How To Build Trust With Your Team

When team members trust one another, they collaborate more effectively, communicate openly, and achieve shared goals with confidence. As a leader, it's your responsibility to create an environment that fosters trust among your team members. In this blog post, we will explore three essential strategies for building trust: showing up correctly, valuing others by learning about them and using a CRM, and being consistent in your interactions. By implementing these practices, you can cultivate a culture of trust that will propel your team to new heights of success.

Show Up Correctly: Showing up correctly means being fully present and engaged in every interaction with your team. It's about actively listening, providing undivided attention, and demonstrating genuine interest in what others have to say. By showing up correctly, you convey respect and validate the importance of your team members' contributions. This practice establishes a strong foundation of trust by creating an atmosphere where everyone feels heard, valued, and supported. Remember, your presence and attentiveness are powerful tools that can enhance team morale and inspire loyalty.

To build trust within your team, it's crucial to invest time and effort in getting to know your team members on a personal level. Take the initiative to learn about their strengths, aspirations, and challenges. A great way to facilitate this process is by utilizing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. While traditionally used in sales and marketing, a CRM can be adapted to manage and maintain relationships within your team. By storing information about your team members' preferences, work styles, and personal goals, you demonstrate that you value them as individuals and are committed to their growth and success. Regularly revisiting and updating this information allows you to tailor your interactions and support accordingly, further strengthening the bond of trust.

Consistency is a fundamental element in building trust. Team members need to know what to expect from their leader and rely on consistent behavior and decision-making. By consistently demonstrating fairness, transparency, and integrity, you establish a sense of stability and predictability within your team. When your actions align with your words, trust flourishes. Consistency builds trust by providing a secure and reliable framework that allows your team to focus on their work without unnecessary doubt or uncertainty.

Building trust within your team is a vital responsibility as a leader. By implementing the strategies of showing up correctly, valuing others by learning about them and using a CRM, and being consistent in your interactions, you can cultivate an environment where trust thrives. Trust paves the way for effective collaboration, open communication, and shared success. Remember that trust is not built overnight; it requires consistent effort, active listening, and genuine care for your team members. As trust grows, so will the cohesion, productivity, and overall satisfaction of your team, propelling them towards their goals and fostering a culture of excellence.

“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 

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

Trust Building Games

Building trust in a group setting can be facilitated through engaging and interactive activities. Here are three trust-building games that promote communication, collaboration, and a sense of camaraderie:

Questions for Humans is a game that encourages open and honest communication within the group. Divide participants into pairs or small groups and have them take turns asking thought-provoking questions to each other. These questions can range from personal experiences and aspirations to deeper philosophical inquiries. The key is to create an atmosphere of trust and encourage genuine sharing. As participants open up and listen to one another, trust within the group will naturally strengthen.

Escape rooms provide an exciting and challenging environment for team members to work together towards a common goal. In this immersive game, participants are locked in a room and must solve puzzles, decipher clues, and collaborate within a set time limit to escape. This game requires trust, effective communication, and teamwork to succeed. The shared experience of working towards a shared objective fosters bonding and trust-building among participants.

Operation Adventure is an outdoor team-building game that involves problem-solving and physical challenges. Divide participants into teams and provide them with a series of missions or tasks to complete within a designated area. These missions can include obstacle courses, puzzles, or cooperative activities that require trust and effective communication to accomplish. The shared sense of adventure and overcoming challenges together builds trust and strengthens group dynamics.

Remember, the key to fostering trust through these games is to create a supportive and non-judgmental environment. Encourage active listening, respect for different perspectives, and the celebration of each team member's contributions. By emphasizing collaboration and positive interactions, these games can facilitate trust-building and create a stronger, more cohesive group.

“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 

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

Why Listening Skills Build Trust

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

The Sales Process Online Membership Site 

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

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

The Sales Process Online Membership Site 

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

Are you Building Trust During This Season?

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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

The Question To Ask For Trust With Others

Today we get into the second question that customers are asking themselves when speaking to sales people.  Do I trust you? 

That is a huge question that if answered No, can stop you from selling anything to that customer.  If they do not trust you then you are stuck and you can’t get past the first of five buying decisions. 

I have spent the majority of my sales career studying why people buy.  Being that I was an engineer there had to be an equation and magic was not going to be the answer.  What I found is that when people use humor, are upfront, and show empathy towards others.  That is when people really start to open up and trust.

I’ve had a manager that had issues gaining trust.  This manager would openly tell anyone he first met within the first few minutes about his Christianity, but his actions would contradict what he would say he stands for.  He was explosive to be around and would demand you follow his view points on business.  If you challenged his view points, watch out!

