Every marketer is buying into there being a "trust recession."

Let me clearly state: This is complete nonsense.

There is absolutely zero trust recession. Instead, there's more trust being shared than ever before.

But there is something happening that nobody wants to admit, something killing your pipeline & sales…

This letter will expose that ‘something’ via three uncomfortable truths:

1. Why this "trust recession" is genius manipulation

2. The real reason your business struggles

3. How to fix it (if you can handle the truth)

Let's dive in.

‘Trust Recession” = Marketing Gimmick

The most dangerous lies are hidden in truth— it’s what makes them plausible.

Example: Christ hung out with sinners.

True. But modern culture weaponizes this truth to argue we should embrace & celebrate sin to be "Christ-like."

That is legitimate heresy.

Compare this to an easily disprovable lie: "Christ never died on the cross.” (the muslim belief)

With the crucifixion being one of history's most documented events—recorded by Jews, Romans, Gentiles, and Christians—this lie crumbles under basic scrutiny. It’s viably unbelievable with minimal research. (which is why I find it mind-boggling that matured-adults can still believe this)

Here's the pattern: Effective lies need truth as camouflage.

So what truth is the "trust recession" hiding in?

Brace yourself:

YOU have a trust problem. YOUR audience doesn't trust YOU.

This isn't a market-wide recession. This is your personal bankruptcy.

The "trust recession" narrative does something psychologically brilliant: it shifts blame from internal (your fault) to external (market conditions).

It’s classic, text-book manipulation.

Take an internal problem, rebrand it as external, then sell the "revolutionary solution" to circumvent this "external force"—which is actually just internal change disguised.

This exploits normalcy bias—our desperate need to believe our struggles are universal.

^{(NOTE: we all have normalcy-bias hard-wired into us. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it is important to recognize our own wiring & its faults)}

Why? Because if everyone's struggling, we’re not broken. We’re just unlucky. The old adage plays true:

Misery. Loves. Company.

Your business has trust issues. Your friends in business may have trust issues—

But this doesn't create a recession. It means that you’re peer-to-peer circle share the same problem.

If you're broke and your friends are broke, do you get to claim economic recession?

Absolutely not. You're just financially incompetent.

Same principle applies here. You don't know how to build trust. Your ‘trust-incompetent.’

The reality behind the marketing: Normalcy-bias gives us comfort. We’d rather believe the entire market shifted against us, rather than admit we lack the skills to earn trust at scale. (& it’s much easier to sell a solution to a market shift than blame the customer that it’s their fault to begin with)

But here’s the truth:

The market isn't broken. Your approach is.

I have more trust in my business-endeavors than I ever have before & it’s because I’ve learned how to cultivate it. That’s what the remainder of this letter will break down.

Point 2: The Real Problem (You're Building Trust Too Late)

Most entrepreneurs fundamentally misunderstand the economics of trust in their business.

They operate under the assumption that trust is a sales problem. It's not. Trust is a demonstration problem.

This misunderstanding leads to low booking, show, & close rates (… & higher churn, dispute, & refund rates).

See... by the time someone reaches your sales process, the trust calculation has already been completed. The conversation is simply confirming their pre-existing assessment.

Here's the brutal data that I GPT’d to back my point:

Research from the Corporate Executive Board demonstrates that B2B buyers complete 57% of their purchase decision before engaging sales. In coaching and consulting markets, this figure approaches 70%.

Translation: Your prospects are deciding whether to trust you long before they book a call.

The trust evaluation happens in three phases:

• Phase 1: Content consumption (YouTube, LinkedIn, email)

  • YouTube videos (depth of insights, frameworks shared)

  • LinkedIn posts (thought leadership, industry perspectives)

  • Email content (sophistication of ideas, consistency)

  • Podcast appearances (how you think in real-time)

  • Written content (case studies, methodologies)

• Phase 2: Social Proof Verification

  • Client results (specificity, credibility, relevance to prospect's situation)

  • Testimonials (from recognizable names or similar businesses)

  • Public associations (who you work with, speak alongside, are endorsed by — In other words, what “circle” are you in?)

  • Community quality (who follows/engages with your content)

• Phase 3: Positioning Assessment

  • Do you serve their level of business? (revenue, complexity, sophistication)

  • Do you understand their specific problems?

  • Are your solutions more advanced than what they currently have?

  • Do you operate at a level they aspire to reach?

