It’s the time of year when you see little girls standing at grocery stores selling cookies. Why is it that almost everyone will buy the cookies? A large part of the reason is that the organization sponsoring the girls who sell the cookies has spent years building trust in the community and you have faith that your money is going to a good cause. Trust is one of the most important aspects in sales. Sales trust is very important to your success and there are several reasons that sales trust is a significant factor in your ability to succeed.
- The first and most important reason to develop sales trust with your customers is that over 90% of companies report that they will only buy from companies that they trust. If you want sales, you have to build sales trust. It is unfortunate that many buyers do not trust sales people. This lack of trust has come from dealing with sales people in the past who have been too pushy or just plain dishonest with the buyers. Today, the majority of sales people are more often educated, well trained, and are very aware of the importance of building a lasting rapport with their customers. Building rapport builds trust. Once you have established the trust, it is important to maintain it. Never promise something you cannot deliver, always stand by your word, and always admit when you’ve made a mistake. Building a lasting sales trust will help you to continue doing business with the customer for years to come.
- Once you have developed sales trust with your customers, they are more likely to recommend you to other people. If the customer believes that you are someone that they can trust, they are more likely to put their own reputation on the line to refer you to other customers. Building sales trust helps you to build business through word of mouth. Customer referral and recommendation is some of the best marketing your can receive and it is entirely built on trust in you and your company. When a potential customer sees a satisfied customer, they are far more likely to do business with you.
- Trust, particularly sales trust, speaks to your integrity as a person. Your own self-worth is built upon being a person who is trust worthy, believable and honorable. As a sales person, you will look for these traits in your own company and the company will look for you to be dependable and truthful. Groups that have trust in each other tend to work better together and are more likely to offer assistance and direction to help each other succeed. When you feel good about yourself and your company, your self-confidence grows. Buyers pick up on your self-confidence and it makes them feel more confident in your company. A customer or client who has confidence in you is basically displaying that they have sales trust in you.
There is no question that sales trust takes time to develop and that it can be shattered very quickly. It is very important that you do the things that build trust and keep trust. You need to be reliable, dependable, honest, and honorable. This is the secret to developing sales trust.