How to expedite trust in sales

In business, trust and profit are intertwined. In order to make more sales or convert new leads, it starts by building trust. The more trust a potential customer has the more likely they are to purchase with you and the more a customer trusts you, the higher their spend will be. 

But how do you start to build trust with a contact you don’t know and perhaps have never met? 

Be friendly and relatable

When it comes to building trust, nothing can surpass being friendly and genuine. While people want to work with experts, they also want to work with people they feel they can relate to and who don’t appear to be too far above them.  

Whether you are in front of a potential customer or they are simply a name on your database, always be friendly, pleasant and upbeat in your communication.  

Engage and validate

Take an interest in your potential customers and what is important to them. It can be as simple as seeing how they are doing, asking for their input or feedback or seeking their opinion on an issue. 

Encourage conversation and listen to what they are saying. Where possible, try to implement or reiterate what you have heard so your customers can feel important and validated. 

Make and deliver on a promise

When you have not formed trust with a potential customer, it is important to create an opportunity for you to make a promise and deliver to start building their trust in you. 

Can you introduce them to a key contact? Can you provide answers to pressing questions, or insights, guidance or tips on a key issue or topic you know they will be interested in?

The promise could be one-on-one to them personally or to a larger audience through a free webinar, event, e-book or cheat sheet for example. 

The first promise or claim you make should have no risk to them. So it is not a purchase you are seeking; it is a freebie or favour that will help you build their trust initially. Once you have gained their trust on something small, it is easier to ask for their trust on something bigger like making a purchase with you. In fact, if you play your cards right and give them something the value or need, the sale will often happen naturally.


Five ways to build credibility with your customers

Credibility is essential for converting contacts into customers. While you may have the better product or service, if you lack credibility, perceived or otherwise, chances are you won’t make the sale and your potential customer will go knocking on a competitors door. 

So how do you build your credibility in the eyes of your potential customers? Contrary to popular belief credibility doesn’t start by focusing on your experience and expertise, it starts by meeting your potential customer where they are, identifying what they need and want, then easing their frustration by solving their problems. 

To help you here are five ways you can establish credibility with your potential customers before you start talking about yourself. 

1. Know your audience

Knowing your audience isn’t just about having an outline of your ideal client. It is about having an understanding of what is important to them, where they are at and where they want to be. The kind of understanding that allows rapport to be built quickly and an emotional connection forged, resulting in your potential customer thinking “hey, these guys get me”. 

(Need a little help with this? Get a copy of the 25 must-ask questions to get inside the mind of your customer here)

2. Talk to them in their own words

Nothing can irritate or isolate your customers and potential customers faster than big words and industry jargon. Often business owners will showcase a larger vocabulary and introduce more complex concepts in order to prove they know what they are talking about, but it rarely has that effect. 

Instead it can be seen as being arrogant, egotistical and confusing, causing your target market to become annoyed and potentially lost. 

If you want to increase your credibility (and appear more intelligent) talk clearly and plainly. It sounds strange I know, but the role of an expert is not to make concepts complex or confusing, it is to simplify and solve them, explaining them in a way that is easy to understand even if you know nothing about the industry or topic.

3. Hit their pain points and give them clarity

One of the fastest ways to build credibility with your audience is to understand the frustrations and problems they are experiencing and be able to articulate them. 

While many people know they aren’t getting the results they want, they don’t necessarily know why. They haven’t been able to identify the real problem or issue that is holding them back or the way around it. 

If you can give your potential customers clarity around what is going wrong and why, you will have their attention and establish yourself as someone who knows, and has experience in, what they are talking about. 

4. Solve their problems

If after you’ve showed your potential customers what is going wrong and why, you can then show them how to fix it you immediately boost your credibility. 

People want to feel heard and understood, so if you can take them to the point of pain, give them hope and then follow through with a relevant solution, you will not only establish your expertise, you will dramatically improve your chances of making the sale. 

5. Offer them proof

If you want to increase your credibility, let someone else tell the story. Use stories or case studies of past or current customers who had similar challenges to the ones your potential customers are facing now and show what you did for them. Testimonials from real customers talking about real experiences with your business show your value in action. 

Once you have established credibility in these five ways then start selling your experience and credentials. View talking about what you’ve done as a way to seal the deal rather than start it.

Your customers want to know what is in it for them first, before they give you their time or money, so the more customer focused you can be in your marketing and sales, the more credibility and rapport you build with your customers. 

How do you build credibility with your audience?

Amanda


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