Building Strong Relationships Through Selflessness and Empathy

Building Trust: The Antidote to Selfishness, Empowering Others, and Consistency

October 19, 2024

Trust is the cornerstone of meaningful relationships, both in personal and professional spheres. It's the currency that fuels collaboration, fosters loyalty, and drives success. Yet, in a world often marred by self-interest and inconsistency, cultivating trust can seem like an elusive goal. In this post, we'll explore how overcoming selfishness, empowering others, and embracing consistency can pave the way for building trust in our interactions.

The Barrier to Trust

Selfishness, the act of prioritizing one's own interests over others, stands as a formidable barrier to trust. When individuals operate from a place of self-centeredness, their actions are often driven by personal gain rather than mutual benefit. This undermines the foundation of trust, as others perceive their motives as insincere or opportunistic.

To grow trust, it's imperative to transcend selfish tendencies and adopt a mindset of empathy, generosity, and collaboration. By actively seeking to understand others' perspectives, prioritizing their needs, and demonstrating genuine concern for their well-being, we can foster an environment of trust and mutual respect.

Making Them the Hero

Central to building trust is the recognition that every individual seeks validation, significance, and the opportunity to shine. When we help others be the hero of their own story, we not only elevate their sense of self-worth but also strengthen the bonds of trust between us.

Empowering others involves relinquishing the spotlight and actively supporting their aspirations, goals, and achievements. Whether in professional settings or personal relationships, championing others' success fosters a culture of collaboration and reciprocity. By celebrating their victories, offering assistance when needed, and providing constructive feedback, we demonstrate our commitment to their growth and well-being.

The Chick-fil-A Approach

In the realm of trust-building, consistency reigns supreme. Just as Chick-fil-A has become synonymous with reliable service and unwavering quality, consistency in our actions, words, and values breeds trustworthiness.

Consistency establishes a sense of reliability and predictability, assuring others that they can depend on us to follow through on our commitments. Whether it's delivering exceptional customer service, meeting deadlines, or upholding ethical standards, consistency builds credibility and reinforces trust over time.

Embracing the Chick-fil-A approach means making reliability and excellence a hallmark of our interactions. By consistently demonstrating integrity, competence, and authenticity, we instill confidence in others and lay the groundwork for enduring relationships built on trust.

In a world fraught with uncertainty and skepticism, trust emerges as a precious commodity that forms the bedrock of meaningful connections. By transcending selfishness, empowering others, and embracing consistency, we can cultivate trust in our interactions and create a ripple effect of positivity and collaboration.

As we navigate the complexities of human relationships, let us strive to be beacons of trust, inspiring confidence, and fostering mutual growth. Just as Chick-fil-A has earned the unwavering trust of its customers through its commitment to excellence, may we too carry the torch of reliability, integrity, and compassion in our interactions with others.

Have a great week!

Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars. Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

So What Builds Trust?

August 3, 2024

Trust is the glue that binds relationships, teams, and communities together. To nurture this essential element, we must embrace three core principles: selflessness, consistency, and empowering others. Although these are not the only areas in trust, but they will help us build trust with these three easy to understand concepts.

The first are in trust we will focus on is selfishness, or the act of not being selfish. When we approach interactions with genuine empathy and generosity, we create an environment where trust can thrive. Selfishness, conversely, erodes trust by signaling a lack of concern for others' well-being. By embracing selflessness, we pave the way for authentic connections and mutual respect to flourish.

The second are that we can show up on is consistency. Consistency entails aligning our words with our actions and demonstrating reliability over time. When we consistently deliver on our promises and show up for others, we instill confidence and reliability in our relationships. Inconsistency, on the other hand, breeds doubt and uncertainty, undermining trust. By being consistent in our behaviors, we lay a solid foundation for trust to flourish.

True leaders empower others to be the heroes of their own stories. By recognizing and celebrating their strengths and achievements, we foster a culture of trust and collaboration. When individuals feel valued and supported, they are more likely to trust and collaborate with others. By focusing on helping others succeed, we create a ripple effect of trust that strengthens relationships and drives collective progress.

In today's complex and interconnected world, trust is more important than ever. It enables us to forge meaningful connections, navigate challenges, and achieve shared goals. By embodying principles of selflessness, consistency, and helping them be the hero of their story, we create a culture of trust that benefits individuals, teams, and communities alike. Trust is the glue that holds relationships together and propels us forward toward a brighter future.

Trust is the currency of relationships, and it must be earned through actions. By practicing selflessness, consistency, and supporting others on their journey, we lay the groundwork for trust to flourish. Let's commit to being trustworthy individuals who lift others up and create a world where trust is abundant. Together, we can build stronger, more resilient communities where everyone has the opportunity to thrive as the hero of their own story.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars. Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

The Sales Process Online Membership Site

Why Listening Skills Build Trust

November 11, 2023

In our increasingly connected but often fragmented world, one of the deepest human desires is to be known and heard. We yearn for genuine connections and conversations that go beyond superficial exchanges. When we truly listen to others, asking great questions and employing mirroring techniques, we create an environment where trust can flourish. In this blog post, we will explore how these listening skills empower us to fulfill this innate need and foster trust in our personal and professional relationships.

We desire to be known and heard - At the core of human interaction lies the fundamental desire to be known and heard. When we listen attentively, we validate and acknowledge the other person's existence, thoughts, and emotions. By offering our undivided attention, we create a safe space where individuals can express themselves authentically. This act of genuine listening helps to build trust, as people feel valued and recognized for who they are.

