What makes a good salesperson? Is it sales figures? Or number of calls made? Actually, I think it’s trust and let me explain why.
The dictionary definition of trust is “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety etc., of a person or thing; confidence” and that’s why I believe trust is at the centre of a good salesperson’s behaviour. The way that you sell is just as important as what you sell. Today’s sales professionals must differentiate themselves in the mind of their prospect because people want to do business with people they respect, understand and trust.
We all buy from people we trust and it’s still true today that people buy people first. As Zig Zigler, American author, said “If the prospect likes you, they’ll listen to you but if they trust you, they’ll buy from you” Each of us decides, at a personal and emotional level, what we’ll buy and where we’ll buy it from.
We trust some brands that we have not purchased from before, but, because we have been exposed to their awareness advertising, we feel comfortable buying from them. Their brand marketing has built a feeling of trust in our mind.
On occasions, many of us travel further than necessary to purchase something we want or need when we could have bought it nearer home. We do that because we trust the business and the people within it. We feel comfortable, even safe, spending our money with that business rather than another that we don’t know or trust.
When prospects invest their hard-fought for budget, they look for someone they trust to help them. Someone who will demonstrate competence, experience and a clear understanding of what needs to be done. Brian Tracy, Canadian American author, suggests “The fundamental glue that holds any relationship together is trust”. And the good salesperson knows that, in the changed environment they now work in, the first thing they must sell is themselves.
Paul Streeter-Jewitt MCIPD
Managing Director
PSJ Training Ltd t/a
Paul Streeter Training Services
+44 (0) 7785 340775
+44 (0) 1225 443882
www.pstrainingservices.co.uk
