Trust Over Transactions: The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

After 5 career changes, scaling a company from his parents' basement into an 85-person operation, and eventually founding Razor Consulting Inc., Gary Anzalone has learned that success comes down to one thing: relationships.

In today’s conversation, Gary shares what he looks for when building a team, how to earn trust authentically, and the one piece of advice he hopes every job seeker remembers. Whether you're hiring or job hunting, his insights are a reminder that gratitude, curiosity, and trust go a long way.

What is business development, how do you do it well, and what would you look for when hiring for it?

Business development is the process of identifying and creating strategies, relationships, and opportunities. It's relationship-based, whereas sales is transaction-based. We don’t set pricing, negotiate, or close deals. That’s sales. We get to the point where the deal can happen. We open the door strategically. We don’t chase projects. We pursue relationships so that when opportunities come up, we’re already in the mix.

You could be the high bid and still win because you have the relationship. You could be the low bid and lose if you don’t. That’s the difference. People connect beyond numbers.

Business development takes trust, respect, and knowing when not to waste time or money.

For someone navigating a career shift or just wanting to level up, how do you build trust and relationships in an authentic way?

Building trust happens over time. You and I are having a great conversation, but what we don’t have yet is history and that takes time. So, you build in regular touchpoints. Share something useful, like a conference they might be interested in. Don’t just look for what you can get. Be interested, not interesting.

Following up is also key. Stephen Covey’s The Speed of Trust talks about how you have to trust yourself before you can trust others.

Being reliable builds trust too. If you’re meeting someone, be there five minutes early. not five minutes late. I leave two hours to get into the city, even if it only takes one. That way, I’m never late.

Another thing I do is keep notes. LinkedIn helps you see who someone is and who they’re connected to, but I take it further. I write down where we met, when, why, and who introduced us. I have 11,000+ contacts, and I can tell you stories about almost all of them because it’s all written down. I jot down what people share about their pets, kids, whatever so that when we reconnect, they know I remember and care. And you don’t need a special CRM for this; I just use the notes field in Microsoft.

That’s how you build real trust. Through time, consistency, interest, and respect.

As you grew your company, what did you look for in the people you added to your team? What stood out and made you think, “This person is a good fit for our company and culture”?

The people who impressed me most were the ones who took notes and asked good questions. Almost like a reverse interview. I want people who are curious and thoughtful. I look for people who’ve done their homework and who’ve come prepared with questions.

When I hire someone, I don’t want to micromanage. I want them to ramp up and take ownership. I had a project manager once who asked if he could leave early to pick up his kids. I told him, “I don’t know, can you? I don’t tell you to stay late, so if you feel like you can leave early, then do it.” That kind of autonomy builds trust and respect.

If someone’s in the middle of a job search, what’s one piece of advice you’d want them to take away from this conversation?

Be a positive person.

People want to be around positive people. And the key to positivity is gratitude. If you’re not grateful, you’re always focused on what you don’t have instead of recognizing what you do.

When someone thanks me for helping them, I want to do even more for them. So, my advice? Show gratitude. Be the kind of person people want to go out of their way for.

Thank you so much for sharing, Gary.

If you want to learn more about Gary or are looking for business development help, check out his LinkedIn here.