Ever think it’s no big deal if I pass up on this one meeting with a customer? Ever think that it’s just one appointment in my busy schedule that I can just skip? What about that promise that we broke to our family to do something fun that we are going to have to push back on the calendar yet again?
The road to eroding trust is paved with good intensions. It is sealed with no follow through.
My father once told me that I should do the right thing no matter if anyone was watching. At the time as a young adult, I was thinking that what does it matter if no one is watching. In today’s age with technology, someone is always watching. Just do a google search on yourself and you’ll find tons of websites with all of your information out there.
If we want to be considered trustworthy, we need to make sure that we are showing up in a consistent manner each and every time. We need to be Reliable.
That’s right Reliability is key to trust building. People begin to trust us when we are consistent in how we show up. That can be personality, work ethic, promises, etc. The more consistent we are the more reliable we are.
Think of that restaurant that you have visited multiple times because the food was great and the service was fantastic. We can’t help but tell people they have to go visit that establishment because of the great experience. That is what others want of us. They want to know that they can get a consistent experience from us when they interact with us.
Whether it is our boss, our significant other, our kids, etc. It doesn’t matter who we are interacting with, they want to have consistency with us. That makes the reliability go up. If we are consistently showing up with our work, we get to stay employed and more money with raises and promotions. Children get more freedom when they are reliable.
If we are there for our friends in times of need, they will open up to us more and we have more influence. If our kids know that we will be there for them they will have more confidence in us as parents. They will trust us more.
We need to be constantly showing up in the same reliable manner if we want trust. Yes there are times that we fall short and have to ask for forgiveness, but if we have been reliable more often than not, we will get the benefit of the doubt. When we can have a minor slip up, but still be considered trustworthy and reliable that is when we know we are doing well.
In sales too often the customer is provided all of these reasons why this interaction will be different from other suppliers. Delivery will be exceptional and on time, our customer service team will support them and not leave the customer on hold for hours on end, etc.
Far too often in sales we over commit and under produce. We have this grand promise that falls short of expectation for the customer. Guess what happens…Trust goes down and we are put into the commodity bucket on the next time we are thought of as an option for suppling goods and services. In sales and business, we also need to make sure that we are showing up in a reliable manner if we want to be considered the best option and maintain good profit margins.
When we are considered commodities, the only differentiating factor is price. We need to make sure that we are providing exceptional service to help the customer along through their lives and support them in a reliable manner. If we do that trust will go up and we will gain more opportunities in the future. That is why I try to under commit and over produce for my customers as much as I can.
If I am not able to guarantee something, then I don’t. I am not like one of those informercials from the 90’s promising that this product will solve everything from small messes to world hunger. I make sure that my customers know how, when, and what my product / service will do and make sure that it achieves those goals. I have built solid levels of trust with customers and friends by being consistent and reliable.
The final thought is yes, we need to commit to something and push hard to make that happen. Never committing to anything will stop trust in it’s tracks.
Be reliable and you will gain trust with those you interact with.
Have a good week!
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 higher profits!”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet
https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book
https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training
https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training