Power of questions - Asking great questions is a powerful way to demonstrate interest and engagement in a conversation. Thoughtful and open-ended questions encourage the speaker to share more about their experiences, perspectives, and aspirations. By delving deeper into their thoughts, feelings, and motivations, you show a genuine desire to understand them. Great questions foster trust by signaling that you care about their story and are committed to listening and learning from it.

Mirroring - Mirroring techniques involve reflecting and validating the speaker's words, feelings, and experiences. Through active listening, you mirror their emotions and thoughts, letting them know that you understand and empathize with their perspective. This reflective approach helps to build trust by creating a sense of validation and acknowledgment. It shows that you are fully present in the conversation and committed to understanding their unique experiences.

Listening skills serve as the foundation for building authentic relationships. When we actively listen, ask great questions, and use mirroring techniques, we create a genuine connection with others. By understanding their experiences, perspectives, and goals, we can develop a more meaningful bond. Authentic relationships are built on trust, and trust is established when individuals feel truly seen and heard.

In a world filled with distractions and shallow interactions, mastering the art of listening becomes even more important. People long to be known and heard, and by employing listening skills such as asking great questions and using mirroring techniques, we can fulfill this deep-seated desire. When we create a space for open communication, trust flourishes, and authentic relationships are formed. Let us embrace the power of listening to build lasting connections, foster trust, and make a positive impact on the lives of those around us.

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars. Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page

The Sales Process Uncovered Book

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8XUM4QL2RC6M&keywords=the+sales+process+uncovered&qid=1673274567&sprefix=the+sales+process+uncovered%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-1

Building Trust With A Man

August 5, 2023

Building trust is an essential part of any healthy relationship. Whether it's a personal or professional relationship, trust is the foundational in building any relationship. Building trust with anyone takes time and effort, building trust with men can present unique challenges.

Men typically do not let others in on their deepest darkest secrets. They keep others at arms-length sorta speak. It can be more difficult to build trust with men in general. That is not saying some men are more open. We are talking about the majority of men.

Communicate clearly: Communication is key to building trust. When communicating with men, it's essential to be clear and direct in your communication. Avoid using vague language or hinting at what you want. Instead, clearly state your expectations, intentions, and needs. Our pace of speech is also another way we can turn others off. When I was selling in the south where people have a slower pace of speech, it was up to me to communicate in their pace of speech not like a fast-talking northerner.
Most communication is actually non-verbal. How you show up, the face you wear, the scents you have on, and the environment you are meeting with others in can also affect the communication. By doing so we can affect trust levels.
Go on mission with other men will help build trust and bonds. Men like to work for a cause and doing something together helps build bonds of brotherhood. That is why men in the military have a sense of brotherhood when they go off to ware together.

In the trust equation I talk about the next two items in depth.

Credibility: No one trusts someone who is not credible on the topic. Men especially will tune out if we are not using facts and are credible on a topic. If you find yourself talking about something you don’t understand fully. Ask for their input, or get them in contact with someone that you know is credible on the topic. It’s called being the bridge and I teach in the trust equation.

Vulerability: Showing vulnerability can be challenging, but it is the key ingredient in building trust. While most men think vulnerability leaves us open to attack, being vulnerable is lending trust to others that they won’t. When you're vulnerable with men, it shows that you trust them, and they are more likely to reciprocate.

Be reliable: being reliable simply is do what you say you are going to do. That means show up. Men focus on others being reliable as a trust component.

Building trust with men takes time and effort, but it's essential for healthy relationships. Men will take more time to build trust because they are selective on who they trust. Remember, building trust is a two-way street, so be willing to extend trust to others as well.

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars. Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8XUM4QL2RC6M&keywords=the+sales+process+uncovered&qid=1673274567&sprefix=the+sales+process+uncovered%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-1

Team Trust Building Games

April 22, 2023

Team trust building is crucial to an organization. Without trust we don’t move forward. High trust organizations thrive while low trust organizations flounder. When trust is high in an organization speed goes up and costs go down. That means more profits!

Trust is key if we are going to survive in the economic climate that we are in. We need to have trust with our teams so we don’t have to keep following up to see if tasks got completed on time. Too many organizations waste resources because they do not have high levels of trust.

Team building is one of those topics that leaders in their organizations always ask for ideas. Some ask for the large expenses because they have decent budgets while others look for more economical solutions. This week’s post will help with some ideas that will be lower investments for team building.

These ideas are under $50 per person on the investment side.

Questions for humans

This is a card deck that gets people sharing about their thoughts of a topic. Ramsey solutions has come out with this and they are not just for adults but for families as well. It’s a great resource because when we listen to how others answer some of these questions, we start to get a perspective and insight into who they are. Remember if we don’t know someone, we don’t typically trust them. We need to get to know people before we can trust them. When we are sitting down for lunch together, or the first few minutes of a weekly team meeting open up the deck and ask a question or two for everyone to answer. We will laugh and get to know each other which leads to building levels of trust.

Escape rooms

I love escape rooms not only are they challenging for puzzles, but by doing them we typically have others helping us. Someone has a different perspective to the clue and helps solve the puzzle typically. This results in us being able to communicate to solve things together which communication is key for trust. They are also fun because as we solve things together, we build confidence in each other. Bonds start to form and trust increases.

The third option is laser tag. Yes, I said laser tag. There is a place in Brandon Florida called CQ tactical. It’s laser tag, but with a twist. Two teams enter, one team wins. The teams are set up on missions like protecting a diplomat while the other team is looking to capture the diplomat. There is another where there is a bomb that has to be deactivated while you are being shot at by the other team. So many kinds of scenarios, but what happens is people have to work together, strategize together, and execute the plan to complete the missions. It is a lot of fun and laughs, with people building trust together to accomplish missions together. Just watch out for those girl scout troops, they are ruthless and sharp shooters!

