It’s an unfortunate reality. When it comes to professionals who earn the lowest marks for honesty and ethical conduct, car salespeople continually drop to the bottom of the pile — next to Congressmen, according to a recent Gallup poll.
While car salespeople were singled out in the study, a sales industry specialist says if you dig deeper, it’s likely that more than 85 percent of consumers have a negative view of salespeople — no matter what industry they’re in. Bill Brooks of the Brooks Group said statistics also show that people will judge your trustworthiness in less than one-tenth of a second.
So, if sales reps are already suspect, how do you overcome those odds when engaging with a sales prospect? Here are 5 tips for gaining and sustaining trust as a salesperson. Some are obvious but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of them.
1. Be Yourself
OK. We’ve heard this one before but when we’re nervous or tense, we have a tendency to be a little artificial to compensate. Avoid that temptation. If necessary, do a few exercises or stretches to relax your muscles before going into an important meeting. It can help you calm down and come across more authentic.
2. Ask Plenty of Questions
Selling involves building a relationship with the customer. How do you get to know your prospect without asking the questions to really understand why they would want to purchase anything from you.
3. Listen
No one will believe that you genuinely want to provide a solution for them if you don’t take the time to really listen to them. Take a breath and resist the temptation to spit out a rehearsed pitch. Make sure you’re repeating a few of the points they shared to convey that you understand their needs and challenges.
4. Be Open
Don’t beat around the bush when building your case for the value of your products and services. Avoid exaggerations … which could lead to immediate red flags. Quickly go over the main points and provide examples of how it can address the client’s needs and challenges.
5. Build Credibility
Here’s where a good case study can come in — just use it to go over how it resulted in a great ROI for a client. A real-life example adds credibility because it does the talking for you.
Building relationships with prospects is essential for sales success. With MonsterConnect, a sales prospecting enablement solution, you’ll have more time to have meaningful conversations with your top key decision-makers. Find out how. Contact us for a demo.
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