***C-Level Relationship Selling – Establishing Credibility - The Magic of All Sales Relationships

Credibility is the essence for getting to people; for having people believe you and; for drawing people into buying your products, your services, your ideas, your concepts, and you.

So how does one get credibility? Well you’ve been developing it all your life. You’ve just never taken the time to think about how you’ve done it. You meet someone and you do your thing. Well here’s what to focus on while you’re doing your thing – respect, trust, and results.

Credibility comes from respect: the prospect respects your approach, your company, your appearance, and/or your mannerisms. Credibility comes from trust: the prospect trusts what you have to say; trusts your company; trusts you. Credibility comes from delivering wanted results: the prospect believes you can deliver what s/he wants; the prospect sees from your presentation s/he will get desired results; or your past performances suggest you’ll deliver wanted results again. Failure in any one of respect, trust and/or results and you’ll have little to no credibility.

There are degrees of credibility in business. They range from no credibility, to (1) getting a meeting with someone, to (2) getting someone to answer your questions, to (3) getting someone to listen to you, to (4) getting someone to believe you, to (5) getting someone to buy from you, to (6) getting someone to use you as a resource/trusted advisor.

You’ll be at different stages with different people. The stage you’re having trouble reaching, results from failure to attain respect and/or, trust and/or results. Correct the ones you’ve failed with and you’ll move up to the next stages.

Credibility does not happen automatically. Most people don’t consciously calculate how to build the respect, the trust and the results necessary to develop credibility up front. They just do their thing. If the prospect/customer doesn’t pick-up on your thing s/he will be skeptical, possibly polite, and blows you off, or never calls back, or do nothing to help move you forward in the sale or with him/her. So let’s take note of what you’ve done, and not done, in life.

Prepare Yourself

1. Think of the last person to buy from you or who committed to support you for a purchase? How did you
a. Gain Respect? _________________
b. Build Trust? _________________
c. Deliver Results? _________________

2. List someone who calls you for advice or someone who seriously uses the advice you give him/her.

a. How did you get to this stage with this person? Be descriptive.

See, you’ve already been doing things that have helped you develop credibility. You need to start realizing what you’ve done that works and what you’ve done that hasn’t.

3. List someone you’ve had trouble getting to, or getting to commit to you. What part of respect was lacking? How come s/he didn’t trust you? What was it that made this person believe s/he wasn’t going to get what s/he wanted?

4. Who would you like to get to higher stages with? List names. What will you have to do to get him/her there? i.e.

a. What can you say so s/he will Respect your professionalism?
b. What can you do so s/he can Trust you?
c. Have you provided something to him that shows you deliver Results? It doesn’t have to be big – a report, a proposal, an answer in the way he wanted it.
Tak’n It to the Streets

1. List people and actions required you can take to move each up to the next level. Focus on respect, trust and results.

Name: // Action Required:

________ from Nowhere; to Meet with you _____________________

_________ from Meet with You; to Answers questions _____________________

_________ from answers Questions; to Listens to you __________________

________ from Listens to you; to Believes you _____________________

________ from Believes you; to Buys from you _____________________

_________ from Buys from you; to Uses you as an advisor____________________

And now I invite you to learn more

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