Trust-Based Selling – An Abbreviated Book Report for At-Work Entrepreneurs – Segment I
Book Report Credit: Donald J. Sauder, CPA
In order for successful customer relationships to work, sellers have to care – honestly and deeply – about customers. Successful, flourishing salespersons know the trick is easy – you have to care – honestly and deeply. The solution, simple to state, is hard to live.
Three pillar questions in great sales are 1. What do buyers really want? 2. Why don’t they say so? 3. Why, if selling expertise isn’t the best approach, is it the dominant one? Customers and clients make decisions based upon trust. The best businesses gain sales from the trust they develop with customers. What buyers really want is to buy from someone they trust. Trust is developed with understanding the customer needs, asking the right questions, and demonstrating expertise – rather than talking about it.
An appreciation for what is best for the client or customer, and putting their needs first, always leads to more benefit to you and your business than putting your needs or your business needs first, e.g. Is your solution the ultimate for the need of the customer, or simply your month’s sales quota?
Studies show that to achieve duplicative sales successes you do not even have to deliver on all the wants and aspirations; after all, customers don’t expect you to perform miracles. Yet, you must understand and appreciate them for who they are. You need to connect, understand and care. Customer care is the key phrase. Care includes paying attention, showing interest, exhibiting curiosity about things important to the customers, e.g. seat warmers for car shoppers, complaining about cold winter temperature.
Trusted based selling is about doing business in such a way that you’re worthy of the customer’s trust. You must be personable, and genuine; and let the customer experience or sample what it’s like to buy your goods or services.
What buyers really want – even when they don’t say so – is a seller they can trust.
Trust based selling require solid competence, credibility, and reliability; and most important a sense that the seller cares about what is best for the buyer. Trust based selling is built on helping the buyer make the best decision or the purchase.
Buyers are people. They have fears of missing something, fears of being ignorant, fears of making a bad decision, fears of being taken advantage of. Trust based selling, eliminates fear, and replaces it with the confidence; the confidence of having made a good decision, long after the decision occurs.
Here the benefits of building trust:
- Reduces challenges to competitor purchases
- Minimized challenges on pricing
- Minimized being second guessed, or double checking of facts
- Increases customer willingness to listen
- Helps customers share information that is useful to the seller
- Improves chances your phone calls will be answered
- More forgiving attitude when mistakes are made
- Customers will seek you out take your advice when buying
- Help with exceptions to the rule as appropriate
- Give you preferential status
Trust is no longer a commodity in business. Trust is becoming an invaluable resource.
Pressures from a competitive, seller centric marketplace, with a greater gain attitude, and the risks incorporated when working to build trust, all hinder successful sales.
Good salespeople overcome these obstacles and the reap benefits for their customers, and ultimately themselves too.
Trusted salespeople have always been valuable, and will become more valuable in the future.