Why Your Prospects Don't Trust You

BY Jessica Helinski
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There are many reasons why a prospect doesn’t trust you. And without trust, it’s likely the prospect won't invest her time or money in what you’re selling. In an article for Baseline, Rachel Serpa discusses the importance of trust in any relationship — specifically, its significant importance in sales relationships. She also points out three potential reasons why a prospect doesn’t trust a rep. These reasons can help you adjust your strategy when faced with a distrusting prospect. Below are two common reasons:

Premature Process Steps. It’s common for reps to create a plan for how they want a sale to progress. But, these plans may not coordinate with the needs of the prospect. Evaluate your plan: Does it ask too much of a prospect too soon? Does it reflect his needs or your own? “Be sure that early stage process steps are focused on understanding needs and defining outcomes, and any major asks are saved for further in the funnel,” Serpa suggests. This strategy shows the prospect that you are truly interested in his business and not just your own.

Impersonal Communication. Little things, like asking a prospect to repeat goals or shooting out a generic outreach email, can add up. Before long, the prospect is going to feel like the rep’s making no effort to really get to know her. “Many times this is a product of competing priorities – reps feel pressured to work fast and be productive, which leaves little time for personalization,” Serpa writes. “However, research shows that personalized emails result in 6x higher transaction rates than those that are not, which means reps must find a way to achieve these two competing goals.” It's vital to take the extra few seconds to personalize an email or voicemail. Another way to prevent slacking in this area is to improve organization. Often poor organization is the reason reps don’t remember details about prospects.

Not every prospect is going to immediately trust you. Use Serpa’s article to determine what is causing the distrust, or even better, work to prevent any distrust by crafting a thoughtful strategy using her insights.


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