Get out of the office and do some of these to build trust and communication with your team and you will see the benefits of a high trust environment.

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page

Are you Building Trust During This Season?

December 24, 2022

Christmas is here! This is the time of year where we are giving presents away to others and enjoying quality time with family and friends. Ever stop to think why we find more joy at this time of year than any other?

In the book Well Being from Gallop who do studies on people for just about everything, they write about how spending and focusing on others actually makes our mood better. That’s why we need to really think about our intentions when we are interacting with others.

If we are in a bad mood, are we just trying to bring others down, or are we trying to help them? Are we trying to build better relationships, or just help ourselves get to a better place? What is the motivator here? Are we being selfish, or are we being giving?

Ever wonder why some people just don’t trust us? No matter what we do, it just seems like they will not accept us as being honest and worthy of trust?

There are so many areas that can derail trust, but today I want to focus on one huge variable in building trust that most people have a blind spot to.

The main variable in trust that derails most people is Selfishness. That’s right, the level of selfishness that is in us determines how much others will trust us. If our actions in working with people is only to accomplish what we want to achieve and not caring about others then we will not get gain trust. Selfishness is the largest factor of trust.

We all have difficult people in our lives. We are all selfish to a degree. Just look at a toddler and how they play with others with the same toys. They don’t share. They want all the toys. We have our wants and dreams and we want to achieve them and that is okay. The issue is when we want others to help us achieve those wants and dreams and not care about helping them as well. We forget that others need help as well when we are in that selfish frame of mind.

Zig Ziglar has a quote that states, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Simply said, stop thinking about ourselves first and start looking to others on how we can help. Whether that is communicating effectively, lending a hand, or just listening to someone else we need to be focused on helping others. It’s just like farming. Planting one seed doesn’t net a huge crop, but planting millions of seeds, the harvest is plentiful.

That’s right if we truly want to others to trust us enough to help us, then we have to change our focus from one of receiving, to one of giving. We also need to do this for the right reasons.

We can be the most competent, consistent, vulnerable, people out there, but if we are only out for our own gain, well it will be an uphill battle to build trust. We must check out selfishness.

This Christmas when we are engaging others and attending Christmas parties stop and think about why we are engaging others. Look at our moods when we are exchanging gifts. Are we happier when we give or when we receive? Chances are when we watch other’s eyes light up with joy when they open that thoughtful gift we searched for we have that extra kick of energy and a larger smile.

Who is someone that you could build more trust with by changing the view from what can I get to how can I give this Christmas? It will help you build trust in the long term.

Merry Christmas!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Be The Bridge

June 25, 2022

Have you ever wondered how some people just seem to build influence with others so quickly? That they just seem to gain engagement without much effort?

Today let’s talk about one of the concepts that I teach in my Unmatched Influence training, and is also part of my online Trustworthy training below. It’s called being the bridge.

This concept was something I stumbled onto when I was new to a particular sales territory that I moved into for one of the organizations that I worked for in my career. I was not the only part of the organization that was new to this territory. The entire organization was new.

We had no previous relationships in this territory so we were starting from scratch. We were hustling to get the business growing and fast. This part of the United States was also considered a good ole boy network. If you were an outsider, good luck…

I started building relationships with customers and prospects as fast as I could. I was working extra hours and getting to know the territory and who were the top prospects. While doing so I was building my CRM (Customer Relationship Management) database as I went. I was asking all sorts of questions.

There was a lot of caffeine and memorization as well. Back when my memory was great…

One day I was calling on a customer that was asking me about a software they were looking at using for their business. I knew nothing of the software and was curious as to why I was being asked. It was because I was an electrical engineer by training. Like just being an electrical engineer made me understand all types of software.

Granted I could probably debug some software issues and fix windows issues, but know all software was not something that I could sign up for. What I did know is that another customer about three hours north of this customer actually used this software.

I reached out to this other customer and asked if they wouldn’t mind answering some questions for another customer not in their territory. The answer was yes and they had a call which resulted in the customer asking the question to avoid some pitfalls that the other customer had. They switch over to the new software was a success.

What I didn’t expect is that the customer that I helped get in touch with this other customer was grateful and started confiding in me more and more. Asking me questions about more business solutions and ideas and telling others that I was the go to person for help.

This began a snowball effect which resulted in me getting more phone calls from potential customers than me having to chase them down. I was building influence faster and faster. Now the initial help that I offered by connecting the two customers did not result in sales that day, but it did build a relationship and influence in the entire territory fast.

I call this “Being the Bridge.” By connecting others that are able to help each other I am also granted influence and credibility as well. By being the bridge, I was able to gain much faster influence in my territory that I actually was being asked to stop in to help. It also netted me a great deal of business. I was growing my territory at a fast pace, I won the award for top sales person for the United States, and grossed more income all by serving the customers by bridging them together.

To build influence, we need to serve those around us whether they be customers, or team members. We need to use the open hand and not the closed fist when interacting with them. If we do so, we will be successful in building unmatched influence that will allow us to go further faster with others.

I hope this helps you on your journey to building influence.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

What Are The Ramifications?

June 18, 2022

Ramifications are all around us. From the decisions we make, to decisions that others make that affect us. These ramifications come about from all sorts of different directions. It’s like pushing a domino and watching them race forward knocking down the next and the next. We have ramifications for our decisions that we make and we need to help others navigate their ramifications for their situation and issues as well.

