Trust Sweet Trust

The word “sales” can bring about associations with anything but trust. 

For many of us, we’re swift to separate out the activities of selling and consulting, of providing service and sales, of connection and sales. And here lies the opportunity for B2B sales people. What if the way we showed up to our clients brought about a strong association between the two?

For me, it’s all about trust.

What is trust though, and why is it more valuable now than it’s ever been?

Trust to me is when there is a relationship where what’s being said matches actions consistently and effectively regardless of who’s watching, or not watching. And in a world where up is down, left is right and right, left is it any wonder why when we find a person whose being is congruent, we hold on. We exhale.

We can be that for our colleagues and for our clients and prospects.

By now, you’ll know that for me questions are better than answers as they create opportunities for us to grow, to identify possibilities and to build capability incrementally…so I invite you to ask yourself:

What’s my intention when I meet with prospects and clients? Is it to be curious or tell? Is it to listen or to persuade and present? Is it to uncover what matters, what is valuable to customer and how they measure that value? Are you consistent and effective? Are you that person they can talk to about solutions outside of what you do in addition to what you do because they value your insight?

What’s your practice to get you in a state of clean presence? Do you know what affects your state and then take action to get into the best state for your client meetings? Are you aware enough to know that how you are anywhere is how you are anywhere?

How deliberate is your sales practice? Do you have a plan and work that plan? Do you know how to direct a conversation with questions so you’re doing the least amount of talking while maximising your influence? Are you clear about where your growth will come from, and how you’ll realise that growth?

How well do you connect, build insight and listen? Are you there to be of service? Does the way you listen make the other person feel listened to, understood and heard?

Do you do what you say, when you say you will every time, even when no one will know? That is integrity. Some of us do our very best work when no one is watching. It matters. This drives a way of being. “What you do speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. My version of this is: “how you are speaks so loudly, what you say doesn’t matter”. When how you are is stronger than what you do, the quality of the outcomes of your life improve. 

Sales is a subset of that.