On Trust and Selling with Charlie Green – Episode 24

Trust sounds simple, but turns out it’s not. Today’s guest, Charlie Green, wrote the book on what it means to be a trusted advisor. He joins the podcast to lead us through the definition and implementation of trust in selling strategies. What does it mean when trust in banking or in sales is or “up” or “down”? Have they become more or less trustworthy? Or are they less likely to trust? There are always two parties present in trust, doing two different things. How these play out determine if you are properly utilizing trust in your selling. Listen in for a practical break down from Charlie Green, on today’s episode of In the Arena.

The trust equation, with Charlie GreenClick To Tweet

The trust equation

Charlie Green determines trustworthiness through a trust equation. There are four factors present: credibility, plus reliability, plus intimacy, divided by self orientation (are you paying attention to me, or yourself?). Charlie talks through the real risk on the part of the person trusting, as well as being trusted. As a salesperson, you are constantly switching between the sides. You want to be trusted by your clients, but also have to take some risks on your clients, too. When you are vulnerable, it helps people who have been burned in the past find the willingness to trust. We all respond in the way we are led. It reverberates back and forth. When you are trustworthy, people trust you. It is the same way in selling.

Who am I dealing with?

Are you stuck at the transactional level of selling? Today, we hear about the transactional versus relational focus in sales. Charlie Green suggests that clients are coming back to asking, who am I dealing with? The relational level of selling is more powerful today, because trust is less prevalent. When you win trust with a customer, you have earned a useful and rare tool for your toolkit. People may appear to be more suspicious in today’s market, but that does not have to become a block to winning deals. Learn from Charlie Green how to strategically manage the relationship component of selling.

Creating greater customer intimacy, with Charlie GreenClick To Tweet

The most powerful component

There are different components that determine if trust exists between two parties. Charlie Green’s team has processed data to see if one component is more powerful than the others. What did they find? The best indicator of a high trust score is intimacy. This is reflected by looking at most trustworthy professions. How can you create greater customer intimacy? Charlie says it starts with listening, really listening. This is not listening for the data or opportunity, but so that the other person feels heard. It is listening for respect, to earn trust. Tune in today for tips to make your most powerful platform even more powerful.

Why should I buy from you?

The question of why a client should buy from you should not scare you. It is time to get vulnerable and stop worrying. You are not going to want to miss Charlie Green’s great advice about approaching this question and scenario from a smart, vulnerable, and advantageous place. Start with a transparent conversation about who already buys from you and why it works for them. Create curiosity rather than defensiveness. Let the decision make itself. If you stop trying to control people, people end up doing what you wanted in the first place. The way to get people to trust you is to stop trying to get them to trust you. Tweak your talk today and seal the deal by establishing trust, in the arena.

The way to get people to trust you is to stop trying to get them to trust you ~ Charlie GreenClick To Tweet