food so you can focus on the time spent together.
• Build Margin Into Your Day
  Be honest with yourself: how intentional are you with taking time for yourself over the course of a day? Do you give yourself time to simply exist and breathe? Truth be told, most of us have room for improvement in this area and tend to work harder when we’re feeling overwhelmed. However, something as basic as going for a walk or turning off all notifications and access to you for 10 minutes can go a long way toward helping you build this necessary margin into your day. Other ideas include things like exercising and daily meditation. When you take time to slow down, the reduced stress and improved focus you’ll achieve can actually speed up your progress over time. Trust is then created as a result.
• Calibrate Your Calendar
  Every Sunday and every morning, Brent and his team actively manage their calendars. In other words, he doesn’t just fill his calendar with appointments (with himself or otherwise) he doesn’t intend to keep. He honors what he includes. And as Brent believes, when you keep those commitments spelled out on your calendar, you strengthen your self-management. And when this happens, your capacity increases as well.

Brent doesn’t suggest overhauling your life overnight. Instead, choose one capacity-building habit to commit to. Whether it’s taking a walk, meal prepping, or even honoring your time blocks, make a promise to yourself to do what you set out to accomplish. Because after all, your clients trust you because all three parts of the trust triangle exist: you’re competent, your character shines through, and above all, you show up consistently and do what you said you’d do.