7 Ways How Salespeople Can Build Trust and Credibility
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2024 4:49 am
I am often asked how can salespeople build trust and credibility into the sales process so they can close more sales faster.
It’s a common question because of one simple fact. Buyers won’t believe the message until they believe in the messenger.
In other words, simply put, you will not make a sale until the prospect trusts you.
What is the Defintion of Trust?
First, what do we mean by trust and credibility? According to albania whatsapp number database Webster, the definition of trust is an “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something”.
Taking that from a sales standpoint, trust is defined as a prospect’s belief that you will do exactly what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. It’s nothing more than that. When they believe you will fulfill your commitments, you have created the trust needed for them to buy. If you over- promise and under-deliver however, you may lose the opportunity forever.
The challenge is that often we need to open sales opportunities with prospects that have never heard of us before, let alone trust us enough to buy from us. Therefore, the key question is how can we as salespeople systematically build trust and credibility into the relationship throughout the sales process so that the prospect eventually feels comfortable enough to buy from us.
Why it’s Hard to Build Trust and Credibility
So why do sales people have a difficult time building trust? There a couple of reasons.
First, they just don’t know you! Think about it this way. We are all more likely to buy from the same place as our friends. That’s because there is already a certain level of trust already exists if you are referred to a company by a friend or colleague.
However, if you have never met your prospect before, not only do you not have trust, you could be starting in a negative position! It’s like, “If you are so good at what you do, why have I never heard of you before?”
Another Reason Salespeople Find It Hard to Build Trust
Another reason why it’s hard to build trust with prospective customers is because prospects have been let down before. They have been disappointed by sales representatives who made commitments they couldn’t keep, and now they are leery of all sales representatives. It’s almost guilt by association!
Be it right or wrong, they just don’t believe you to be trustworthy, so you are going to have to prove it!
Remember, your prospect’s perception is the reality in which you operate. You can’t change their past experiences, but you can start early in the sales process to show the prospect how you do business.
Stop Losing Your Customer’s Trust!
Before you can answer the question how salespeople can build trust and credibility, you first must discuss how they lose it in the first place.
Every time you fulfill a commitment, you build trust. Every time you break a commitment, however, you lose trust. In fact, you do more damage than if you never made the promise in the first place.
If you over- promise and under-deliver however, you may lose the opportunity forever.
Committments Made During the Sales Process
Sometimes, it’s what salespeople think are the insignificant events that happen before the sales process even starts, that will make you lose enough of the prospect’s trust to ensure that you will never sell them anything in the future.
A customer email not answered in a timely fashion. An unreturned voicemail. A no show or are late for an appointment. A missed deadline. These are all implied committments that salespeople break every day.
How Salespeople Lose Credibility
Let me give you a few real life examples of how sales people can lose a potential customer’s trust.
A sales rep who was trying to sell me a service left me a voice mail. I returned his message within 5 minutes, but he didn’t call me back for over a week. I thought, “If this is the response I get when he is trying to win me as a customer, what kind of service can I expect once he has me as a customer.” Needless to say, he did not manage to book the appointment once he finally got around to calling me back.
Another sales rep called to follow up on an email I had sent to his company inquiring about their services. I checked my sent items folder only to find that I had sent the email over 3 weeks ago. Regardless of whether he had just received my email from his marketing department that day, or that he had just decided to follow up on it now is irrelevant. I simply did not trust him or his company to service my needs.
More Examples of How Salespeople Lose Trust in the Sales Process
In just one week, four sales “professionals” did not call when they said they were going to for their telephone appointments. And this is after each of them initiated the sales process with me!
In each of these examples, my first impression was that I could not trust the salespeople. They showed me they will not respond to customer inquiries in a timely fashion. As such, each of them lost the opportunity to do business with me ever in the future.
It’s a common question because of one simple fact. Buyers won’t believe the message until they believe in the messenger.
In other words, simply put, you will not make a sale until the prospect trusts you.
What is the Defintion of Trust?
First, what do we mean by trust and credibility? According to albania whatsapp number database Webster, the definition of trust is an “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something”.
Taking that from a sales standpoint, trust is defined as a prospect’s belief that you will do exactly what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. It’s nothing more than that. When they believe you will fulfill your commitments, you have created the trust needed for them to buy. If you over- promise and under-deliver however, you may lose the opportunity forever.
The challenge is that often we need to open sales opportunities with prospects that have never heard of us before, let alone trust us enough to buy from us. Therefore, the key question is how can we as salespeople systematically build trust and credibility into the relationship throughout the sales process so that the prospect eventually feels comfortable enough to buy from us.
Why it’s Hard to Build Trust and Credibility
So why do sales people have a difficult time building trust? There a couple of reasons.
First, they just don’t know you! Think about it this way. We are all more likely to buy from the same place as our friends. That’s because there is already a certain level of trust already exists if you are referred to a company by a friend or colleague.
However, if you have never met your prospect before, not only do you not have trust, you could be starting in a negative position! It’s like, “If you are so good at what you do, why have I never heard of you before?”
Another Reason Salespeople Find It Hard to Build Trust
Another reason why it’s hard to build trust with prospective customers is because prospects have been let down before. They have been disappointed by sales representatives who made commitments they couldn’t keep, and now they are leery of all sales representatives. It’s almost guilt by association!
Be it right or wrong, they just don’t believe you to be trustworthy, so you are going to have to prove it!
Remember, your prospect’s perception is the reality in which you operate. You can’t change their past experiences, but you can start early in the sales process to show the prospect how you do business.
Stop Losing Your Customer’s Trust!
Before you can answer the question how salespeople can build trust and credibility, you first must discuss how they lose it in the first place.
Every time you fulfill a commitment, you build trust. Every time you break a commitment, however, you lose trust. In fact, you do more damage than if you never made the promise in the first place.
If you over- promise and under-deliver however, you may lose the opportunity forever.
Committments Made During the Sales Process
Sometimes, it’s what salespeople think are the insignificant events that happen before the sales process even starts, that will make you lose enough of the prospect’s trust to ensure that you will never sell them anything in the future.
A customer email not answered in a timely fashion. An unreturned voicemail. A no show or are late for an appointment. A missed deadline. These are all implied committments that salespeople break every day.
How Salespeople Lose Credibility
Let me give you a few real life examples of how sales people can lose a potential customer’s trust.
A sales rep who was trying to sell me a service left me a voice mail. I returned his message within 5 minutes, but he didn’t call me back for over a week. I thought, “If this is the response I get when he is trying to win me as a customer, what kind of service can I expect once he has me as a customer.” Needless to say, he did not manage to book the appointment once he finally got around to calling me back.
Another sales rep called to follow up on an email I had sent to his company inquiring about their services. I checked my sent items folder only to find that I had sent the email over 3 weeks ago. Regardless of whether he had just received my email from his marketing department that day, or that he had just decided to follow up on it now is irrelevant. I simply did not trust him or his company to service my needs.
More Examples of How Salespeople Lose Trust in the Sales Process
In just one week, four sales “professionals” did not call when they said they were going to for their telephone appointments. And this is after each of them initiated the sales process with me!
In each of these examples, my first impression was that I could not trust the salespeople. They showed me they will not respond to customer inquiries in a timely fashion. As such, each of them lost the opportunity to do business with me ever in the future.