A few years ago, I was a guest on Tom Ferry’s show, and I wanted to bring this segment up to the forefront because I think it’s more relevant today than it’s ever been!
Why is trust important in sales?
It doesn’t matter what you are selling, it can be as small as a pack of gum or as large as your family’s home. No matter what you are buying, you want to buy from someone that you find trustworthy.
In my book, High Trust Selling, I have 14 laws of trust based selling, but Tom Ferry asked me to pick the three laws that are the most important. Here they are.
1. The Law of the Bull’s Eye
If You Don’t Aim for the Best Prospects, You’re Likely to Do Business with Any Prospect
Do you ever catch yourself doing business with people you don’t like? I see a lot of people fall into the trap of doing business with high maintenance, pain in the ass clients. While it’s tempting to say yes to all businesses, this actually can harm your business and your mental health in the long run.
The way I see it, there are four types of prospects:
- Low profit/High maintenance
- High profit/High maintenance
- Low profit/Low maintenance
- High profit/Low maintenance
With The Law of the Bull’s Eye, you narrow your focus to only the last two types of prospects. The first two are in general simply not worth the effort.
Rather than taking a shotgun approach of aiming for all prospects, focus on the bullseye of those low maintenance prospects, and follow up with them relentlessly.
2. The Law of the Scale
If You Want More Business, Have Fewer Clients
Listen, I know this sounds counter intuitive, but hear me out.
Have you ever sold a house, and then a few years later you learn that they’re selling that home, but with a different agent?
It hurts, but it’s probably your fault.
It’s not that you did something wrong, it’s all about what you didn’t do.
The key to long-term success is adding more value to the right clients and focusing your time and energy on them.
3. The Law of the Encore
The Greater the Performance, the Louder the Applause
Think of the work you do with clients as a performance. Would the work you do demand an encore?
From High Trust Selling: “Behind every great performance is a passionate, motivated and committed person – whether we’re talking about a rock band or a real estate agent. Behind every bad performance is a bored, complacent, and indifferent person. And in the business of sales, you choose which you will be.”
So ask yourself, does my performance demand an encore? And if the answer is no, find a way to fix it.
Want more?
Watch the full 20 minute show here to learn about trust and how you can make it the cornerstone of your business. Watch Now
Or, if you haven’t already, buy my book, High Trust Selling for yourself, and learn all of the Laws of Trust-Based Selling.
Hope this was helpful, now get out there and sell with trust!
