The Authentic Selling model’s third characteristic, the T in our AUTHENTIC acronym, is about Trust and Trustworthiness. Again, it’s all connected. If you are an authentic Advisor to your client, being Trustworthy is just how you operate. And operating in an honest manner leads to Undisputed Results.
Trust is huge in any relationship. I’ve talked for years about the TRL principle in selling: You gotta have trust, respect and some degree of likeability in order to sell well. It’s a known fact that people do business with people they trust, respect and like, so it’s no surprise that trust is a vital part of our Authentic Selling model.
The weird thing about trust is that while you earn it every day, it can be lost in a split second. A relationship based on trust is like a bank account where you make regular, significant deposits. One quick withdrawal and you can wipe out the entire balance. Likewise, one unethical action, one lie, one calculated mistake can obliterate all your hard-earned trust.
Consider for a moment what might happen to the great business relationship you enjoy with your top client if your competitor came in with a new, much more efficient and profitable way of doing business using the same things you offer. Remember, of course, that your customer trusts you, as an advisor, to keep their business top of mind.
Hopefully, your customer values your relationship enough to give you an opportunity to explain why you haven’t already brought that great, new idea to them. And maybe there’s a good reason you haven’t done so. If there isn’t, you have to own up to why. Because suddenly all the trust you have worked so hard to build is in jeopardy. Become defensive, and you’ll likely lose. Come clean, and you stand more of a chance of salvaging the relationship.
I use this example (and not a lower-price example) because in the Authentic Selling model, it’s your job as an advisor to bring new ideas and better ways to work to your customer in the first place.
They trust you to do that. Earn the customer’s trust. Keep the customer’s trust. That’s how you practice Authentic Selling.