As the sales landscape evolves and buyers grow more independent, it can be tricky for sales teams to figure out how to build trust and connect with their prospects. Kevin Dorsey, the VP of Inside Sales at PatientPop, shares insight on what it takes to achieve your most important sales objectives while fostering genuine relationships with your buyers.

Create Trust and Stand Out in Sales

It’s the salesperson’s job to overcome a prospect’s skepticism and build the relationship. But how? To start, Dorsey references an old quote: “People don’t care how much you know, they want to know how much you care.” But that’s not all there is to it. “People forget…the only way you can share how much you care is by sharing what you know.”

No, he is not talking in circles. Instead, Dorsey emphasizes that the key to trust is demonstrating that you understand precisely what problem your product solves. You don’t need to rattle off dazzling product-positive facts –– you simply must underscore your grasp of the prospect’s need and tell them exactly how to address that need. Says Dorsey, “People feel trust when they think, ‘I feel heard. I feel understood. What is being offered to me is actually helping me get what I want.’ That’s how you build trust.”

Understand Your Buyer

How easy is it to get to know your prospects? Dorsey believes it’s easier than ever. Over the last few years, the conversation has centered on the evolution of the buyer’s journey and how much more well-informed prospects are today. But the flip side of this is rarely examined. As Dorsey explains, “People talk a lot about how the buyer has changed…they have access to so much more information now than they did before, which is true. So do salespeople. We just don’t leverage it.”

If you want to learn more about your buyer, the information is out there. You can spend time looking up their company, their role and determine what problems they are looking to solve.

You can also learn about your prospects by looking in the mirror. What factors convince you to make a purchase? Would you buy from you? If the answer is no, then you have some serious work to do on your approach. 

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The Balance Between Information and Emotion

Emotion plays a significant role in the buying process. Yet many salespeople lead with logical product-heavy information during a sales pitch. This analytical, informative approach is valuable, but it shouldn’t always be driving the conversion. As Dorsey says, “Information on a brand or product rarely evokes emotion. Information about people does.”

The people-focus is why a founder’s social media following often exceeds their company page’s following. It’s also why your customer testimonials are such a powerful sales tool. People are interested in other people, not just brands.

Of course, you do still need to share information with your buyer, but it requires balance. Salespeople used to be the source of all information, but since this kind of knowledge has become more commoditized, the approach has changed. Now buyers are less interested in the “what” and need to learn the “why” and “how.” When you get to the heart of the reason behind your product and how it helps, that seals the trust and will more likely drive a sale. 

 

Key Takeaways

  • You must proactively build trust by showing that you understand your prospect.
  • Pay attention to how people act and buy. If you would not buy from the way you’re selling, that tells you everything.
  • Salespeople need to be better with the “how.” How does the product solve the problem?
  • Take your career seriously, but remember to have fun too!

 

This episode of the Cutting Edge is presented by Calendly

 

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