The prospect standing in front of you may genuinely not have ever heard of your store or the brands you carry which is why you need to establish right off the bat that you are a credible business with a history.
I recently tried to hire a moving company and was amazed by the difference in telephone presentations from the various companies I called. A few of them stood out with their poor presentations because they never established credibility.
I sent several companies an email outlining all the details of the move; the dates, the locations and the house size. Soon after my emails went out, my telephone rang and our caller ID indicated it was a moving company. I picked up the phone and heard “is this Marco?” I said yes, and they immediately launched into their pricing: “This is Mini-movers and we are $109/hr for 2 men or $139 for 3…how does that sound to you?” “I have no idea” I replied. There was a long silence on the line, finally the person on the other end asked “Why not?” “Why not what?” I said. “Why doesn’t that sound good to you?” I replied, “Yours is the first company that has contacted me and I know nothing about your company” to their reply was; “We are independently owned and operated”.
Now it was my turn to pause. I said “I think I am going to pass”. “OK” was their reply and we both hung up. They just lost a customer for life and I just wasted precious minutes of my life. This company suffered a common and fatal error in business by not addressing their credibility with me at the beginning of the call. Imagine the difference had the call gone something like this from their side of the conversation:
“Hello, is this Mr. Longley? I’m Trisha with Mini-movers returning your email inquiry”
“Are you familiar with our company?”
“Let me tell you a little bit about our company so that you can better understand who we are and why we are the best moving company in the city to work with. Mini-movers was founded 29 years ago by Mike Johnson, we have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and have a fleet of 9 trucks with a staff of 38. We are especially proud to say we have won the Consumer Choice awards for the city for nine years in a row. Does that sound like the type of moving company you would be comfortable working with?”
“In order to better understand your needs Marco, do you mind if I ask you a couple questions about your move?”
Do you think they would have a better chance of earning my business with that response instead of telling me their prices first? Ask yourself an important question. Why should a prospect do business with your store? Give yourself 5 minutes and write down why the person standing in front of your should do business with you. I ask this question to the attendees of my sales training courses and rarely do I get a solid answer. Try asking this question to your staff, you will be genuinely surprised by the replies you receive.
‘We want to think about it’ is often caused by a lack of trust when credibility isn’t established.
Far too often salespeople forget to establish credibility because they know the history and success of their company and their products. They forget to share huge credibility boosters such as an A+ BBB rating or consumer choice award they have received.
Establishing credibility is easy if you know how. Create an area in your store that physically demonstrates your credibility as a company. Build a ‘wall of credibility’ complete with (posters, awards, letters of recognition, indicators of involvement in the community). This is an effective sales tool and very powerful to establish with the prospect that they’re dealing with a credible business.
Credibility Builders
- Memberships in Associations BBB, NSPI, etc.
- Photos of happy customers “Hey, I know him”
- Lifestyle Images let your prospect know they’re in the right place
- Manufacturers POP materials
- Water Test Lab is obvious
Credibility Wall
A Credibility wall is an absolute must have in your show room. It is often said a credible testimonial from a satisfied customers is one thousand times more effective than what the salesperson says. One of the most important goals of your presentation is to establish credibility in a manner that is unique and different from your competition. Be memorable to your prospect in every aspect of your presentation.
A great credibility wall should contain several items: professional recognition, photos, awards, testimonials, delivery and/or ownership maps.
Designate a section on one of your main show room walls in a well lit, easily accessible area; NOT in the back of your store, away from the show room, down the dark corridor, next to the dirty washrooms and garbage cans over flowing with debris, discarded pumps and assorted old plumbing manifolds and bits. Can you tell that one is based in fact? You should have a dedicated section of wall space to proudly display your community awards, professional memberships and any other recognizable certificates.
Photo ‘Wall of Fame’
The main area of the credibility should have pictures of happy families enjoying the product they purchased from your company. When you receive a picture from a happy customer (more about getting those important pictures in future blogs), have a 3 x 5 card with ‘what our (product name) means to us’ typed across the top, below that print the family name ‘the Johnson family’. Have your appreciative customers fill this card out in their own handwriting; have them share what investing in your product has meant to them. You are building up huge credibility here AND silently overcoming objections.
Discussion: What are you doing or not doing to help build credibility into your sales presentation?
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