“Trusted”?

A few years ago, I read The Speed of Trust © by Stephen M.R. Covey after friend of mine shared his copy from a company training session on team-building. 

“Trust” is a word often (over) used in my profession.  Many salespeople refer to themselves as a “trusted advisor”.  I don’t – I’m a sales professional; and the customer can tell the difference. 

Covey shared this customer perspective:           

I don’t think you have a full trusting relationship until you are actually at the point that you deliver success repeatedly.  When one of my major suppliers says we want to have a trusting relationship, I think, “What a lot of rubbish that is!”  I turn around and say, “I don’t trust you.  I am not going to trust you until you repeatedly deliver success to me.”  

Peter Lowe 

What do you think?  Is it possible that our customers and prospects don’t trust us?  Covey’s research (among many other sources) suggests they don’t.  At least, not until we “repeatedly deliver success…”  

When I first started out in the business my company (ADP) held sales meetings every Tuesday at 5pm (“Roll Call”).  Afterwards, we strolled across the street to a neighborhood “gin mill” (Nancy’s).  Beers; boasts; and weekly war stories were exchanged until closing hour.  That was the setting junior sales reps like me learned the profession from seasoned veterans. 

Except one seasoned veteran, Bob Ackerman.  Bob was one of the top sales reps in our office.  Polished; professional; Bob spoke well; dressed well; showed all the evidence of success.  For my first 6 months on the job, he didn’t have a single conversation with me.  If I approached him, he would literally and rudely walk away.  It would have been easy to say he was impersonal; arrogant; a jerk.  Turned out – just the opposite. 

One Tuesday evening after our sales meeting; 6 months to the week of my start date; Bob approached me with a beer and said, “Gary, great week – congratulations!  Tell me all about it.”  And from that week forward, Bob trusted me. 

I didn’t have the stroke that night to ask Bob, “WTF”?  But after a period of time the opportunity arose, and I asked him why he was so cold when I first started.  Turns out – it was a matter of trust. 

You see, Bob was successful during an era when sales rep turnover was even higher than today.  “Draw vs. commission” was the standard compensation plan; no base salary.  A modest weekly draw smoothed cash flow. The draw was deducted from our monthly commission check.  (Trusted – 30 days at a time.)  A classic “What have you done lately?” environment. 

If we didn’t earn enough commissions to cover our draw, the next month the draw was cut in half.  Two months in a row, and the draw was eliminated.  We never got to month three.  Trust without results didn’t go very far back then – still doesn’t.

Bob had seen plenty of sales reps come and fail.  He told me he used to get to know the new people; he used to coach them a little bit; tried to help them out.  When they failed it hurt his feelings.  So rather than continuing to feel hurt, he withdrew; he waited to see if we made it 6 months.  

The moral of Peter and Bob’s stories?  To earn the position of “trusted advisor” we must produce.  Trust doesn’t beget results – it’s just the opposite – results begets trust. 

        GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.