I’ve had it! I’m tired of seeing too many sales motivation or sales training programs gloss over the importance of creating confidence with the customer. I’ve had several inquiries this past week from people struggling with this issue. The majority of programs talk about confidence, but only in the context of how important it is for you, the salesperson, to exude it in your actions and comments. I’m not discounting this, but confidence is more complex than that. The customer also needs to be able to feel confident in you!
There are two ways I like to show confidence. The first is the ability to listen. Nothing will express cofidence more than listening to the customer and being able to ask the probing questions that allow the customer to feel and express their need. The second is time and the ability for the customer to see consistency from you over a period of time. Time has a way of breaking through a lot of things because of the number of different situations that arise over time. These give the customer the opportunity to see how you handle situations.
Here’s the application: If you’re a sales person struggling to establish your customer base, be sure to have a repetition in how you contact your prospects. Don’t spread yourself too thin by allocating time to so many different people that you can’t follow up. Remember, it takes on average 6 calls to close a sale, but the average sales person gives up after 5. Build your prospecting schedule around a format that allows you to contact your prospects with a level of frequency that helps them gain that confidence that you are going to be around to serve them when they do choose to buy from you.
