Serve First, Sell Later Marketing

#71 What’s the Real Currency of Marketing for Professionals? (It’s Not Clicks)

• Sylvia Garibaldi • Season 1 • Episode 71

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In this insightful episode of the Serve First, Sell Later Marketing Podcast, host Sylvia Garibaldi unpacks one of the most overlooked truths in modern professional marketing: trust isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the actual currency that drives results. Whether you're a lawyer, mediator, or workplace conflict specialist, your clients are not just looking for credentials or clever messaging—they're scanning for emotional safety.  Discover how trust has quietly replaced urgency, speed, and even strategy as the most powerful differentiator in your business. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to elevate their practice and engage in deeper, more meaningful client interactions.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Building Trust in Conflict Resolution (02:30)
  • Techniques for Emotional Engagement (16:01)
  • Building Trust Through Calm Marketing (18:31)

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00:00 - Sylvia (Host)
Hello everyone and welcome back to Episode 71 of the Serve First, sell Later Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, sylvie Garibaldi, and welcome to today's episode. So, whether you're a lawyer, mediator, or you specialize in resolving conflict inside the workplace, this episode is for you Because, before we talk about business growth or better branding, we really need to sit down with one core reality the emotional temperature of your clients. Right now, what is it like? And for most it's probably very hot, sometimes really ready to just boil over. And I think, when you add or you layer on that we're in a season of global uncertainty. We know that financial markets can be unsteady, job security is fragile and anxiety is at an all-time high. 

00:50
So inside people's lives, whether at work or at home, there's another layer. There is what we call stress, fear, fractured relationships and really unspoken resentments. And really unspoken resentments. If you work in family law or mediation, you're meeting people on the edge of personal crisis, really navigating heartbreak, identity shifts, custody battles. If you're in the workplace mediation space, the stories look different, but the feelings, they're really the same. So we know that employees are feeling burnt out, they're misunderstood, they're blindsided by restructuring. And what about leaders? Leaders are feeling overwhelmed by retention issues and cultural shifts and teams. They could often be stuck in silence, unsure about how to speak without risking something like their status, their safety or connection. And I think in both environments home and office people are walking into your process with their nervous systems already hijacked. Can you relate to that? And I think here's the part that no one teaches you Prospective clients aren't evaluating your skills first. 

02:03
They're really scanning for safety. They want to know can I be honest with this person, will I be taken seriously and will this professional hear me? So this is why trust isn't a bonus. It's actually part of your business model, okay, and so in times of chaos, people don't look for the smartest voice, they're really looking for the steadiest one. So, whether you are facilitating a divorce settlement or navigating a workplace grievance, I think your greatest value isn't just in your expertise, but it's in your ability to be the calm in their storm, which is always connected to trust, somehow right. So let's stop asking how do I close this client and start asking how can I help this human feel a little less alone, a little more understood, how can I help them get to the solution that they're looking for? So what I'm really talking about is empathy, presence, emotional attunement. These are no longer soft skills, and I think you've probably already come to understand this. They can actually be market differentiators, because when trust becomes your model, everything else becomes easier. I think conversations can go deeper, conflict becomesict becomes clearer, and referrals they come from people who don't just say she was great. They say she really understood me, she understood what I was going through Make sense. All right, so let's dive in. 

03:38
So I want to talk about a word that we all use but rarely define, and that is trust. And so, in a moment where people are feeling overwhelmed, in conflict or at a professional crossroads, I think trust isn't just a buzzword. It's really the only bridge that's going to take people to where they need to go, which is the solution. But here's the catch Many professionals think that they're already building trust, when really they're just being nice or competent or efficient. So what I want to stress here is that trust isn't about being friendly, it's not about having perfect answers, because none of us do, and it's definitely not about closing a client fast. Okay. 

