What is the one things every prosepct wants? Give up? It is TRUST. It really doesn’t matter what you are selling if the prospect doesn’t feel they can trust you they will not buy from you. Now there are a lot of steps to the selling process, but without trust, none of them will really matter. So, how do you make the prospect trust you? Let’s explore the subtle details.
One of the first ways a prospect will measure your trust is doing what you say when you say you’ll do it. Oh it can’t be that simple, but it is. If you tell a prospect, I will call you back Thursday at 2:00pm, you better call back at 2:00pm. I don’t care if you have to set an alarm, you have to do it. Punctuality is one of the first things measured by your prospect. Are you a person of your word? As simple as it sounds, it works. Your word is your bond. When I call that prospect back at 2:00pm Friday even if they don’t answer, my message is “I told you I would call you at 2:00pm Friday…”. This has a huge impact on everything else you tell them. If you tell them, I’ll email you my contact information or I’ll mail you information and you don’t, you are done with that prospect. It is really hard to recover once you break your word. Treat your prospects the same way you want to be treated, in other words live and sell by the “golden rule“.
Being punctual to the appointment has the same effect. If the appointment is at 9:00am Tuesday and you show up at 8:55am, your chances are very good they will trust you in your presentation. If you causally stroll in at 9:20am with a lame excuse or say nothing at all about being late, you just told the prospect,” I’ll probably lie about a couple of more things as well.” Where is the trust?
Remember that people make up their minds about you in 20 or 30 seconds. We as a society are curious and judgmental. If you don’t believe that, drive by an auto accident on the other side of the freeway, is your side slowing down? Sure, people want to see what is going on. Judgmental, are you kidding me? Watch two employees make horrible comments about their supervisor until the supervisor walks up and they both pat them on the back and tell them what a great job they have been doing. Whether it is said aloud or just a thought, you will be judged. The prospect will measure everything you say against what they know to be true. The first factor they have to measure your integrity is punctuality. Always run your business or insurance agency with the montra of under promise and over deliver. Your business or insurance agency cannot help but grow. Remember what your grandparents taught you, “your word is your bond.”
“Relationships of trust depend on our willingness to look not only to our own interests, but also the interests of others.”–Peter Farquharson
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.