Today I want to focus on the ramifications of our customers and team members decisions on how they respond to their situation and issues. The past weeks we talked about issues and how to help understand the customer and team member’s current issues they are facing from the situation they are in.

We need to also understand what the ramifications are if the issues and situation are not resolved to the outcome they want. This may mean that they end up buying a competitor’s product / service, or joining another organization to where we have to find a new person that fits our culture, has the tools we need to perform the task we need them to perform, etc.

It benefits us to make sure we are reaching out to help our customers and team members that are facing a situation and issues to avoid the ramifications that hurt our bottom line. Not so that we are just focused on our bottom line, but that of serving. By doing this we can actually build trust and engagement with customers and team members.

A great deal of sales professionals and leadership people think that it’s just a numbers game and to a small point that is true, but for the majority by showing up and showing we care we can maintain long lasting relationships and avoid the waste of money on onboarding new customers and new employees. We need to put a value on others in order to build lasting relationships and trust. Otherwise we risk spending more money to onboard.

Every customer and new employee has a cost involved with getting them set up and up to speed with our systems and processes. We lose time and money when we have to consistently perform this loop. Now we can’t eliminate every instance of this, but we can minimize this by focusing on serving our customers and employees.

Asking questions to understand the situation, the issues, and the ramifications will help us to understand our customers and employees. When we truly understand these three areas, we can then help find solutions for them that likely will minimize cost impacts to our organization.

When we are successful in helping them, trust goes up which means speed goes up and costs go down.

This means more PROFITS!!!

Who doesn’t like more profits? We also gain more engagement from this process of understanding others as well which means that we will be able to make it through the hard times together.

We need to take the focus off ourselves and serve those around us if we are going to gain traction.

For more information on building trust and understanding people check on the links below for my online trainings that you can do at your own pace.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Why They Don’t Trust You

April 9, 2022

Have you ever wondered why someone you have been trying to build trust with just won’t give you trust? No matter how hard you try, they just won’t do it?

Did you know there are different levels of trust and that trust is a marathon, not a sprint?

If we want to have trust with others, we need to take the focus off of ourselves and focus on others. We need to answer three questions at every interaction.

Do I like you?

Do I trust you?

How can you help me?

Those three questions have a great deal of parts to them, but if we struggle at any one of them, we will not be building trust. I wouldn’t trust my life to someone who read about packing a parachute online once compared to someone who does it for their business. It took time for the person to get qualified. So why do we think that everyone should just trust us?

There have been a great deal of stories about people trusting someone with their finances and it is all gone. Nest eggs crushed by somone that wanted to use the money for their own lifestyle instead of investing for the client. Organizations have done this as well.

Ever heard of Enron or Bernie Madoff? Fraudsters are like social media experts as they can swindle people out of money with all the new trends. People are even being taken advantage of for Covid with new scams. It is crazy how good these people are.

Life has taught people to not blindly trust each other. Experience after experience has taught us that we need to be on guard. The old way of innocent until proven guilty has been flipped upside down to where we are now guilty until proven innocent. Even now if we are proven innocent people still think of us as guilty due to all the fake news out there.

People do need to extend trust, but that is not likely to happen freely right away. It is like climbing a large staircase. One step at a time answering the three questions every time we interact with the other individuals. We need to take the focus off ourselves and we will start building trust to some day have that trust level we desire others to have for us.

Focus on the marathon and not a sprint when building trust and you will build the levels of trust with others, but it takes time.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

The Supply Struggle Is Real

March 26, 2022

In the past couple of years with a pandemic and supply chain issues, it has become crucial to make sure we still deliver at high levels with low costs. Organizations have had to pay higher costs to ship goods from overseas, weather has affected larger parts of the country, and there are constant requests from suppliers to increase pricing in the name of higher costs.

As sales people we don’t always want to go to customers with price increase after price increase. It sometimes feels like death by a thousand cuts as one VP states. Sales people want to sell and then collect a pay check in most cases and hate the constant requests to get price increases. It is a difficult balance between customer relationship and keeping our organization afloat.

If you are in leadership, or in sales these issues have been hitting all of us quite regularly. It seems everything is increasing and there is no end in sight. There are plenty of factors to blame, but pointing the finger never resolves the issue.

I’ve worked in organizations that do not want to hedge market stability so they set up raw material adjustments. Now it seems like there is a request for logistics adjustments that will be needed. A great deal of purchasing and sales teams are wishing things would go back to what they were, but unfortunately the reality is that it will take a market crash to really level set. Especially with the consumption of raw materials increasing to where even lumber mills can’t keep up with demand.

There will need to be quite a few things that need to change in order for us to make things get to a calm state and fluctuations to calm down. Better forecasting will be crucial with greater levels of communication from customers and suppliers. There will need to be a seize to just in time delivery imposed by some industries. There will also need to be some holding more materials to support the demand right now.

We all need to work together, customer and suppliers creating a better communication system with lower finger pointing if we are to get back to a better quality of life. Every industry is impacted with these issues so simply jumping to a new organization is not necessarily the resolution. We need to really work together to find a better way.

Yes some ideas that we try, will not work. But that is the great thing about the lightbulb. It took over a thousand attempts for Thomas Edison to create the lightbulb. We now have the technology to improve efficiency, but we need to look at how we can work together, team up, and give each other the benefit of the doubt. No one software package, communication tactic, or demand will cure this. We have to have empathy for each other and work together to solve the issues.

Greater levels of communication and transparency will be required to move forward. Those are crucial in building trust. Let’s stop the finger pointing and find solutions and we will all get to a better life soon enough.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

How Selfish Are We?

March 5, 2022

Today let’s talk about the most important variable in building trust with others.

