How Can Salespeople Establish Mutual Trust with Their Prospects?

Did you know that, according to a recent Hubspot survey, only 3% of respondents considered salespeople to be trustworthy?

I found this statistic interesting, but not that surprising. We’re all familiar with the stereotype of the aggressive, sleazy salesperson and have probably experienced offputting sales tactics ourselves at least once in the past.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, there are virtually an unlimited number of ways to establish a foundation of trust with prospects from the outset of the relationship – before you even hop on the sales call.

Addressing the Lack of Mutual Trust

While the narrative often revolves around sales tactics, trust between salespeople and prospects runs both ways. If you don’t fully trust your prospects, trust me – it will show.

You might be asking – “But Dr. Nadia, what do you mean?!”

When was the last time you were on a sales call and tried to continue convincing a prospect to work with you, even though they had already raised several objections (or gave you a flat-out “no”)? By continuing to push and try to “convince,” we’re betraying that we don’t trust our prospects to make the right decisions for them.

Coming from a place of service, we should always respect our prospects’ autonomy. That doesn’t mean we can’t continue the conversation, but the goal should not be overcoming objections. Instead, I like to look at it as clarifying questions – how can you truly understand your prospects’ concerns and address them in a way that builds trust and makes them feel more secure in working with you?

Tips for Building Trust with Prospects

The way you approach building relationships with potential clients will be unique to your business. However, here are some general tips any salesperson can leverage to start laying the foundation of trust with their prospects:

1. Take a look at your belief systems. What are your beliefs when it comes to approaching prospects? Where might these beliefs be out of alignment with your sales process?
2. Go back and audit your client journey. Do a deep dive into your sales process to identify and address any areas that may be undermining your trust in your prospects and their trust in you. Look for additional touchpoints and opportunities to establish trust and add value to the relationship.
3. Update your conversation guide. At the Doyenne Agency, we do not believe in sales scripts, but sales conversation guides are incredibly useful. Update your conversation guide with the goal of asking meaningful questions and truly getting to know your prospects – that way, when questions pop up, you and your team will be well equipped to address them in a genuine and trustworthy manner.

Let’s flip the script to say that, yes, salespeople can be trusted! By approaching sales conversations with mutual trust in mind from the very start, you’re sure to have a wonderful working relationship with your prospects once they do finally get to “yes.”

What are some of the tactics you’ve seen or experienced that may be negatively affecting mutual trust between salespeople and their prospects?