I recently purchased a book called “High Trust Selling” by Todd Duncan. After having just read the first chapter of this book I thought I’d blog about it here. As the title says it, this book is all about high trust selling and discusses the “why” of selling and how to become a highly trusted salesperson, which will lead to a satisfying and rewarding career. You need to ask yourself why you are working in sales. Why do you get up everyday and do what you do?
The first chapter discusses and answers this “why” question. Do you work in sales primarily to make big money, drive fancy cars, and have a couple of houses? The author explains that chasing these things is the greatest inhibitor of sales success. It doesn’t mean that earning the big money and having nice things is bad, it just won’t make and keep you happy in the end. You won’t feel fulfilled deep down inside. You need to think about the real reasons you work in sales and what truly makes you happy day in and day out. Once you determine this, you will set yourself up for a path to selling success. He also uses an analogy of an iceberg. This first chapter is called “The Law of the Iceberg”. Think of the top of the iceberg (outside the water) as your sales position, you earnings, possessions, etc. then think of the bottom part of the iceberg (below the water) as your values, your deepest desires, mission, purpose, etc. What is your foundational purpose? It is:
- Your core motivation for thought and action in every area of your job
- Your deepest inspiration for getting things done
- Your critical filter for decision making
- Your built-in accountability
Think about these things and then answer this question: “What’s important to me about being successful?”
For me, it is important that I help make a difference in the lives of people and also make a difference in their businesses. For example, if one of my clients hires a great salesperson as a result of using our site and they tell me about it, I know I’ve helped their business. In addition, I’ve helped that salesperson find a great new position that he/she will be happy in. It’s more about adding value than making that big sale. I also believe in becoming a “trusted advisor” for all my clients and prospects. If your prospects and clients trust you, and you have a service/product that can solve their problem(s), you can add value and ultimately win new and retain existing business.
Stay tuned for more chapter overviews from “High Trust Selling”.
