A quick lesson on high-impact selling.
Trust, my friends, is the cornerstone of any relationship. There's all this chatter about being a "trusted advisor", especially in sales.
Here's the kicker: to be trusted, you gotta be true to yourself.
People aren't just buying what you're selling, they're buying into you. It's not your fancy product or service that seals the deal. It's you fully showing up.
Yep, you heard me right, they're buying into your authenticity.
So, if you're in the service game, you better be self-aware, emotionally intelligent, and get what makes your customers tick.
From my experience, customers and clients silently ask three big questions:
Do I like you?
Can I trust you?
Can you really help me?
Question one. It's about likability. Question two. It's about being relatable. And that third one. It's about reliability.
You put them all together and you get what I call customer sentiment—the emotional vibe your customer feels about your brand, your product, or your service.
Now, measuring that sentiment? It's more than just counting likes or running surveys. It's about understanding that you're not just selling a service, you're selling yourself.
And how your customer feels about you...It's everything.
Remember, future deals and renegotiations? They're driven by emotion. So, build that deep connection. That's the long game, my friend.
Now, how do you build that kind of trust over time? Here are a few things to consider:
Make it crystal clear that you don't want something from your client, but for them.
Put your client's interests ahead of your own, every single time.
Dive deep into what makes them tick.
Listen to what's not being said, pay attention to the motivations behind what's being said.
Always, always, always follow through on your promises.
When you mess up, own it, fix it, don't make excuses.
Know their business inside and out.
Don't just offer solutions, offer guidance.
Be confident, own why you're in the room.
Respect their time and anticipate their needs.
Share bits of yourself appropriately.
Give them more than they pay for, every single time.
At the end of the day, your clients trust you when they know what to expect. Unspoken expectations? They're a one-way ticket to frustration town.
So, keep it clear, keep it close, and keep calm in your communication. Whatever you do, keep showing up.
That's the path to success, my friend.
You can trust me on that one.
+++
Steve Knox | Houston, Texas
/// Thanks as always for reading! Please forward or share this with your circle of influence. It's a conversation worth having.