Episode #11: Four Steps To Have Credibility In Sales

Salespeople are carrying around a lot of baggage with them when they visit clients. The smooth talking, dodgy sales person trying to con us, is the folkloric villain of the piece. Reversing that doubt and hesitation is critical to gaining acceptance as a valuable business partner for the client. This entire problem is magnified when we meet the client for the first time.

Because the client’s don’t know us, their default position is one of caution and doubt. We have all grown up being rewarded for being risk averse and so we are resistant to change. The new salesperson represents “change” – because they are asking the client to buy something new or to change suppliers. So that we can properly serve them, we need to breakthrough that mental protective wall erected by the client and establish trust and credibility.

Great – but how do we do that? Try crafting a Credibility Statement. This is a succinct summary that will grab the attention of the client and help to reduce their resistance to what we are offering.

It unfolds in four stages:

Step One: We give an overview of the general benefits of what we do. For example, “Dale Carnegie Training helps to deliver the behavior change needed in the team that translates into improved results”.

Step Two: We need to quote some specific outcomes, as evidence that we are a credible supplier of services. So we now might say something like this, “An example of this was where we helped XYZ company, a very high end retailer with training their entire sales staff. They are now enjoying a 30% increase in sales”.

Step Three: Now, we introduce an important suggestion that makes this benefit and result summary relevant to the listener. “Maybe we could do the same for you?”. We softly mention, “In order to help me understand if we can do that or not, would you mind if I asked a few questions?”. We say this, almost as a throw away line.

Step Four: We need to create a “verbal bridge” so we can move on to questioning the client about what they need. “Thank you for that, may I ask you where you see the business getting to in the near term?”.

This Credibility Statement should be short (under 30 seconds), delivered fluently and confidently (no Ums and Ahs). This takes a lot of preparation and practice because it is so short. Every word is vital in the design stage and we must deliver it perfectly.

Remember: Craft your Credibility Statement very stringently – each word is gold and treat it as such; practice the delivery over and over so that it is confident and smooth; always ask for permission to ask questions before you say one word about your solution line-up; practice the delivery over and over so that it is confident and smooth.