Relationship Selling - Gaining Their Trust

In this installment of relationship selling, we're going to cover the topic of gaining your prospect's trust. This may be the most difficult part of this process because of the climate of Internet marketing today. In this article, we're going to discuss some ways that we can gain that trust and then once we do, how to keep it. Hopefully, after reading this, you'll be able to gain the trust of even the most jaded person on the planet.

A little background on why gaining trust is so important and so difficult. The Internet has been a playground for one scam after another. The number of people who have been ripped off by these scams total in the millions. As a result, most marketers are very leery about trusting anybody online when it comes to getting involved in an Internet business. That is why gaining trust is so hard. So, the question is, how do we do it?

The process starts with the prospect, believe it or not. Why? Most prospects will come right out and tell you, "Look, I've been burned many times already. Why should I believe YOU?" So there you have it. You're already on the defensive. Now, there are a number of ways to handle this depending on your level of success.

If you are very successful, then you probably have a number of testimonials to back up what you say, not that testimonials are enough for everybody. Some will think they are faked. This is where you have to refer them to real people who they can talk to. If you frequent forums, and have a reputation at these forums, suggest to the prospect that they visit the forum and ask around about you. Let the prospect find out on his own that you are a trustworthy person. It will actually be better for you if some people have something negative to say. It makes you sound more human.

Another thing you can do is ask the person how you can prove your honesty to them. This puts the onus back on them and in a way puts them on the defensive without making them feel defensive. They're going to ask you for something. It could be something reasonable or something totally off the wall. If it's reasonable and you can do it easily, then do it. It may not totally gain their trust but it will be a step in the right direction. If it's something that is not reasonable, make a counter offer. Explain to them that what they are asking for is just not possible. Make them a counter offer and see what they say.

The truth is, most people when you ask them what you can do for them, will take that as it is and simply tell you that they just want to know that they can trust your help. Assure them that they can. Most people will accept that.

Once you've have gotten their trust, the next step is keeping it. To do this, you simply give them all the content and assistance that you promised. Explain to them that any time they have a question that they can contact you. Be there for them. Truly give them the help they're expecting.

You'll be surprised at the reputation you'll build.

To YOUR Success