When you break the promise, you loose the credibility. When you loose the credibility, you loose the trust. So, keep your promise, because trust is the foundation of soulfully inspired life. – Vishwas Chavan
In any kind of relationship, trust is the foundation to its progression. A trusting relationship enables both parties to have security and freedom, thus allowing the bond to meet its potential.
Similarly, building credibility and deepening trust with your client will help you differentiate yourself from the competition. After all, encountering a pretentious, hard-selling sales person can be such a turn off.
Sales Professional: Build trust and credibility with your clients
Here are some questions to leave you pondering over:
- What can you do to avoid selling a solution that isn’t in the customer’s best interest?
- What will you do to never misrepresent the features, advantages and benefits of a product or service?
Tip: Always give customers the whole, unvarnished truth and leave it to them to decide if the proposed solution will work for them. Customers don’t want a product or solution that only comes close to meeting their needs.
- How do you keep your promises?
Tip: Hold true to what you agreed to deliver to your customer. It will put you ahead of your competition.
- What can you do to avoid promising something you can’t deliver?
Tip: It is important specify the solution that you offer, its special features and benefits, as well as the deadline for you to deliver when making a deal with your customers. However, this could be a recipe for disaster if you cannot fulfill your promise.
- How do you avoid accepting or offering bribes or gifts?
Tip: There is perhaps no brighter ethical line sales professionals must not cross than the one prohibiting off-the-books inducements.. So, make sure what you’re in it for.
- What can you do to keep pricing consistent to all departments within the same company?
Tip: Price discrepancy shows that the company is incompetent on managing their products and services. This could poison your relationship with your customers and kill the account.
- How do you avoid excuses when problems develop after the sale?
Tip: A task is not complete until your customer is satisfied with its outcome. You are the face of the company; it is your duty ensure that your work has completed.
- Would you withhold bad news?
Tip: Coming forward with a bad news may not be ideal, but just imagine how much more upset your customers will be to find out themselves and know that you have been hiding it.
- How can you speak about your competition in a respectful manner?
Tip: It’s inevitable to be asked by your customers to compare yourself with your competition. As much as you want to proof that you have the edge, remember that “trash-talking” the competition would make you look petty and immature in the eyes of the customer.
- What can you do to honor the relationships that other sales professionals on your team have with their accounts?
Tip: You will end up loosing credibility of you steal accounts from your team members.
Tip: Honesty is the best policy. Proposing an unrealistic plan just to make an impression to your customer would only end up with disappointment when you fail to fully deliver it in the end.
