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June 2008
Issue: 17

Welcome to this month's newsletter.
 
As most of you know, trust is the cornerstone upon which my Trust Triangle™ selling principles are based.  This month's question speaks to the need for trust and seeks ways to achieve it. In this newsletter we will be exploring two of the many ways to obtain your client's trust.
 
Let me know what you think,
 
Dan 



 
Ask Dan
It's good to have questions - now ask them! The only poor question is the one never asked. I may be able to feature your question in the next newsletter. Just email me at
 [email protected]

Q:    Dan:  I lead a team of approximately 150 sales representatives and product specialists. I recently read your book, and agree with the importance of trust in becoming a true sales superstar.  Can you please provide some additional insight as to how I can help my team gain trust?

Amanda
Miami, FL

A:  Amanda, thanks for your great question. I hope this information will be helpful to you and your team.  Be sure to read next month's newsletter for more ways to gain trust. 

Gaining Trust
 
Without trust, there is no way you and your client can climb the left side of the Trust Triangle together. Without climbing the left side to open mindedness, there is no pathway down the triangle to a successful sale.

 
The most common question I face in my workshops is, understandably, "How do you gain your client's trust?" We all realize that we must demonstrate credibility and show concern for our customer, but there are some specific things you can do to win your client's confidence. Here are two of many ways to gain trust initially with a client:
  • Conduct research about your client
  • Use your research to help craft powerful and customized questions.
First and foremost you must first fully understand the world in which your customer lives. Before quotes, presentations, test drives and demonstrations, NOTHING should be provided to the customer until you fully understand her business' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Further, you need to fully comprehend your client's specific needs, pains, challenges and concerns. This information is uncovered in two ways: great research and powerful questions.
 
Use web sites to gain information on your customers and their respective industries.  Proving and referencing your research early on will help your customers think of you a person who wants to truly understand their needs. You can stumble on some interesting data using the Internet. (A sales superstar I know Googles his customers regularly. One time, to his dismay, he discovered that his customer had been hired by a competitor to speak at the competitor's annual corporate meeting!)
 

Don't be afraid to dig out your client's annual reports and financial statements.The introduction letter to shareholders and the corresponding notes can be very revealing. You don't have to be an accountant to make observations concerning income statements and balance sheets.
 
Your research will help you obtain trust by enabling you to ask insightful and relevant questions.

C.O.W. Questioning Strategy

True or false: The main reason sales reps ask questions is to uncover needs. False. Superstars realize that questioning goes way beyond this. Insightful, well researched, finely tuned questions can establish your credibility and earn the customer's trust. The number one credibility tool for a superstar is a blank sheet of paper onto which you make notes about the customer's conversation. The goal is to listen to the customer instead of launching into reasons why the customer should buy. Great questioning - which provides key information needed to qualify, set strategy, and gain credibility - requires research, preparation and great listening skills.

Questions can also kill - if they're the wrong ones or at the wrong time. Asking too many questions, or asking questions that reveal you have not researched the company, can decrease your credibility. Only ask questions that demonstrate you have done your homework and you know something about the customer's business. A great questioning strategy that I have developed is called the C.O.W. questioning strategy:

▲ C - questions about their current situation (e.g., "What do you like about your current situation? What do you dislike?")

▲ O - questions about their optimal situation (e.g., "In a perfect world, if you could design your own solution for your needs and challenges with unlimited funds, what would that solution look like?")

▲ W - questions about the win that the proposed solution would provide for the corporation (e.g., "How does your company or department win if the optimal state is realized?") or for the individual customer (e.g., "Assuming that these needs and challenges are solved, how would things change for your personally?)

These personal impact questions are the most powerful; they provide valuable insights about the customer that can be continually referenced and leveraged throughout the sales process.

Simply by showing that you have done your homework (research) and by asking powerful and insightful questions, you will begin to understand your customer's world and gain her confidence. You are well on your way to establishing the one crucial element-TRUST!

Next month we will address more ways to earn trust.

Good Luck, and Close 'Em!


Dan Adams, Adams and Associates

 

For more information on Dan's new book go here


Building Trust, Growing Sales
How to Master Complex, High End Sales Using The Principles of
Trust Triangle Selling™

Book Cover
 

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Daniel Adams
Adams and Associates
532 Walker Road
Hinsdale, IL 60521
630-215-5090

Email: [email protected]

Web:  www.trusttriangleselling.com


Copyright � 2007, 2008 Adams & Associates. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Adams & Associates is prohibited and strictly enforced.
FOR INSPIRATION:


 A shoe company sends two reps to a remote island where people don't wear shoes.

One rep calls the day he arrives: "Boss, I need to come home, people don't wear shoes here".

The other rep calls, "Boss, send the entire warehouse, I need to stay for one more month,
people don't wear shoes here."


Unknown

 
 
 
 
 




"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor"

Vince Lombardi



 
 
 
 
 
 




"Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust"

Zig Ziglar









 









"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently"

Henry Ford
 

 

 
 

 




 


















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