Building a Foundation of Competence and Customer Trust
We become credible when we take proactive steps in helping our customers.
You can make active choices to build credibility, but in the end, it's customer perception that has the final say.
What do your customers believe?
We all think we’re credible, but it’s irrelevant what we think. What do our customers believe??
Would you buy from a salesperson who you didn’t deem as credible??
We don’t buy stuff just for the sake of buying, but because it’s going to help us with something and?has a level of credibility.?
We and our products both have to be credible. So what are we doing to help ourselves? “Hey, I’m going to do what I say I’m going to do.” ?That’s the bare minimum. That’s too easy.
Credibility is going past what is expected.
When a product you buy delivers more than you expected, you suddenly have a lot more confidence in that product.
When a salesperson does more than you expect them to, it increases their credibility.?
It makes the relationship, the transaction, and the potential for additional sales much easier. We have to go past what is expected.?
When was the last time you engaged a customer in a conversation that got both you and the customer thinking? To me, that’s creating credibility because you’re willing to go the extra mile.
*Check out this episode of The Sales Hunter Podcast on Consistency as the Cornerstone for Sales Credibility.
Product knowledge isn’t paramount.?
You might think, “Well, if I don’t know my product, how can I talk about my product?” Yes, credibility is in the knowledge that you have about your product, but it’s much more than that. If you wait until you’re the master of all things, you’ll never undertake a sales call.?
Credibility is not about knowing everything about your product. It’s knowing just enough to be able to have a conversation and occasionally say, “Hey, I don’t have the answer, but I’m going to get back to you by this afternoon,” and by that afternoon you deliver it in the promised time frame.?
In fact, exceed their expectations by getting it back before you even said you would. I may never have the answers to everything, but I’m going to demonstrate to? the customer that I will find the answers.
Plus, I’m going to ask you questions that are going to challenge your thinking, because ultimately we’re going to come up with a better solution.?
Referrals, reviews and reputation matter.
Sometimes I can’t deliver what you’re looking for, and I’ve got to refer you to somebody else. Credibility includes bringing in that subject matter expert to help the customer.?
Are your customers speaking positively about you when you’re not around? Are they giving you referrals? Or when you ask for referrals, do they willingly give you referrals?.?
You’re not credible if you’re not getting referrals, testimonials, or reviews.
If those are the outcomes you desire, start by doing more than what is expected.?
Read more about how to create your own referral network.
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Join us for this month's Sales Logic Expert Exchange with Larry Levine! He will explore what it takes to succeed in a post-trust world, where traditional sales tactics fall short.
In just 40 minutes, he'll break down:
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* Want to dive deeper? Check out Larry Levine's book, Selling in a Post-Trust World .
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MH
KRAJOWY KONSULTANT Z ZARZ?DZANIA I KIEROWANIA W ADMINISTRACJI (cpr.) (CHANGE MANAGEMENT - COMPLINANCE), AUTOR/TRENER W ZAKRESIE NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT, ZARZ?DZANIA POPRZEZ JAKO?? (TQM) ORAZ "COSO II", 5"S"
1 个月NAJLEPSZ? DLA KA?DEJ FIRMY I URZ?DU ADMINISTRACJI PUBLICZNEJ REKLAM? JEST W?A?NIE ZADOWOLONY KLIENT !!! Urz?d administracji nie jest w stanie go zawsze zadowoli?, poniewa? dzia?a tylko z upowa?nienia prawa i w granicy prawem dopuszczonej. Ale prze?wiadczenie jego "KLIENTA" przy wyj?ciu z urz?du musi by? jednoznacznie nie NEGATYWNE, ?e kto? nie chce ale POZYTYWNE ... , ?e nie jest to w kompetencji tego urz?du administracji publicznej.
Inside Sales Representative at Blaine Labs
1 个月Very helpful
Helping organizations Sell More in Less Time with The Velocity Mindset. Developing Managers into World Class Leaders. Mentoring CEO’s. Creator of the renowned Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Peer to Peer Mastermind Group.
1 个月Competency and Trust two of the most critical traits for proving credibility. Love it!
President @ Fripp Virtual Training | Presentation skills expert
1 个月Mark Hunter <<We don’t buy stuff just for the sake of buying,>>. The Fripp rule says stuff is rubbish and debris. Do we mean products? services? The advice is give my clients is not to say, "I think..: rather, "Based on my experience..." or "Our research shows..." or "Our clients will tell you..." Specificity in language builds your credibility.
Global Revenue Operations & Enablement People-Rooted Leader | Elevate Value, Enhance GTM & Unleash Human Capital || RevOps / Sales / SE / Remote / M&A / Private Equity
1 个月Mark, your article reminds me of a word Horst Schulze often uses…”delight.” Good, bad, or indifferent…delight. I recall a situation, where a product, let’s call it a course for simplicity, was commited to be delivered and ready for sales, who already proactively built current customer interest, and at the seemingly last minute, would not be delivered. My first thought ??, honestly, wtf. Breathe. Messaged on Teams, “We’ve got the content. How challenging would it be to create a few webinars on the top 3 topics and make those accessible to customers on the platform?” A novel concept. Long story boring ?? We devised a rapid deployment plan that while we had to deliver bad news that the course was delayed significantly, we could still delight the customer with content, all be it different format, that address the top 3 areas quickly and with quality. Moral of the story…shoot for delight, always! learn, grow, and evolve. always! ~ wjmjr