Over the past few weeks, we have been walking through the trust equation explaining three other variables in building trust. If you have not read them, I highly recommend you go back through and read the past three weeks. It will likely take less than ten or so minutes, but will help you understand the variables that affect trust.

Today we focus on the denominator of the fraction on building trust and the variable is Selfishness. We have seen politicians, CEO’s, and sales professionals all brag about how they did something great and how they deserve all the credit. Unfortunately, anything worth doing takes a great deal of effort and typically takes support of others. We need to make sure we are not killing trust with selfish gain.

When I created the trust equation it was to make it easy for people to see the basics of building trust. You can be very creditable, reliable, and vulnerable, but if we are only doing this to help ourselves “WIN” we actually “LOSE.” We will not be able to gain trust and sustain it if we are only out for our own gain. If we are selfish and only doing things to be able to leverage in another instance, we will soon erode trust. People will see it especially if we are doing this over and over again. True we may be able to hide our selfishness for a little while, but trust is really a long-term plan. People will figure us out, as selfishness is like a spotlight shining bright into the night sky.

Selfishness tells people that we do not value them and do not care about them. Who wants to trust someone like that? Have you ever been around someone that you tried to give more and more trust and it just seemed to blow up in your face each and every time? It is really hard to keep wanting to extend them the benefit of doubt. After a while, trust in that person is just not an option.

By being selfish we can quickly turn relationships sour. In sales or leadership if this happens, we start losing our influence, which is the key ingredient to business success. Without trust there is no influence. We may think that if we have leverage over others we can influence them, but I challenge that thought because once that leverage is gone there is no more influence. There have been stories in business where boards have thrown the CEO out of the organization overnight. Even Steve Jobs was asked to step down at one point at Apple.

I am constantly taking inventory in my life to gauge how selfish I am being. I’m sure I fail to live up to my standard, but my focus is on not being selfish and trying to help everyone that I can. I put my expertise out there to help others gain knowledge. I do not do it so I can say, see what I have done, but to share so that people can avoid mistakes that I have run in to. My goal is to help others become more efficient and successful especially with areas of sales and influence.

The key is to really take an inventory of our relationships and see if there are any areas where we are being selfish. Are there some relationships that we have been one sided on? Have we made any recent mistakes that an apology will help start the road back to building trust? Selfishness can be fixed when we take an honest look at how we have behaving with others.

If we want to have a greater trust level, then our selfishness must be put in check.

Just remember what our math teachers taught us. It does not matter how large the numerator of a fraction is. The denominator will affect the outcome greater. Below is a picture of the complete trust equation for you to have. Take a screen shot, or make it a graphic for yourself and keep where you can see it often to remind yourself what trust is affected by.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with higher profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

A Crucial Contributor To Building Trust

February 26, 2022

Today we are finishing up the numerator of the trust equation. For those that don’t remember, the numerator is all of the variables above the dividing line in a fraction. So far, we have talked about credibility and reliability in building trust. The third and most important numerator variable is vulnerability.

I was raised in a single parent family for most of my younger years and being vulnerable was not a soft skill I was taught. I was taught to “man up”, “suck it up”, etc. We didn’t show emotions that often except for anger and sarcasm. Vulnerability was something I have and continue to work on to this day. This was one of the hardest skills for me as a man, but one of the most beneficial skills as a person of influence. If you can be vulnerable and go deeper with people you will gain more trust and influence with others over time.

I know what you may be thinking at this moment. I don’t have time to be vulnerable. I just need to push through with my team or my customers and get the job done to move on to the next task. I understand business and getting work done. What I am talking about is building a trust with your team or customers that gives you the benefit of the doubt in bad situations. The kind of trust that will provide you help when fighting against the competition. This kind of trust is more than the superficial arm-length kind of relationship. It brings people in to get to know us on a deeper level. A level that when the chips are down, they will step in to help without question.

Now let’s talk about what vulnerability is. Vulnerability is a soft skill that is not typically taught. Vulnerability is about going deep and opening up ourselves to be potentially judged, let down, hurt emotionally, and disappointed. It is that uneasy feeling when we are about to disclose something about ourselves to someone because we are risking our comfort level. Vulnerability is deeper than honesty.

When being honest, we can speak the truth, but still not show our true self. People can be rubbed the wrong way with honesty and not trust us. We can’t gain the connection with others when we are just being honest. We need to develop our level of vulnerability with those individuals to gain the next level of relationships. Vulnerability is a scary place for most people because there is that risk of being hurt, but the payoff is definitely greater than the risk.

I have worked with ex-navy seals, business owners, entrepreneurs, engineers, contractors, etc. and those that are most successful are vulnerable to those they need high levels of trust with. Leaders learn how to be vulnerable. Leaders strive to grow the relationship with those around them so that when the time comes to dig down the leaders will have the buy in from those around them to work together and accomplish great things.

The reason why I have had such great success in sales is because I am vulnerable with my customers and team members. I trust them and pushed through my comfort zone to allow others in to see who I am. By doing so I have gained great relationships and trust with those around me and built strong bonds that helped me when working on new businesses, growing a men’s ministry, my marriage, and some close friends that would drop everything and run to help if I truly needed it.

This week I want to challenge us to open up when we are trying to bottle up things that we don’t want to let others know about. It’s okay to take off the mask of perfectness and let others see our true identity. Let others open up to us while we use active listening and not just give solutions. I should also say that “suck it up buttercup” would not be the best phrase when someone opens up to us and is vulnerable. That might get you quickly thrown out of their circle of trust. My commitment this week is to listen and be more vulnerable to those around me and not jump in to fix it and move on. What is your next step today to be more vulnerable with those around you?

