The First Golden Rule of Selling

Rule#1: People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

Okay, so in last week’s sales content, our lesson revolved around on how do we influence or persuade others. And it goes beyond persuasion skills or closing techniques.

As we have argued previously, relying solely on persuasion skills or closing techniques is that different people have different needs and have different agendas.

One prospect might be vulnerable to FOMO marketing, another might be very educated and doesn’t believe in our bluff.

They also tend to be transactional and being transactional is pretty unsustainable. Mauubusan rin tayo ng kliyente kung lahat ng kliyente naten tinatapon na naten pagkatapos ng transaction. At the same time, most prospects do not buy the first time. Many of them buy after a month or a year or even 10 years.

So we go back to our question: how do WE persuade and influence others?

The answer is pretty simple.

One is that: All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust.

The other: You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.

The first quote is from consultant and speaker Bob Burg and the second one is from the late sales guru Zig Ziglar.

Let’s talk about the first one.

Bob Burg, a motivational speaker and sales expert, referred to this as “The Golden Rule of Business.” Although there are other golden rules in business, there is no doubt on the importance of this rule in sales and in business as a whole.

Just think of it this way. For us who are in direct selling (whether you are in high-ticket selling or entrepreneurs who directly selling products to their customers, the clients are the most important piece of our business.

We rely on them buying and on them buying again and again. At some point, we might even rely on their referrals.

In short, we are in the people business. We are in a relational business. The relationships we have with our clients are the most important aspect of our career or business.

And this actually goes beyond building rapport. Building rapport is just one thing and is just a result of being known, liked, and trusted. So no, being known, liked, and trusted is not just about building rapport.

It is the foundation of any sales career. As we are in the people business which relies on relationship, we just cannot emphasize how crucial being known, liked, and trusted is.

Just think of it this way. If you are an in-house salesperson, you are probably not the only salesperson of your company.

If you are in one of the major real estate developers or financial institutions, there are thousands and thousands of you- all selling the same products and services. Di ba!

If you are an entrepreneur, you might say that the product you are selling is one of a kind and that you are the only one selling it. But guess what, the consumers do not know the difference.

You might be selling a water purifier that has some innovative technology.

But ask a normal consumer what the difference is between a water that has gone through water purifier and water from the water station- they do not know. We do not know.

In other words, we live in a world where all the products and services have become a commodity- at least in the mind of prospects and consumers. To them, all these products are alike.

And so this is where connection and relationship come in. If people knows us, likes us, and trusts us; they are more willing to follow and do whatever we want them to do.

In other words, its easier to persuade and influence people if people know us, like us, and ultimately trust us.

Just think of it this way. Lets say you are looking for a hotpot restaurant for you and your family to eat at. You googled and searched on Facebook and found some recommendations.

Then you ask your friend for a good recommendation of hotpot. Where are you more likely to go: the recommendation of Google or your friend’s recommendation?

If you are like normal people, chances are it would be the friend’s recommendation, for one simple reason: we trust their recommendation. We know their taste. They are people like us. You know they wouldn’t like or promote their own agendas upon us.

There is no problem with Google’s recommendation. Maybe the recommendations there might even be better. But here is the thing: some of the recommendations are promoted, meaning chances are its hyped.

At the same time, you are uncertain on the reviews or the words being written there. Maybe the writer has a different taste than you. Maybe they are paid to hype the restaurants.

There is just so many problems with Google’s recommendations on the best hotpot in town.

And so as you can see, the relational aspect part of the business is utmost important.

As consumers, we don’t need better products or services. We don’t need to know what the difference between product A and product B.

But you know what we need? What we need to know is if a certain product or services can help us specifically. We need to know whether or not what we are doing and buying is the right thing to do. We need help in our decision making.

And that is where relationships come in- in that having a recommendation from someone we know, like, and trust eases the tension.

And if we know someone whom we like and trust on a particular industry, they are the ones we want to do business with.

They are the ones who can help ease our buying tension. There are just so much tension when it comes to buying whether that is a B2B or B2C decision.

A recommendation from someone we know, like, and trust gives us psychological air to breathe. It gives us assurance that we made the right decision because of the one recommending it.

There is psychological safety. And in the modern world, assurances and psychological safety play a very big role in how people decide.

And this does not just apply in salespeople or consultants. It also applies in brands and businesses. If you know a brand, and you like the brand, and you trust the brand, you are more likely to trust it because its safer than buying an unknown and potentially superior brand or any other brands that might be bigger.

That is the power of knowing, liking, and trusting.

But the question is… how do we use them and apply them?

P.S. Frustrated with almost closing the sale pero sa huli wala pa rin? We have a FREE sales course for that.

Just simply sign up and we'll share it with you. Its FREE.

SIGN UP HERE

SIGN-UP NOW and start closing more sales. Its FREE