Welcome back to this week’s blog post on trust building skills to practice. Most people overlook the aspect of building trust with others. Here’s the deal with that thought process…no one goes far without others being along side of them. That’s right we need people and if they don’t trust us, those people will not walk with us on the journey.
Trust is a commodity these days that is in high demand. People need to trust others that they are working on tasks that will help the organization move forward. With a great deal of people working remote during the pandemic it is difficult to connect with people and follow up with them without another dreadful online meeting. I think everyone has meeting fatigue at this point.
Trust is needed and what I have found is that using the sales process is a great way to build trust. Sales people are trained to gain trust and grow influence with customers quickly. This is a must if we want sales to grow. No, being a sales person is not just about making a sale. It’s about growing relationships with customers. Really good sales people are actually honest and well-liked individuals. Sales people for the most part are not sleezy, just hunting to make a sale, and they are not people that will sell their family members in order to grow profits.
I created my book and my training called “The Sales Process Uncovered,” to show people how we all need sales and how sales is actually supposed to function with growing relationships and influence. That’s right learning sales is not a bad thing. CEO’s need to know sales, people dating are actually selling themselves as the best solution to each other, pastors need to sell themselves as a shepard helping others learn more about God, etc.
Bottom line is that if we want to build trust, the sales process is actually a great roadmap.
Here are three areas in the sales process that will help you gain trust.
Build Rapport with people. Rapport is a fancy word for being likeable. That’s right, no one really wants to hang out with Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. People want to hang out with happy and likeable friends. Being likeable is crucial in building trust because it engages people to learn more about us. Now there are tons of aspects that affect likeability from the environment we are in, to the colors we wear, the scents, etc. If we are violating any of these aspects it will be very hard for us to be considered likeable.
Credibility is another area that builds trust. People are actually looking to interact with others in order to get to a better place. They seek out credible people to walk with. Being credible is mainly known as being educated in a certain subject, but there are other ways to build credibility. We can gain credibility by linking other people together. That’s right when we help people get to where they want to go, by introducing people to each other that builds credibility for us. I call this phenomenon being the bridge. We are bridging people together and in return we become a credible source for others.
Now the third area in building trust is one that I often fall short on. It is Empathy I grew up in a strict environment with only one parent that was focused on driving through to finish the task no matter how it gets done. Just keep moving don’t show emotion, rub some dirt on a broken ankle, and hobble along. Just figure out how to finish the task no matter how people feel. What I have learned is that people really want to feel known and empathy is the key to getting into people’s heart. People may not remember what we did for them, but they will always remember how we made them feel. People’s feelings will mark out the direction in which they engage with us.
I encourage you to pick up a sales book whether it is mine, or someone else’s to learn how to gain rapport with others. It will greatly impact the way you gain trust. No, you don’t need to go into sales if you don’t want to, but learning the sales process will allow you to learn how to gain trust and influence at a great level.
If you want to get something done quick, you may be able to do it, but if you want to go far, you need others with you to help you on the journey.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”