Studies have found that our perception of how much another person trusts us is much higher than the trust level is in reality. In other words, we tend to overestimate, sometimes significantly, the level of trust others have in us.
In one particular study with sales reps and purchasing executives, the sales reps overestimated the level of trust the purchasing execs had in them by nearly 30%.
As a seller, you may feel that you're a trustworthy person and, when asked, your buyers would describe you as such. According to these studies, however, the buyer's stated level of trust would not be nearly as high as you might expect or desire.
So when you lose a sale, the buyer may attribute the loss to price, features, delivery schedule, etc. when in actuality he or she didn't really trust you, or at least trust you to the same level as your winning competitor.
Again, this goes back to the importance of paying attention to the "small things." While you may think that it's no big deal to be fifteen minutes late to an appointment, every little thing that you do or don't do has a direct impact on the perceived trust level of customers - whether they say so or not.
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Rob Reed is president of Terrakon Marketing, a sales and marketing consulting firm based in St. Louis. Terrakon helps service professionals, firms and small businesses attract more prospects and win more customers. Learn more at www.Terrakon.com or Rob's blog at www.MarketingCentricity.com.
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