B2B deals require a lot of trust and trust is a hard thing to build. Here, we’ve gathered ways for you to build trust between you and your buyer and nurture a customer relation that lasts.
B2B deals are typically high stakes, why mutual trust is a must. If your buyer doesn’t trust you, odds are your deal will be stalled or lost altogether. On the flip side, building trust with your buyer will make it easier to get them to listen to what you have to say. Not to mention that they will probably give you more of their time.
In other words, there is a lot to gain from finding ways to build trust in your sales process – and mitigate any worries that your buyer may have.
How to build trust in sales
1. Be dependable
If your buyer is to trust you, you need to be dependable. This doesn’t just mean that you need to be on time to meetings, but also that you answer their questions quickly and correctly. You also need to be clear about what to expect throughout the sales process and make sure the expectations you communicate are in line with what actually happens.
2. Be consistent
Buyers will likely lose trust if you don’t communicate a consistent message throughout your time together. What this means is that you need to share the right product message with all buyer stakeholders and keep your sales presentations updated and correct. I.e. you’ll want to make sure that the material you share is always the latest version, and that each stakeholder gets the correct information.
3. Be human
To become a trusted advisor to your buyer, you need to use your humanity. In less abstract terms, you should be personal in your approach and show the other person that you’re a person, too. This authentic approach has become more important since the pandemic, when many people were working on their own, and it has remained key to build relationships and connect with buyers.
4. Be professional
Of course, there is a difference between being personal and being private. For example, accidentally showing a private tab while trying to screenshare can quickly harm the trust you’ve built, and not being professional in your sales approach can give your buyer the wrong impression. After all, your buyer is important, and you should show this in every interaction.
5. Be knowledgeable
As a seller of more complex B2B products, you need to be perceived as an expert. For example, you’ll want to always be able to answer your buyer’s questions, share relevant material that shows that you understand them, and be in a position where you can really advise them throughout their journey. That way, you’ll have an easier time being trusted and can build a strong relation with your buyer.
A recipe for building trust with your buyer
These 5 steps together form a kind of recipe to build trust in sales. If you want to have an easier time making it happen, tools with buyer-enablement capabilities can lend a helping hand. Like our own SP_CE platform that can help you in each of these steps. For example, SP_CE can:
- Give you and your buyer a digital space where all interactions take place, where your buyer can get a visual of what has happend so far in the sales process and see what comes next
- Help get your message out to all stakeholder – and keep it consistent
- Let you and your buyer collaborate and work as a team that gets the deal past the finish line
- Make sure your buyer always gets a professional experience, no matter if you’re interacting in meetings or during the time between them.
- Give you and your buyer a single space where all material can be gathered, and where you can quickly add new, relevant material as the process moves forward
With that, SP_CE can make it so much easier to build trust with your buyer, who will get a transparent experience that helps them feel comfortable with you and your product. This, in turn, can do some great things for your win rate – and shorten your sales cycle in the process.
Are you curious about buyer enablement or do you want to see how SP_CE can help you build trust in your sales process? Contact our sales team or read more about buyer enablement platforms here.
