Good morning!
“Trust me. I’m in Sales”
I have a T-shirt bearing these words. Every time I wear it, I get laughs and “OMG! Where did you get that?” questions (answer: I sell them on Amazon).
While it is a funny T-shirt, it is actually a major challenge to convince people you are trustworthy. For example, if someone asked, “Why should I trust you?” what would you say? Most likely, “Because I’m trustworthy.”
The problem, of course, is that you can’t prove it unless you are given an order and you won’t be given an order unless you can be trusted.
There are two solutions. One is easy and one is hard. One is quick and one takes time.
The easy, quick way to prove yourself to be trustworthy is to show how others have trusted you in a similar situation. This is a form of social proof. Displaying testimonials with the kind words of others says, “I trust Bill. You should, too.” Testimonials belong on your LinkedIn profile and you can even stick one at the bottom of your email.
The longer, harder way is simply to act in a trustworthy manner. For example, let’s say you leave a voicemail message promising to call back in a week. To show you can be trusted, do it! Oh, and make sure you point it out, too: “Bill, I promised you last week I’d call today and here I am, keeping the first promise I made you.”
This is not an either/or choice. Instead, you should be doing both. At once. All the time. Furthermore, know there is no trust finish line. You need to continue the trust-proving habits. Show up to appointments on time. Hit your delivery dates. And communicate, communicate, communicate. It is that important.
Trust me. I’m in Sales.
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….and you can trust Bill Farquharson for more sales-specific ideas and inspiration by joining The Sales Vault. Go to SalesVault.pro or call Bill at 781-934-7036.