Sales Reps Should Focus on Earning Trust

You’ve probably heard the old chestnut that prospects need to like you before they’ll buy from you, and while being likeable isn’t a bad thing – it’s not a quality that strongly translates into effective sales.

A sales interaction is a relationship and productive relationships are founded in trust, not just likeability. Think about your own sales experiences.

Keeping this in mind, your communication strategy with prospects should be all about building trust.

In this post, you’ll learn the best ways to build trust during communications with prospects:

• Be informed
• Listen
• Focus Less on Being Likeable

Three Sales Communication Tactics That Work!

Leverage Your Observations and Insights

Prospects tend to trust salespeople who not only know their products, but also know their industry. Therefore, it’s vital for you to stay on top of the latest developments, and then use your observations as part of your communications strategy.

Begin your next discussion with a prospect by bringing up one or two issues you’ve seen in the industry and ask your prospect if they’re dealing with those challenges. If they are, the prospect will likely see you as knowledgeable and someone who can be trusted to offer a viable solution.

If the prospect isn’t dealing with the issues you’ve mentioned, they may not be a good fit for the products and services you’re offering. While that isn’t desirable, cutting to the case can allow you to quickly switch to another prospect who could be a better fit.

Focus on Listening and Problem Solving

While salespeople want to concentrate on their products and services during a conversation, prospects are only concerned about their own self interests. This disconnect can easily prevents salespeople from building an essential rapport with prospects.

Good salespeople earn the trust of their prospects’ by concentrating on their problems and worries. This requires listening. Good listeners show they truly care about what the other person saying. Pausing to listen can also help you develop your ideas for more thoughtful interactions.

After listening to a prospect, you can then offer convenient solutions in the forms of products and services. Good listening will help you recall key details that can help push a prospect toward making purchasing decision.

Don’t Worry About Likability – Focus on Value

If you suspect you might be coming across as too “salesy”, record some prospecting calls and listen back to them. If you sound unnatural, you should probably change your approach. Instead of enthusiasm, concentrate on being knowledgeable and genuine. When you act like an informed and “real” person, prospects will be more likely to open up and share their business challenges with you.

We Can Connect You to a Rewarding Sales Position

At SMR Group, we help ambitious sales reps find the position that best suits their skill set and background. Please contact us today to schedule a conversation with one of our employment experts.