Trust is a vital component in any sale; particularly a long-term purchase or with intangible purchases (like a service you can’t touch or hold in your hand).  But many business owners overlook its importance, or fail to take the time for customers to build trust and get to know the sales person.

They say it takes on average seven points of contact before someone will buy from you – and credibility is the reason why.  If people don’t trust you first, they’re unlikely to part with any money.

So, how can you build trust or credibility? Our top five tips are as follows…

1. Have a clear brand, through signage, business cards, telephone numbers etc.  People are happier with landline numbers that are local, rather than PO box numbers and mobiles.  And they like to know who they’re dealing with, so keep things simple and clear.
2. Ease of contact – is your telephone number easy to find on your literature and website?  Do you encourage people to call you and make it easy for them to do so?
3. Stick to your promises – if you say you’ll call back, call back.  As and when you promised.
4. Provide testimonials – let your customers see what other people say about you.  That’s far more convincing than any sales pitch.
5. Give something away for free – with services, it’s great if you can offer a tip or a piece of advice for free, especially if it proves you are great at your job.  If it’s products, offer a guarantee – put your money where your mouth is if your products are fantastic, instead of asking the customer to take all the risk.  You’ll be surprised how powerful it is.

When you take the time to build trust with your customers, they’ll reward you by referring you to other people and put their reputation on the line based on their relationship with you.

And, then you’re on your way to the third and final step…Profitability (see Monday’s blog for more…)