Leveraging “Trust” in the
Sales Process
Bruce Rasmussen
BruceRasmussen@pdcaustralia.com
•
•
•
•
Sales people and ethics
What is trust?
How to market trust
Improving the levels of
trust
CAN WE TRUST THE
SALES TEAM?
49%
34%
22%
ETHICAL SALESPERSON BEHAVIOR IN
SALES RELATIONSHIPS
Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management,
vol. XXIX, no.2.
Feedback – technical colleagues
Why do you believe Sales has a “bad name”?
Not caring about client needs
59%
Salesperson ("car salesman", pushy, untrustworthy
etc.)
43%
Not delivering what was "promised"
30%
No post sale follow up
23%
Not understanding client needs
21%
Dishonesty
18%
Lack of product knowledge
n=109 respondents
Australia & NZ
Lack of sales skills
13%
4%
• 59% believe the
customer’s
interests aren’t the
primary focus
• 43% attribute it to
the archetype
• 30% feel that “over
promising and
under delivering”
is a major factor
WHY IS IT SO?
1. NEXUS between BUYER
and SELLER
2. SEPARATION from
SUPERVISOR
3. INTENSE PRESSURE
to PERFORM
4. SALES MANAGERS will
OVERLOOK TRANSGRESSIONS
5. INVOLVEMENT in NEGOTIATIONS
The economics of trust
TRUST = SPEED + COST
TRUST = SPEED + COST
The myths around trust
MYTH
REALITY
Trust is slow
Trust is real, hard and
quantifiable – speed and cost
Nothing is as fast
You have trust or you don’t
Can be created or destroyed
Trust is soft
Once lost, trust can’t return
You can’t teach trust
Difficult – but trust can be
restored
Can be taught and learned
– strategic advantage
Trust is a function of both
Trust is built solely on integrity CHARACTER and
COMPETENCE
ECM – market restraints
Rank
1
2
3
Driver
Difficulty in understanding business
benefits
End user change management
challenges
Mismatch between business needs
and solutions offered
1-2 Yr
3-4 Yr
5-7 Yr
High
High
Med
High
High
Med
High
Med
Med
4
Return on investment
Med
Med
Med
5
Long sales cycle
Med
Med
Low
Source: Frost &Sullivan, 2006
ECM – market restraints
Rank
1
2
3
Driver
Difficulty in understanding business
benefits
End user change management
challenges
Mismatch between business needs
and solutions offered
1-2 Yr
3-4 Yr
5-7 Yr
High
High
Med
High
High
Med
High
Med
Med
4
Return on investment
Med
Med
Med
5
Long sales cycle
Med
Med
Low
Source: Frost &Sullivan, 2006
MARKETING TRUST
4 cores of credibility
PARTNER
NETWORK
CAPABILITIES
CHARACTER
RESULTS
COMPETENCE
CASE
STUDIES
INTENT
GUARANTEED
OUTCOME
INTEGRITY
WOM
MARKETING
Marketing and sales process
PLAN
ATTRACT
ENGAGE
ELEVATE
Situation:
Problem:
Cause of Problem:
Implications of Problem:
Capabilities Provided:
Business Results:
SOLVE
AGREE
DEPLOY
LEVERAGE
GETTING A BETTER OUTCOME
…an empty sales funnel
will drive mere mortals
towards desperate
measures…
…there’s 5 days to the
end of the quarter, and
you’re well short of
target…
Focus
• Product
• Market segment
• Channel
• Company level
Metrics
• Sales
• Gross contribution
margin
• Market share
• Collections
• Customer satisfaction
• Activities
• Salesperson
capabilities
Data Views
• Level
• Growth
• Target/goal
• Ranking
relative to peers
Timing
• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Annually
Sales Force Effectiveness Drivers
Salesperson Drivers
Shapers
• Recruiting
• Training
• Coaching
• Culture formation
• Compensation
Sales Job Definer Drivers
Definers
• Sales strategy
• Go-to-market strategy
• Sales force design
Enlighteners
• Customer research
• Targeting
• Data and tools
• CRM systems
Exciters
• Leadership
• Compensation
• Motivation programs
• Meaningful work
Controllers
• Performance
management
• Coordination systems
• Vertical and horizontal
communication
• Compensation
Salespeople
Sales force
activities
Customer
results
Company
results
Bruce Rasmussen
BruceRasmussen@pdcaustralia.com
+61 414 878 714
www.pdcaustralia.com