  • Is your pricing/positioning aligned with their investment capacity?

Most entrepreneurs optimize Phase 3 (the sales process) while completely neglecting Phases 1 and 2.

This is backwards.

^{(SIDE-NOTE: Cole Gordon has become an acquaintance of mine. I have much admiration for him & his knowledge- he’s incredibly intelligent— but closers.io exists because of this misunderstanding in the industry —}

^{businesses treating “symptoms” rather '“than root issues.”)}

More critically: entrepreneurs approach Phases 1 and 2 with a convincing mindset instead of a demonstrating mindset.

Consider yourself, evaluating whether or not I could potentially help your business— you’re not evaluating my ability to handle your objections or my manychat flows… instead, you’re asking yourself the following:

"Does Paul understand the problems I haven't solved yet?"

"Are his frameworks more sophisticated than what I'm currently using?"

"Do his results suggest that he operates at a level worth learning from?"

These questions are answered through demonstration, not persuasion. Hence my YouTube content and these emails

When you create content that convinces, you're signaling weakness. When you create content that demonstrates competence, you're building trust.

The difference is subtle but critical:

Convincing: "Here's why my framework works better than others."

Demonstrating: "Here's how we solved this specific problem.”

If your YouTube videos sound like regurgitated advice from every other business channel, you fail the evaluation. If your case studies lack specificity and depth, you fail the evaluation. If your positioning is indistinguishable from competitors, you fail the evaluation.

Category leaders closing 70-80% of their calls understand this.

We don't optimize for conversion rates. We optimize for pre-qualification through demonstrated competence.

My prospects arrive pre-sold because trust was established upstream through evidence, not downstream through persuasion techniques.

This is why your close rate is a lagging indicator, not a leading KPI.

Fix your content & marketing architecture. Your sales problems will solve themselves.

Point 3: The Solution (Building Trust Before They Know Your Name)

The solution isn't more sophisticated sales training or better objection-handling frameworks ^{(sorry Cole)}.

The solution is systematic trust-architecture.

At The Modest Coach, we've distilled this into what we call the Capture, Convince, Convert methodology. (more on this below)

Most entrepreneurs operate with broken sequencing. They attempt to convert before they convince, and convince before they capture. This creates resistance at every stage.

The correct sequence:

Capture: Generate qualified attention through content that demonstrates competence

Convince: Build systematic trust through evidence-based positioning

Convert: Facilitate inevitable decisions through qualification, not persuasion

In other words- capture qualified attention through competent content, convince it with the proper argumentation & positioning of your beliefs, convert it with frictionless pathways toward purchase.

Capture operates on two levels:

Macro level: Your content ecosystem positions you as the definitive authority in your space. Every piece of content either reinforces or undermines this positioning.

Micro level: Individual content pieces solve specific problems your prospects haven't solved yet, using frameworks they haven't encountered before.

Most entrepreneurs fail at the macro level.

They create content that positions them as "another coach" rather than "the authority." Their content lacks consistent sophistication. Their insights are available elsewhere.

Convince requires evidence hierarchy:

Primary evidence: Documented client transformations with specific metrics

Secondary evidence: Public association with other category leaders (this has been key for me)

Tertiary evidence: Consistent demonstration of advanced thinking

The key insight: 

Your prospects' sophistication level determines which evidence they prioritize.

A $30K/month operator prioritizes primary evidence (client results).

A $300K/month operator prioritizes secondary evidence (who you associate with) and tertiary evidence (depth of thinking).

Convert becomes automatic when Capture and Convince are executed properly.

Your sales conversations aren't about overcoming objections. They're about qualifying mutual fit.

When prospects arrive pre-convinced of your competence, the conversation shifts from "Can you help me?" to "How do we work together?"

This is the foundation of the hybrid model we implement in Daley7.

Organic content builds trust architecture. Paid media amplifies qualified reach. The combination creates systematic prospect pre-qualification.

The result: Higher show rates, higher close rates, higher client quality, lower churn.

Most entrepreneurs optimize individual tactics. We optimize the entire trust ecosystem.

(Full transparency: this is where I CTA)

If you're generating $25K+ monthly and want to implement systematic trust architecture in your business, I only accept 4-5 new founders into my private incubator every month; I’d love to see if you can be one of the them.

DM me “MODEST” on Instagram & we’ll show you how to install our trust-architecture frameworks into your business.

I hope to see you soon- either way, until next time…

HH

Paul