Go ahead and post your next step in vulnerability in the comments below.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with higher profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Reliability, The Second Variable In The Trust Equation

February 19, 2022

Ever think it’s no big deal if I pass up on this one meeting with a customer? Ever think that it’s just one appointment in my busy schedule that I can just skip? What about that promise that we broke to our family to do something fun that we are going to have to push back on the calendar yet again?

The road to eroding trust is paved with good intensions. It is sealed with no follow through.

My father once told me that I should do the right thing no matter if anyone was watching. At the time as a young adult, I was thinking that what does it matter if no one is watching. In today’s age with technology, someone is always watching. Just do a google search on yourself and you’ll find tons of websites with all of your information out there.

If we want to be considered trustworthy, we need to make sure that we are showing up in a consistent manner each and every time. We need to be Reliable.

That’s right Reliability is key to trust building. People begin to trust us when we are consistent in how we show up. That can be personality, work ethic, promises, etc. The more consistent we are the more reliable we are.

Think of that restaurant that you have visited multiple times because the food was great and the service was fantastic. We can’t help but tell people they have to go visit that establishment because of the great experience. That is what others want of us. They want to know that they can get a consistent experience from us when they interact with us.

Whether it is our boss, our significant other, our kids, etc. It doesn’t matter who we are interacting with, they want to have consistency with us. That makes the reliability go up. If we are consistently showing up with our work, we get to stay employed and more money with raises and promotions. Children get more freedom when they are reliable.

If we are there for our friends in times of need, they will open up to us more and we have more influence. If our kids know that we will be there for them they will have more confidence in us as parents. They will trust us more.

We need to be constantly showing up in the same reliable manner if we want trust. Yes there are times that we fall short and have to ask for forgiveness, but if we have been reliable more often than not, we will get the benefit of the doubt. When we can have a minor slip up, but still be considered trustworthy and reliable that is when we know we are doing well.

In sales too often the customer is provided all of these reasons why this interaction will be different from other suppliers. Delivery will be exceptional and on time, our customer service team will support them and not leave the customer on hold for hours on end, etc.

Far too often in sales we over commit and under produce. We have this grand promise that falls short of expectation for the customer. Guess what happens…Trust goes down and we are put into the commodity bucket on the next time we are thought of as an option for suppling goods and services. In sales and business, we also need to make sure that we are showing up in a reliable manner if we want to be considered the best option and maintain good profit margins.

When we are considered commodities, the only differentiating factor is price. We need to make sure that we are providing exceptional service to help the customer along through their lives and support them in a reliable manner. If we do that trust will go up and we will gain more opportunities in the future. That is why I try to under commit and over produce for my customers as much as I can.

If I am not able to guarantee something, then I don’t. I am not like one of those informercials from the 90’s promising that this product will solve everything from small messes to world hunger. I make sure that my customers know how, when, and what my product / service will do and make sure that it achieves those goals. I have built solid levels of trust with customers and friends by being consistent and reliable.

The final thought is yes, we need to commit to something and push hard to make that happen. Never committing to anything will stop trust in it’s tracks.

Be reliable and you will gain trust with those you interact with.

Have a good week!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with higher profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

To Build Trust You Need To Have The Letter C

February 12, 2022

The last couple of weeks I have been helping you with understanding that there are different levels of trust needed for different levels of relationships and the three questions that we need to answer to build trust and influence. Today I would like help you with a concept that I created for people to visualize an easy way to understand what goes into trust. I call it the “Trust Equation” and it has helped many people start building trust easily by understanding the components of trust.

There are four main components of the trust equation and I will break down each of them in the next few blogs so that you can better understand each and excel at building higher levels of trust in 2022. Without trust we can’t make movements, sell, lead, or do anything of substance with others. We need trust.

Without any more delays let’s get into the first component of trust:

Credibility

We have have credibility before people will trust us on a specific topic of concern. This is crucial, but does not mean that we have to go to school to learn about everything and anything. No one knows everything.

Credibility is typically linked to knowledge. A person goes to school, gets a degree and then they are finally credible on a subject. While that is very true, there are other aspects to Credibility that many do not think about. One is effective communication and the other I call “being the bridge.”

I have seen very intelligent individuals lose credibility because they could not effectively communicate their topic. That’s right, just because they have a great deal of knowledge, does not automatically grant them credibility. Everyone needs to be able to communicate effectively!

There are many courses that help on effective communication topics, but the biggest effect on communication is the ability to break complex topics into simple understandable pieces. That means not using really big dictionary words when a simple word can be used. If we can communicate effectively then we can build trust and generate credibility.

Now the other component I mentioned earlier is what I call “being the bridge.” This is something that I learned when I first got into sales. If I was able to connect people needing help in a certain area with those that had the knowledge, I actually built credibility. That’s right because I was bridging the gap for them, then I am deemed a credible source as well.

When we bridge others together, we are associated with credibility because we are associated as one that adds vallue. Adding value is key in trust building and being a bridge will help us gain influence. This is one of the main ways I have been so successful throughout my career. I have built a great deal of credibility by bridging others together.

Bring knowledgeable, communicating effectively, and being the bridge will allow us to become more credible with others. Consistently showing up to add value and help others is the way to growing trust with anyone we interact with.

If you would like more information on building trust reach out and set up a call so we can discuss and I can point you in the right direction!

The next few weeks I will discuss the other variables in the trust equation. Look forward to helping you gain more trust and influence in the weeks to come!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with higher profits!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - SPU Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Trust begins with three questions

February 5, 2022

If you want trust, you must answer three questions every time you meet with others. Too often people focus on how others will answer these three questions and not how we need to be answering them. The three questions are:

Do I like You?

