How to build trust rapidly to sell more

I've always hated sales.

And my dislike of doing it myself is one of the reasons I lean into brand and marketing so much because it makes the sales process way easier in my books.

But having done it (relatively badly) for a few years, I picked up on a few tips that might help you do it too.

The best one was about earning trust rapidly by doing the opposite of most salespeople.

Rather than tell you a story about when I learned it, there's someone else who demonstrated it way better than me.

And that's Chuck Rhodes from the TV series Billions...

Yep, I'm sitting there with my feet up for an hour catching an episode when this one scene grabbed my face with two hands.

I reckon it could be the best scene of the series.

Chuck Rhodes makes a shocking public admission about his personal life that involves ‘bondage, dominance and all the rest’.

It’s enough to make your heart stop when you think about being him at that moment.

But as good as that speech was, it wasn’t the thing that struck me the most.

It was the build-up behind it that resonated the most.

Because I see the same thing happening in business all the time. 

And Chuck’s strategy might be the best thing you could steal to help you build a kick-arse sales process in today’s low-trust world.

Let me explain why…

Chuck is running for office when his mentor-turned-enemy has some personal leverage over him after discovering what he enjoys doing behind closed doors.

His opponent threatens to expose him unless he agrees to step out of the race (a classic story).

Instead, Chuck comes out with the truth publicly during his speech when he was expected to bow out of the race.

In a massive turnaround, he faces it head-on and exposes the only leverage others have over him.

And in that one swift moment, he strips them of their power and establishes credibility with voters in the political landscape.

Spoiler alert:

He wins. People embrace him. Yay!

(but you’ve seen this story before so you knew that)

Now, I know it’s glorified, but there’s a killer sales message hidden inside Chuck’s moves. 

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You see, nearly every business I know has had to face off against a bigger competitor.

To convince a prospect to join you instead of them.

Naturally, you're told to lead with their vulnerabilities and flaws to lay the foundation for how your product or service is better and why the prospect should choose you.

Maybe you even throw in a bunch of testimonials.

Or even a guarantee!

But the thing is, in that situation, you still haven’t established trust.

And trust is the only currency in business today.

Those who can build it quickly are at the front of the race. 

That’s why I think Chuck dropped a wisdom bomb.

He exposed his own vulnerabilities first. 

He led with them before delivering his ask.

And when you do this at the beginning of the sales process, it transforms their perceptions of you.

You immediately become credible. Honest. Different from the rest.

Here’s what it might look like for you.

Say you know a client uses a competing service.

Instead of exposing your competitor's weaknesses to position yourself as better, you expose your own weaknesses first. 

You even agree with your prospect about what your competitors are good at.

Be honest and say what you don’t do well (yet).

The things you haven’t quite nailed but are working your arse off to resolve.

If they've done their homework they'll probably know these already and respect you for sharing them upfront.

THEN lead into your strengths that nail the prospect's pain points and position you as different to your competitor.

By exposing your weaknesses first, you build credibility almost instantly which is the foundation for establishing trust rapidly.

And when you get it right, you convert more people in less time which makes the most of the sales process.

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The thing is, when you're building businesses, you’re trained to think that admitting flaws is suicide.

That idea is built on so much ego.

It might have worked decades ago, but it doesn’t make any sense in today’s world.

Instead, the businesses that’ll succeed in the future are the ones that can establish trust rapidly.

And that means leading with vulnerability and honesty.

That's it for today.

I hope it helps.