04:24
So I think, in the world of law and mediation, whether you're helping two parents navigate a separation, or maybe two colleagues navigating a really stressful and toxic team environment. Trust is something more foundational. It's built on predictability, and I think it's about transparency, because the question becomes can people sense I have nothing to hide, do I name the hard truths as a professional without creating shame for the client? And, most of all, I think it's about emotional safety. Can people show up as they are messy, uncertain, angry, and still feel respected? So I think we need to zoom into this a little bit further, because a divorcing spouse might not remember the law you quoted, or a manager in conflict may not retain the policy that you referenced, but they will remember this that you didn't flinch when they got emotional, that you didn't rush them when they got quiet and that you reflected what they felt before they had the words to say it. 

05:37
So I think that's trust in action, because it's built in the micro moments, when you pause instead of pushing, when you validate instead of correcting, and when you clarify instead of assuming. So it's the opposite of performance, right. It's presence. And here's the beautiful part. You don't need to have all the answers, you just need to hold the space right, and I think, in every conversation that you lead in in either a legal environment or a workplace, whether it's formal or casual. You have the chance to really take action with this, and so I think it's going to be really important to establish that trust is the key thing that you're going to be using to get your name out there. So trust is a currency and it is a form of marketing. So we've talked about trust and we've talked about the emotional safety. 

06:36
Now let's talk about what I think kills both of these very quickly, and that is urgency. Quickly and that is urgency. So in most industries, urgency is pretty much a well-worn tool. Right, scarcity closes deals. Speed shows confidence. Fast equals successful. But here's the truth we rarely talk about or say out loud in this line of work, and that is that the more fragile the situation, the more dangerous urgency can become. Can you relate to that? Because if you're helping someone through a divorce or a workplace conflict or a crisis they never imagined possible, you're not selling something. You're actually helping them rebuild something. It could be their identity, it could be their sense of justice, Maybe it's their place in the world, and so nothing about that is fast, and so I think urgency can sometimes backfire in these high emotion scenarios. So urgency activates fear, not trust. And remember, if we're trying to build trust here because it is a form of marketing, then it's going to be important to ensure that it doesn't trigger the question with your prospective client that has them asking themselves am I being sold? Something that I'm going to regret, because that question can be a trust killer. 

08:03
Because when someone feels unsafe, emotionally raw or in conflict with others, their brain isn't processing information rationally, and you know that as a professional. What they're doing is they're scanning for risk, they're trying to survive the conversation and not commit to a plan. So the more you push, the more that they could resist. So let me give you a couple of examples. So if you're a divorce mediator, let's assume a couple comes in, the energy is tense and then they say, well, we need to get this done by the end of the month. And so old school logic might say great, okay, let's book three sessions this week and let's finalize the paperwork as soon as possible. But if you tune into what's really happening, you'll hear something else. Maybe that they're feeling scared, that they want control, that you know you're moving fast. Or maybe they feel that moving fast will make it hurt less. 

08:58
And I think what builds trust here is not speed, it's actually slowing down the process just enough. And so you might say something like okay, I hear the urgency and I want to honor your timeline, but I also want to make sure that we're not rushing through decisions that impact your future, your children and your peace of mind. And so when you do this, I think what happens is the clients start to exhale and they kind of feel seen and heard. Right, you're not rushing them through this process because you know what's important, and I think that can build trust instantly when they see that Remembering that trust is a form of marketing. Okay. 

09:41
So now imagine that we're in a workplace environment and so a senior leader wants a quick fix. Right. Time is money, so we need this handled. Morale is tanking, clients are noticing we need to get this solved ASAP, and so you could jump in with solutions. You could appease them with a tight timeline, or you could do the real trust-building move and you could say okay, let's take 48 hours to gather anonymous feedback from the team before any joint meetings. If we go too fast, we risk fixing the surface and missing the root cause. And so what does that one decision do? Well, it actually shows a couple of key things. It shows that you, as a professional mediator, care more about results than appearances and that you don't want to rush conflict resolution and you want to respect it. Okay, I hope that's making sense. 