Do I trust You?

How can you help Me?

Those three questions that everyone asks at every interaction are crucial for us to put our best foot forward. Otherwise, we will not grow trust levels with others and possibly erode trust with others.

The first question has a lot that goes into it, but the main thing is that if people do not like us then they will not trust us. There is a radar in our fight or flight system that has likeability as a key indicator. Ever have that feeling that something was wrong with someone you just met and you needed to leave. That is the radar trying to keep you alive.

Likeability is crucial. The colors we wear, the way we make others feel, our pace of speech, and even the scents we wear can affect the likeability factor. See we don’t know other people’s pasts, experiences, and triggers. That means that we can subconsciously step onto land mines that we did not know where there. A land mine is an explosive that is buried under the surface that when stepped on creates a large explosion usually killing the person that stepped on the land mine.

This does not mean that we just avoid contact with others. What we need to do is make sure we are consciously approaching those that we come in contact with awareness and humility. We can’t avoid contact with others, but we can however focus on understanding and help them.

The more we put the focus on learning about others and minimizing ways to trigger others the better we can build relationships with them.

When I first meet with others, I tend to wear colors like light blue, whites in my shirts. I don’t wear power ties, dark colors, or a ton of cologne. I also focus on learning about them by asking a great deal of questions. Not so I can sell them something, but to learn and help if possible. I want to help people and by investing in helping others, I have also benefited in my careers and personal life as a by-product.

The first step in taking the focus off ourselves and onto others is start by learning about them. The best way to do that is build a profile about them. That means we are focused solely learning about them (not to leverage them, but to help them). I use a profile sheet when I prep for meeting with individuals and do research on them prior to the meeting if possible. I have also asked if I could take notes and 9 times out of 10 the people are receptive and actually get more engaged by me attempting to learn about them.

I have attached a link to the profile sheet I use to learn about others a. If you’d like a copy just click here and you can have it. No, I am not trying to track your email through this. It is free to you. There are some questions you might have on this sheet so if you haven’t read any of my blog posts about the client profile sheet you can look back at those, or reach out. I would be glad to help you.

For today, focus on not stepping on land mines and learning about others and you will start building trust with others.

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

How Trust Works

January 29, 2022

I hope you are doing well this week and ready to move forward with others that you interact with. In order to do that we need to make sure we are elevating the trust levels with those we interact with.

In order to do that we really need to understand how to build trust, why others give us some trust levels of trust, and what effects trust over time. Even though some people say they just give people trust when they meet them, would they trust someone to hold them a high rise building with just a rope?

We give some levels of trust to people, but don’t typically put our lives in their hands right away, unless there is some kind of emergency. I have made a diagram for trust levels that is in the picture of this post above. This gives an idea that the closer we are to people the more trust that is needed. That is why we do not have as many people in intimate relationships with us like our significant other and children.

We would not tell the world our deepest secrets like we would those in intimate relationships with.

That means that we have different levels of trust and we have to grow trust with others if we are going to learn more about them. Not to leverage them with their secrets, but to learn about them. Sales professionals for years have learned how to build rapport with customers and grow the relationships as well as trust levels. Sales professionals know that if business transactions are going to occur then there must be high levels of trust established.

Investments of trust take a lot of work and we need to be ready to do the work to grow trust. People will only interact with those they know, like, and trust. So, in order to build trust, we need to answer three questions on every interaction.

Do I like you?

Do I trust you?

How can you help me?

In order to build trust levels, we need to focus on these three questions and what I can tell you is the techniques that sales professionals use (not the sleazy ones) will help you understand how to do this effectively.

I would encourage you to pick up a sales book, or take and online training to help yourself learn and equip yourself to succeed in growing trust with others.

If you’d like to use mine that is great, but not a necessity. My links are below for my book “The Sales Process Uncovered” and the link to my trainings are also below:

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

Why You Need Customer Trust

December 18, 2021

Have you ever bought something from a salesperson you just didn’t like or trust? If you did, how did it make you feel afterwards? When is the last time you made a large purchase from someone you didn’t trust? Likely never.

Today we are talking about why building trust with the customer is important.

There are three questions that everyone asks themselves about us when they meet with us. Every time! These questions are:

Do I like you?

Do I trust you?

How can you help me?

See that second question? Trust is a highly important question that has to be answered by us for the customer. If we don’t answer that question with our actions and words lining up, then the customer will move on down the road to our competitors that offer similar products / services.

Trust is extremely important with most of our major decisions. I define major decisions as decisions that cost over $500, or life changing decisions. Some use gut feelings, some use research, and some use advisors. The fact remains that trust is a part of every major decision. If we do not have trust, we do not act. This is why most consumers ask friends and family who they should talk to about a product / service. They are searching for a trusted advisor.

Today it is so easy to find options for a product / service that we need. Just hop online and do a quick search. When the customer is coming in to talk to us, they are trusting that we will help them. We need to make sure that we have that in mind when we serve the customer. We as sales professionals need to be showing up to serve the customer and being open and honest of where we can and can not help them. Focusing on how we can better grow the relationship and trust with that individual / organization.

Customers are not just looking for a transactional experience. They want to be known and heard. They want people that will advocate for them to find solutions that will benefit them the best. Customers want a relationship. We as humans are born to crave a sense of community and value. Customers want that as well. Why do you think there are so many Facebook groups out there today? People want community.

