As the old saying goes, people buy from people they trust.

But how do you establish and maintain trust? Here are five ways that you are completely in control of each day.

Look Like A Pro

Like it or not, in this world looks matter.

A professional appearance instills confidence in the customer that you know your stuff.

If you look the part, then the customer will trust your authority, which will ultimately lead to higher sales.

Know Your Business

Sharp style, though helpful, can only get you so far— especially when talking to a customer with knowledge on the subject.

Make sure you know your industry, product’s features and benefits, and competition inside and out, then dazzle them with your wit and insight on the subject through intelligent, insightful conversation!

Know Their Business

As a salesman, you’ll know that everyone’s favorite subject is themselves. That’s why when you take the time to really know their business, you immediately create authority and trust.

At the same time, understanding their business helps you to decide the best thing to sell to them.

Do your homework. Get to know your customer and their business, and then drop a little knowledge in your conversations to show you’re a good student of the game. 

Publish Your Knowledge

The best way to build a reputation as a trustworthy authority in today’s self-publishing world is to maintain a blog, podcast, and active professional social media profiles.

You don’t necessarily have to do all of those, and you don’t have to be Gary Vaynerchuck for Pete’s sake, but you doing enough to demonstrate you know your stuff is a fast way to build trust and separate yourself from the competition.

Start with a solid blog post at least once each month…we bet you’ll pick up the pace when you realize how easy it is.

Keep Your Commitments

So old school…so commonsensical…and so rare! Be a person of your word, and developing trust will be a natural benefit!

If you fail to follow through on the little things, how do your customers know that they can trust you when it really matters? More importantly, how will they know that you are fully invested in the relationship between you and them?

Just like you, they are busy and do not want to waste their time with people who may endanger the success of their mission.

Don’t worry though, it’s easy to prevent this downhill spiral: keep your commitments.

The #1 Factor in Sales Success

All of these tips contribute to the #1 most important factor in sales success: TRUST!

Trust equals sales, it is as simple as that.

Now that you’re equipped with the tools to maximize your sales success, it is time to start selling!