Episode #97: I'm Sorry - No Trust, No Sale

First impressions are everything. If we get that wrong, then we won’t be selling anything to that buyer. Today we will review some of the things we should be paying careful attention to, in order to help us build the trust with the client.

As a buyer of products and services here in Japan, as someone who teaches sales and employs salespeople, it has always been astonishing to me how hopeless many salespeople are in Japan. We are in the market everyday, because we also buy services and products ourselves and so are actively on the receiving end of the sales process. Well actually that is a blatant exaggeration. There are almost no salespeople operating in Japan using a sales process. But there are millions of them just winging it (badly).

Why? On The Job Training (OJT) is the main training pedagogical system in Japan for training the new salesperson. This works well if your boss has a clue and knows about selling.

We like to buy, but few of us want to be sold. We like to do business with people we like and trust. We will do business with people we don’t like and very, very rarely with people we don’t trust.

Building rapport in the first meeting with a prospective client is a critical make or break for establishing likeability or trust. So what do we need to do? Strangely, we need to pay attention to our posture! Huh? It is common sense really - standing up straight communicates confidence. Also, bowing from a half leaning forward posture, especially while we are still on the move, makes us look weak, uncertain and unconvincing.

If there is a handshake involved then, at least when dealing with foreigners, drop the dead fish (weak strength) grasp or the double hander (gripping the forearm with the other hand).

When you first see the client, make eye contact. Don’t burn a hole in the recipient’s head, but hold eye contact at the start for around 6 seconds and SMILE. This conveys consideration, reliability, confidence – all attributes we are looking for in our business partners.

We segue into establishing rapport through initial light conversation. Try and differentiate yourself with something that is not anticipatory, predictable or standard.

Also be careful about complimenting a prominent feature of the lobby, office or the meeting room.

As professional salespeople we need to say something unexpected, intelligent and memorable. We can say “Have you found that team motivation has lifted since you moved to this impressive new office?”. This get’s the focus off you the salesperson and on to the client and their business.

Having a good stock of conversation starters should be basic for every salesperson. For example, “I read recently that the number of young people aged 15-24 has halved over the last 20 years, are you concerned about future talent retention as demand exceeds supply?”.

We might educate the client with some industry information they may not be aware of but which would be deemed valuable.

We salespeople face a lot of competition for the mindspace of our prospective clients. Questions are powerful disrupters of pre-occupation and we should have stock of little beauties we can wheel out when needed.

The very first seconds of meeting someone are vital to building the right start to the business relationship. In modern commerce, we are all so judgmental and quick to make assumptions. Let’s get the sales basics right and make sure we totally nail that first impression.