Why is Trust Important to a Salesperson
Trust in sales is a prospect or customer’s firm belief that a salesperson is credible, reliable, and truthful in what they say, promise, and do. When you have the customer’s trust, they can relax and engage freely with you in the belief that you have their best interests at heart.
Trust is an integral part of a customer and salesman relationship. It’s what keeps companies in the business. A lack of trust is a ticket to failure and customers and people, in general, are more skeptical than ever about claims salespeople and companies make.
To gain and keep a competitive advantage and build their brands, companies must create trust. To be the preferred supplier or partner, and to be trusted by our customers, those in marketing and sales must do the same.
With a strong customer relationship anchored on trust, you can expect to:
1 Gain a deeper understanding of the client’s problems and desires
Working from that definition of trust, a prospect can only open up to you with their problems and desires if they trust you. Therefore, trust in business is important because it helps the salesperson understand the client’s needs and desires, which helps to address sales objections and leads to more effective selling.
I remember when I was first starting out as a salesperson, I struggled to build trust with my clients. I was too focused on the sale and didn’t invest enough time and effort in discovering what the prospect really needed. As a result, few of them opened up to me. My closing rates were predictably mediocre.
I had to work at it, with the help of sales trainers and coaches. Now, whenever I meet with a new client, my goal is to build trust always so that we can have a productive relationship. I find it easier to close sales when I set out to genuinely help the customer.
2 Easily convince customers to buy again
It costs less to retain an old customer than attract new ones. So every salesperson should be aiming to keep their old customers and get repeat sales out of them. This is easier if you have earned the customer’s trust.
Even if it is the nature of the product that the customer cannot immediately buy again, they are more likely to speak positively about you and your product and recommend it to their network if they trust they will get the same level of service. So trust in sales helps with social proof and encourages referrals.
3 Repair strained relationships after a bad customer experience
Many things can happen between closing the sale and the customer getting and putting the product to use. The product may get damaged during shipping, it can take too long to ship due to unforeseen delays, or the product may fail due to improper assembly or use.
If you had built a level of trust with the customer, they are more likely to forgive mishaps and failures on your part. Where they could swiftly demand a refund, they may be more understanding and give you more time to ship or replace the product.
Why is trust important to a salesperson? A salesperson needs to be trustworthy so that their clients know that they aren’t being taken advantage of and that they are getting what they expect.
If a salesperson is not honest, then not only will they lose a customer, but the customer will spread the word to other potential ones about their dishonesty.
4 Make more profitable sales
When a customer trusts your pitch and believes your product does what you promise it will do for them, they are unlikely to haggle on price. If they don’t trust you, it becomes difficult to sell them on your value proposition.
To protect themselves from getting shortchanged with products that don’t do what they are hyped to do, prospects look to pay as little as they can for it. While that counts as a sale, it is clearly not a very profitable one.
Trust has many other benefits. It can improve your speed and efficiency, increase creativity and innovation in the solutions and services you offer, and reduce claims and rework due to misunderstandings. It can also lead to greater efficiency in sales, which lowers your costs.
Those are great benefits, so how might a salesperson go about earning trust?
How Do You Build Trust as a Salesperson?
There are many bold proclamations and exaggerated statements about products and services. How can we distinguish ourselves from the crowd in this confusing environment? It is crucial to clearly define what you stand for and what you promise to deliver.
As an organization, you build trust with stakeholders by making it clear what you offer and deliver. You build trust when your brand messages communicate core values, guiding principles, and promises. These things will influence actions and behaviors and create a consistent customer experience.
Trust is earned through actions and not empty promises. As Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famously captured this truth when he said, “Who you really are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear your words.”.
Are your actions supporting your claims and words?
The most important outcome is the perception of your products and services as more valuable and you the salesperson as credible. This is because you and your client operate in the zone between truth and trust.
To help establish trust in the customer relationship, salespeople must work on the following six core factors:
1 Self-Trust
Are you able to trust yourself?
Before you can claim to be a trusted salesperson or marketer who can provide high-value solutions, you should be able to identify the characteristics that make you trustworthy.
Are you trustworthy, credible, trustworthy, and authentic in all of your dealings?
2 Dependability
This attribute is crucial to gaining the trust and preference of prospects. Too many marketers and salespeople promise the moon but deliver only moon dust. You can build dependability by:
- making your word your bond;
- following through,
- being reliable,
- showing up even when it’s difficult.
This next one is a biggie:
3 Competence
Professional marketers and sellers must produce solid results and outcomes to prove their skill and competence. Customers will trust us more if we meet or exceed their expectations.
Our education, certifications, skill, thoroughness, and attention to detail are all indicators of our competence and ability. Keeping yourself updated and knowledgeable about the latest marketing trends and best practices is important.
Luckily, there are a variety of resources available to help you get better at your job, such as online courses, certifications, and local events.
4 Ethics
Ethics perhaps say more about your trustworthiness and integrity than the other qualities we have discussed. To be a successful sales professional, it is good to make decisions and take action that is right and not expedient. There should be lines that you swear never to cross even whether the pressure to meet quota gets hard to bear.
It is not easy to be ethical and uphold standards. Ethics includes confidentiality, discretion, diplomacy, and respect for integrity. Acquiring professional certifications is important in this regard. They help refine our understanding of the standards that we have to follow.
5 Customer-centric
‘It’s not all about you’. Zig Ziglar, a sales legend, said that you can have everything in your life if you help enough people to get it. And he was so right.
Long-term marketing and sales success is built on client focus, allegiance, loyalty, selflessness (without being taken advantage), and dedication. You must provide value to every customer interaction, whether it is in person or via email.
6 Likeability
You can’t imagine getting a sale from a person that detests you or your methods. So being liked by clients is key to selling success.
This does not mean you have to manipulate customers, promising them what you can’t deliver. I mean genuine likeability due to your professionalism, manners, and positive attitude. The ultimate goal is long-term success and results.
Trust is everything that depends on you. You must consider all possible ways to enhance and build your personal brand so that you are seen as a trusted advisor or strategic partner by your clients. These six core drivers will help you become a more successful professional marketer and salesperson.
So, Why is Trust Important to a Salesperson?
Trust is important to all sales reps because it helps them understand the client’s needs and desires. Trust also leads to more effective, profitable selling.
Trust is your greatest tool as a salesperson. Cultivate it every day, nurture it, and protect it as you would work to keep a loyal customer because without it you can’t build customer loyalty.
Salespeople, as do account executives, need to build trust with their clients in order to create successful relationships. Sales in itself is an exercise in relationship building. By working on the six core trust drivers we discussed, you will be on your way to building great customer relationships and a very successful sales career.
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