10:44
So the next thing I want to kind of touch on here is leading with empathy, because empathy, it's not delay for the sake of delay, right. It's actually the skill of understanding what someone is really feeling, even if they're not saying it, and designing your response with that key emotion in mind. So empathy could sound like what's weighing most heavily on you right now. Or it could sound like if we were to go at a slower pace, would that help you feel more grounded? Or I'm not here to pressure you. I'm here to support your pace, not force mine. Okay, we're working on your timeline, not mine as a professional. Your timeline, not mine as a professional. And so when people feel that kind of care, they don't stall, they actually lean in. You actually gain more of their trust faster. And remember, trust is a form of marketing. So clients convert, not because you sold them, but because you didn't scare them. Okay, I hope that's resonating with you. Okay, so I think in every high stakes room there's going to be a storm. Obviously, that's why you're there. 

11:59
So sometimes it can be loud, it can consist of shouting, tension or frustration. Sometimes it can be quiet. It can show up in the form of silence, it could show up in the form of avoidance. It could show up in eye contact. That never lands right. So, whether you're mediating a team conflict in a toxic workplace, or maybe you're helping a couple who haven't agreed on a single thing in six months, one thing is always true Someone is dysregulated, someone is spiraling, someone is caring more than they can say Okay. So the question becomes who's going to anchor the room? Because in every hard conversation, someone has to set the tone and as the professional, you need to be the calmest right. So this is about being calm. So what does calm look like? I think it's really just regulated leadership and it's knowing that when chaos enters the room, your role is not to match it, it's to actually change it. 

13:01
So I want to break it down with a couple of quick examples. Let's say you're sitting across from two people. They've been married for 15 years Now. They don't agree on who picks up the kids on Thursdays. Right, you've seen this before. Tension escalates. One partner raises their voice, the other one shuts down. So if you start using words such as okay, let's stay calm, let's speak respectfully, here's how we can get to the solutions. This all makes sense and it's logical, but I think what works instead is being a calm person. 

13:35
To create that trust is you could lean forward slightly? Maybe you lower your voice and you say okay, I can feel how heavy this is for both of you right now. Let's take a breath before we continue, because you're not in this process alone. So what you're doing is you're pausing, you're creating that moment of regulation, you're lowering the temperature in the room, and so you didn't fix the problem, but you just earned more trust right in this moment than any other legal document could have probably produced for you. So, remembering that trust is marketing, right, you're building trust, you're getting them to agree and to move forward and to take action. 

14:21
Okay, another quick example of workplace conflict. So maybe you were brought in to mediate between a director and their team, and the director feels undermined and the team feels micromanaged. So at this point, everyone's feeling guarded and you know, laptops stay open, people are not smiling. You notice the tension and instead of you know, maybe powering through the agenda, you pause and you say, okay, before we dive in. This process only works if we feel safe enough to speak freely. If we're holding tension, let's acknowledge it, not to call anyone out, but let's invite honesty. So what are you doing here again, you're just, you're inviting calm through vulnerability. Suddenly, you know, one employee exhales, another one nods, right. 

15:08
So you're trying to create that calmness, and I think it's not about scripting the perfect words. It's about becoming someone who can stay grounded no matter what energy walks into the room. So super, super important and you know getting people to pause for a moment so that you don't need to rescue everyone at once. You're just holding the room steady. And so why am I even talking about this? Why does this matter more than ever? 

15:37
Okay, because when the world feels unstable, like right now, people don't remember who had the best offer. Right? We're talking about marketing here. They're going to remember who helped them feel safe, seen and sane. That's what people talk about, that's what leads to referrals, that's what leads to repeat clients and that's what leads to a reputation that outlasts any sales pitch. So, once again, you may be thinking. You know this is a marketing podcast. Why are we talking about this, because this trust, this creating calmness, this is what leads to repeat business, because people are going to be talking about you later, right, they're going to be happy with the results. 

16:24
So I hope this is making sense, and because calm is not just a presence, it's really a strategy, is making sense. And because calm is not just a presence, it's really a strategy, it's a marketing strategy, because, in this shaky market, it might be one of your most powerful ones to use right now. I hope you're nodding your head as you're listening to this episode and saying, yes, this makes sense. I get this. You know I can use these tools as part of my marketing toolkit. All right, so let's land this episode with something that you can use immediately, right, not theory, not mindset, just practical tools that you can bring into your next client conversation. 

