Last month I wrote about how critical it is to build trust on your first sales call. In fact, I believe it is the most important objective for your initial meeting, because if you don’t build trust, the likelihood of doing business is slim to none.
Recently I was talking to a sales exec I worked with at EMC regarding this topic. His approach to building trust made a lot of sense to me. Mark came from an engineering background. So it was natural for him to approach sales from a more analytical and technical standpoint. He builds trust by taking the necessary time to analyze his prospect’s business challenges and then craft solutions that are quantifiable. While this approach sounds obvious on the surface, you would be surprised how often sales folks never deploy it. Let me explain.
Too many times sales execs attempt to offer solutions without fully understanding the real, and quantified, business value being proposed. In other words, a technical solution that does not map to business value will not have the same impact. And the only way to map business value to your proposal is to understand how your prospect makes or saves money. This takes research and time, and this is what separates the true professional sales execs from the ones who are looking for the quick commission. If you truly understand your client’s business, you should be able to craft proposals that provide legitimate business value.
Getting back to the original premise of building trust on your initial sales call, you might consider Mark’s approach. Make it crystal clear to your prospect that you understand his business. In fact, explain your understanding of how he makes and saves money without even mentioning your product. Your objective is to have a dialogue about his business and what challenges he is facing. Before you know it, your prospect will be telling you more than you ever wanted to know about his business. And the more he talks, the more you learn. And the more you learn, the more prepared you will be to deliver a solution that makes business sense. The resulting byproduct of this discussion is that your prospect is building trust in you as a potential business partner. Human nature tells us that we typically like and trust people who take a genuine interest in us or our business. You have achieved the most important objective of your initial sales call!
On the other hand, I can also tell you through research and experience how not to build trust on your initial sales call. Come ill-prepared and uneducated about your prospect’s business. Deliver a “canned” presentation that is generic in nature. Then ask for the order!
UNIVERSAL SALES TRUTH #4
Work your land
Proverbs 28:19-20
Work your garden-you’ll end up with plenty of food;
Play and party-you’ll end up with an empty plate.
Committed and persistent work pays off;
Get-rich quick schemes are rip-offs.