We’ve all heard the value and importance of building trust. It’s the foundation of strong relationships and consistent sales. However, in our hurried and harried world, it’s easy for all of us to FORGET or not demonstrate the very behaviors that build trust.
Take a look at trust building behaviors below and grade yourself on how well you demonstrate trust building sales and leadership behaviors. I know I’m still working on a few areas myself!
T – ime. I often tell my clients processes are efficient, people are not. If you want to build trust, you have to invest time. This is problematic in a world where sales managers and salespeople schedule themselves in back-to-back meetings.
Sure, we are having conversations but many are superficial, not beneficial. They don’t build trust because everyone is rushed or feeling rushed to get to the point.
Rushed conversations are high level conversations, which are often superficial conversations. You can’t go deep because there is no time for deep conversations, trust building conversations.
If you want to build trust, build more time in your calendar for conversations.
R-eliable. Martha Beck is given credit for coining the popular phrase of "how you do anything, is how you do everything."
Do what you say you’re going to do.
For salespeople, this is following up on the actions you and your prospect agreed to at the meeting. For sales managers, it means being reliable on holding consistent coaching sessions with your team. (Instead of cancelling coaching sessions to put out the latest fire.)
When people aren’t reliable, trust erodes.
Here’s an interesting note. People can and will like you even if you are unreliable.
HOWEVER, just because people like you doesn’t mean they trust you. A prospect may like you but that doesn’t mean the prospect trusts you to get the job done. Salespeople may like you as their sales manager, however, don’t trust that you will show up to coaching sessions which are supposed to help them improve.
U – nderstand. There is no greater need for human beings than the need to be understood. This requires the development and demonstration of the skill of empathy. Empathy is the ability to know and care about what another human being is thinking or feeling.
For salespeople, it means taking the time to understand a day in the life of your customer.
For sales managers, it means taking the to understand your salesperson’s perspective, even when you don’t agree with it.
Build empathy and you will build trust.
S- table. I could write for days on this one. Sales managers and salespeople that aren’t stable usually lack emotion management skills and self-awareness. Trust erodes because no one trusts how you are going to show up each and every day. They wonder:
Are you going to be in a good mood?
Are you going to be in a bad mood?
Moody salespeople are average salespeople because most sales managers avoid giving honest feedback. They dread the possibility of a negative emotional reaction, an unstable reaction.
Moody sales managers are average sales mangers because their salespeople don’t bring them real issues. They worry about the potential emotional reaction, an unstable reaction.
Trustworthy sales professionals are stable. People can trust how you will show up every day.
T – uned in. Top sales professionals are tuned-in, they are self-aware.
They are aware of when they are shortcutting the TIME needed to build relationships, falling short on RELIABLITY, not demonstrating EMPATHY, not being emotionally STABLE.
Any true change starts with awareness. Tuned in and aware people tend to take action to change behaviors that need to be changed.
TRUST. It is the foundation for building relationships. It is the foundation for producing sales. Are you demonstrating trust building behaviors?
Good Selling!