When people trust us, they share more information with us. Not their deepest darkest secrets, but they will share more and more as trust is built. I have had customers tell me about future RFQ’s that I could look forward to and worked with my teams to be more prepared so I was able to achieve success. That would not have happened had I not built great levels of trust with these customers.

To build trust I use a simple equation that I call the Trust Equation. It uses variable such as credibility, reliability, vulnerability, and selfishness and puts them into a simple equation to help us build trust effectively and quickly with customers. This equation also focuses on a long-term approach to building a great amount of influence with the customers.

Now, there is a great deal to discuss on trust such as how to build it, the different levels of trust needed depending on proximity to others, and how to keep growing trust. That is why I created the “Trustworthy” training to help people like yourself understand and build trust quickly.

If you’d like to check out it click here to be taken to the training. It’s worth the investment.

Today, lets make sure we are focused on building trust with our customers.

Build trust with your customer and you will reap greater rewards!

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

Why Trust In The Workplace Is Essential

December 4, 2021

Ever have a team that did not have trust? Ever work with others that would step on you just so they could shine brighter and show off their awesomeness? Ever been sabotaged by another team member to make you look bad?

Unfortunately, sometimes have these situations which makes us question if we in fact actually on a team?

There are many factors that go into trust in a team. We have to trust that team members will be able to do their job well, we have to trust they will not sabotage us, we have to trust things will be communicated effectively.

If we are a manager that does not have trust for our employees then we are going to micro manage them. If we do not trust the employees, we spend much of our time checking and rechecking their work. If we do that, how can we continue to grow ourselves, and still move the group forward? It’s like rowing a boat with our hands instead of an oar.

If we do not trust our colleges enough then we are doing extra work as well to make sure we hit the outcome we desire. That means more stress, longer hours, less efficiency, and drain on our attitudes. Then comes the mixed emotions of stress and disengagement with work and family. When teams are not in a high trust environment, they are not working efficiently. People are not communicating well and issues are sometimes hidden. The only time management sees an issue is when a major event occurs.

If we are in a large organization and the engineering team is not trusted by other teams, then the design will be delayed to launch. If this is a publicly traded entity and launches are delayed guess what happens to the stock price valuation…

We need to make sure we are forming a trusting environment because speed and cost are the two variables in business that are affected by trust. When we are in a high trust environment speed goes up and cost goes down. When that happens, guess what happens to profits…they go UP!

When we are in a high trust environment people will be allowed to move quicker without having to get tons of approvals and tons of double checking. Everything flows faster and work is completed with less bureaucracy. It’s like a river that is allowed to flow, it is clean, but when it is blocked up, everything becomes stagnant and scummy.

We need to make sure that we are working on ways to build trust throughout our organization so that we can work more efficiently. If trust grows, the outcome will be increased profits.

If you’d like to know ways to improve trust, check out this link that will take you to my training on building trust that will allow you to build trust around you and form great levels of trust with your teams.

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”

Avoid This if You Want Trust

November 27, 2021

Ever been told you are being selfish? Ever tried to take a toy away from one child to give it to another? The response is most likely “It’s Mine…” We are born selfish which is why sometimes it is hard to build trust with others.

We have come to the most important variable when discussing trust. It’s in the denominator of the trust equation as well. This means that the larger this variable is, the more it pulls down the other variables in the numerator. Yes it is math based.

We can be very creditable, reliable, and vulnerable, but if we are only doing this to help ourselves “WIN” we will actually “LOSE”. We will not be able to gain trust and sustain it if we are only out for our own gain. True we may be able to fake our selfishness for a little while to obtain short term gains, but trust is actually more like a marathon. People will figure it out fast enough as selfishness is like a spotlight shining bright into the night sky. There is no way to truly cover selfishness.

Selfishness tells people that we do not value them and do not care about them. Have you ever been around someone that you tried to give more and more trust and it just seemed to blow up in your face each and every time? It is really hard to keep wanting to extend them the benefit of doubt. After a while trust is just not an option anymore.

I had to come to this realization with someone that I have bent over backwards to help on quite a few occasions. Each time resulted in being taken advantage of due to their selfishness. I am very helpful by nature and want to help people from hitting some of the pitfalls that I have had to endure. This person was only focused on their wants without a care for anyone else.

By being selfish we can quickly turn relationships sour. In sales or leadership if this happens, we really start losing influence. Influence is the key ingredient to success in sales and leadership. Without trust there is no influence. Leverage is a term of is a term often people use as an influencing tool of holding something over someone so that they will do what we want, but once leverage is gone these people will revolt! When we do not have trust, people will be less willing to give us the benefit of the doubt and promote us to customer. Even Steve Jobs was asked to step down at one point at Apple.

I am constantly taking inventory in my life to gauge how selfish I am being. I’m sure I fail to live up to my standard, but my focus is on not being selfish. Instead, my focus is on trying to help everyone that I can. I put my expertise out there to help others gain knowledge. I do not do it so I can say that I have done it, but to share so that people can avoid mistakes that I have run into in the past. My goal is to help you become more efficient and successful especially with areas of sales and leadership.

The key is to really take an inventory of our relationships and see if there are any areas where we are being a little selfish. Are there some relationships that we need to apologize for selfishness? Have we made any recent mistakes that an apology will help start the road back to building trust? Selfishness can be fixed when we take an honest look at how we have behaving with others.

When we lower selfishness relationships and influence seem to increase at a rapid pace. We need to place value on others and not do anything to just advance ourselves, but humbly help others get to where they need to go. “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar

So here it is the full Trust Equation.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sidebottom

“Businesses wonder why the majority of their sales teams struggle at winning profitable business. I teach your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate more sales with high margins!”