17:09
Because here's the truth Emotional safety isn't built with fancy frameworks, right, it's built with the right questions asked at the right moments. So I want to share three simple, powerful prompts that you can use at the very beginning of any high stakes interaction, whether you're working with a couple in a conflict, a team under pressure or even just a client trying to hold it together. Okay, so here's question number one what's the hardest part of this for you right now? And so this question is an act of presence, really, because it says I'm not rushing you, I'm not skipping ahead, I want to meet you exactly where you are. And I think what you're doing is you're signaling I see you as a human, before strategy or process, and I think this creates space. 

18:01
Many professionals kind of skip this question or kind of move right into what's going on, and I think you need to create that space that says I see you as a human and I see that this really is troubling you. And then I think sometimes the answer to this question might surprise you as a professional. They may say it's not the legal outcome, it's the guilt right, it's not the team drama, it's the feeling of being excluded. And so now what happens is you're not just a provider, you become a partner in creating clarity for them and helping them through this. Okay. 

18:47
Question number two what would make you feel like this was handled well? Okay, and so this one's about alignment. It shifts the dynamic from what do I think success looks like to what does success feel like for you? Okay, because any kind of closure doesn't always equal emotional closure and so, for example, settling a workplace dispute doesn't always mean the trust has been repaired. So I think asking this early and you'll avoid misalignment later. And it's a really powerful reframe when someone feels overwhelmed because you're helping them to zoom out, you're saying let's define what a good outcome means to you, not just what it looks like on paper, but what it's going to feel like for you. Do you see the difference? Okay, this is all part of helping your client achieve what they're looking to achieve getting them the results. Helping your client achieve what they're looking to achieve, getting them the results. And what happens when we get our clients the results that they came in for? They trust us, they refer us. Okay, so it's all about how you can help them get there. 

20:02
Question number three where do you feel most stuck or unsure? And this one builds trust like nothing else. Okay, because it invites vulnerability without pressure. So where do you feel most stuck or unsure? And you're not asking them to explain their whole story or their whole life story. You're asking them where the fog is the thickest, where their brain or their mindset is feeling most overwhelmed, and often naming that one stuck point can unlock the entire process. Maybe it's a fear they haven't voiced, maybe it's a lack of confidence in themselves, or maybe a lack of confidence in you, and so when you name it together, you've made the invisible visible. 

20:51
Okay, so these are complicated questions, but because most professionals rush to solve through them before they pause to understand, I think that's where trust is lost, right? So when you start with these three questions, you're doing something far more strategic than selling. You're actually disarming defense, you're inviting honesty and I think you're really creating a space where real work can begin. So the three questions, simply to recap, are what's the hardest part of this for you right now? What would make you feel like this was handled well, and where do you feel most stuck or unsure? So this is how trust becomes part of your business model. Right, this becomes part of your marketing. This is how people remember you long after the case is closed, long after the session ends or the contract has been signed. So, really, this is not about what you fixed, but for how you made them feel seen and how you help them reach that resolution. Okay, that's where the marketing kicks in. That's where the referrals start to come in. Okay. 

22:06
So if you could just take one thing from today's episode. I hope it's this right. In a world that's spinning faster and feeling heavier for many, being the calm in the storm, I think, is no longer optional. I think it becomes your superpower. It's not about being perfect and it's not about having all the answers. It's about just being the professional in the room who slows things down just for truth to land and for really for clarity to surface, for people to feel human again, and I don't think that's soft. I think that's strategic, because when you show people that you're not there just to impress, but you're there to understand, what happens is they want to open up. That's when they trust you and I think that's when their real work begins. 

22:51
So whether you're walking into a tense mediation this week, or meeting with a client who's on the edge of breaking down, or simply trying to stay grounded in your own leadership as a professional, I want you to remember that you don't have to fix everything. Okay, just hold the space where people can breathe. You've got this. Thank you for being here and thank you so much for doing the type of work that you do and for leading with empathy in a world that deeply needs it right now. So if this episode resonated with you. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Send me a direct message on LinkedIn and let me know which strategy you're going to try first, or leave a comment on the podcast. And, of course, please don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss another episode. Thanks for tuning in today and see you in the next episode. Thank you.