What Do You Call A Salesman You Can Trust

What do call a salesman you can trust (or saleswoman of course), if you can find one?

Sales people are paid to persuade you to buy stuff you don’t want. They get a commission when they can, and fired when they can’t. Like journalists they tell you what you want to hear, and not what you don’t. When it turns out you bought a pig in poke, there’s no point in complaining. The law is on the sellers side – Caveat Emptor – Let the Buyer Beware.

How could you trust somebody who’s interests are exactly the opposite of yours? You shouldn’t, right? You weren’t born yesterday.

That’s the buyers perspective. What does it mean for the guy doing the selling?

You’ll be familiar with the problem. When selling, you want the customer to trust you, and distrust the competition. Unfortunately the other vendors have the same objective, but the other way around.

You’ll substantiate your claims, with benchmark, and references. And so will they. You’ll focus on your USP – Unique Selling Point, and so will they. You’ll promise customer service and so will they. In fact you’ll say anything to prove your credibility, and so will they. Ultimately you’ll discount the price, and so will they.

The result is the customer trusts nobody, quite rightly. All you sellers are guilty of pitching your product or service at a price higher than you’re prepared to accept. You’ve just proved it.

If you’re prepared to mislead on your price, what else are you hiding? And why on earth would the customer trust you? Would you trust you?

The bottom line is buyers trust people who tell them what they don’t want to hear – the downside, and how to manage the risks.

Sales professionals who understand their products, their markets, and their customers, go the extra mile. They take the trouble to find out what will really work for the prospect, and show how they’ll achieve it. They evaluate the risks, and show how to avoid them. They focus on what prospects want to achieve, as opposed to what they’ll buy.

When sales people contribute their expertise to help customers achieve their goals, and minimise the downside, they become trusted business advisers.

That’s what I call sales people I can trust – trusted business advisers, who want to win business in their own interests, but understand it’s only business when we both get what we want.

Trusted business advisers who contribute their expertise to help me achieve my goals, and share in the proceeds I call Partners.

What do you call sales people you can trust?