Seems like an obvious question doesn’t it? If you have read Daniel Pink’s book, “To Sell is Human” you know that 9 out of 10 people have a negative perception of sales people. Heck, salespeople don’t even trust other salespeople!
What do salespeople do that makes it difficult for buyers to trust them? A survey of buyers done by Objective Management Group shows that buyers listed the following actions by salespeople that caused them to dislike them:
Almost every salesperson I talk to certainly doesn’t want to come off this way. And that is the most alarming reality, most of the time they don’t even know they are doing it. What’s worse is that trust isn’t just necessary to make a decision, but to be successful with the solution. True selling, and trust building, never stops.
Based on her buyer research Deb Calvert writes, “Rather than delivering ready-made insights, buyers want sellers to work with them to brainstorm and co-create insights.”
I could continue to quote more research and data that backs up these findings. The time to change the sales approach is long overdue. So why is it not getting any better? Here is what I see happening a lot:
The phrase that we repeat with coaching clients so much that I am thinking about making tee shirts with it is; “It’s not about you.” (or #itsnotaboutme for clients printed upside down so that they can see it?)
In addition to what I see happening above, the reality is that salespeople know that buyers don’t trust them. According to research and surveys from the Objective Management Group, of the 1.1 million salespeople who have taken the OMG sales assessment, over half have a fear of being disliked, or a need for approval. 90% of them trust everything their buyer says to be the truth- no more questions asked. They will not push back, or ask clarifying questions to change the outcome because of their fear. They believe it will lead to a negative outcome, so they don’t do it.
As sales leaders, ask yourself;
If you are a salesperson, stop waiting for your company to do something and start to take matters into your own hands. This is your career, your reputation, take ownership of it.