This kind of behavior erodes trust the same as lying to others.  Trust is crucial for any kind of growth between sales organizations and their customers. 

So how can we grow trust fast?

1.     Social Proof

2.     Heart of a teacher

3.     Open and honest communication

4.     Encourage customers to show you opportunities for improvement

Social proof is using a mutual connection between the customer and yourself.  So many people like Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, music artists, etc would see huge followings after being on the Oprah show.  Once they leveraged that connection, they were considered the go to expert.  Now we can’t all get on the Oprah channel, but we can leverage anyone that we know who knows us well that could reach out on our behalf. 

Having a heart of a teacher is offering help to the customer get them to a better place even if it does not benefit you. Teaching the customer to give them free knowledge for the heart of helping them is something that is lacking in today’s culture.  People tend to only want to help if they will receive something in return.  What I can tell you is that if you want to gain trust, you have to have a heart of a teacher to help the customer.

Open and honest communication means reaching out when you see something bad coming, but also making sure that the customer is not unsure about anything related to your products.  Making sure that they are communicated to in a personal level is key.  Pick up the phone when you can instead of just sending an email.  This is something that I still struggle with sometimes when I am busy, but what I have learned is making sure I talk to the customer is key.  Keep in mind the written word it taken negative most times when someone reads it.  Most of communication is nonverbal, posture, tone of voice, etc.  An email does not help with communication.

The last key thing to do is encouraging the customers to show you opportunities for improvement.  Allowing the customer to feel like they are a part of the product design in the future makes them feel like they are a part of something more than just themselves.  We all strive to feel like we are included in decisions, so encouraging them will allow for this to open up.

There you have it. Four ways to grow trust fast.  Just put on your SHOE to walk with the customer… You need to have your shoes on if you plan to walk the talk.

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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

Why We Need Relationships In Business

Good morning everyone,

I remember a story of a successful business owner that had sold his company and stayed on to support the transition.  This owner had a pretty large company that was sold to an organization with a Chief Operating Officer that hated salespeople.  This COO also believed anything done by salespeople could automatically be done through a business transaction from an internal call center.

This same CFO also discussed that business school professors from some of the elite universities even teach that relationship building outside of the professional transaction are not a good idea.  People that are scholars in theory, but unfortunately not life application.

Golf outings were not allowed, customers meals were frowned upon, and basically anything that was not transactional was outlawed.  I have also worked for companies that the focus was purely transactional and there was no focus on growing customer relationships, unless they had a purchase order attached.  Now I am not saying you have to validate a golf outing with this blog, but the fact that relationship building is important. 

If you are not meeting with customers regularly to learn about their needs, then how are you going to build influence?  Sales is influence and the more influence you have the more sales you make.  A lack of influence will quickly turn you and your product into a commodity!  The only differentiating factor for a commodity is price.  Then starts the race to the bottom where there is no margin and likely no quality.

Some of the most successful business owners that I have had the chance to sit with state that it is imperative to build the relationship with the customer.  I have also been able to visit some of my old customers that I have not called on in years. They will smile, ask me out to dinner, and sit with me for hours to discuss where they are at with their current business situations.  They even have asked for insight on what I might recommend still to this day!  It is a great feeling that I was able to influence individuals enough that they will take time to catch up as well as look for my advice.

These conversations would not have happened had I not worked on the personal side of the business as much as the transactional side.  Knowing your customers on a personal level and understanding their aspirations is a huge benefit.  People want to know that they matter to you.  Building that relationship is extremely important. 

It is almost an art form watching an old sales professional work the personal relationship and send birthday cards for the customer’s family, as well as celebrating wins that the customer has had.  Meetings on the golf course have transacted in large business deals that cannot be instantaneously measured.  Looking back on the sales process and building relationships will allow your business to grow with your customers.   The transactions do happen, but after work on the personal side.  People will not buy from you if they do not know, like, and trust you. 

I encourage you to leverage the personal side of business along with the professional side.  If learning about people was not important than why do Amazon, Facebook, and your smart phones listen in on your conversations as well as track your searches?  Statistics have shown that when there is a relationship in place between organizations a great deal of growth has happened as well.

Send a card for your customer’s birthdays, kids’ birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc.  It is a great feeling to celebrate with your customers and form lasting relationships. 

Remember the first buying decision a potential customer makes is the Salesperson.  Grow that relationship!

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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

Be The Bridge

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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

How Selfish Are We?

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

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

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

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

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

How Trust Works

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

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 Trust starts with the letter C

Trust is in high demand today. 

Some would say that it is harder than ever to build trust with others.  Far too often people let us down and keep moving on as if they don’t even care.  It’s not true, but that is what our feelings tell us.  Trust is a very expensive commodity.  Businesses can lose large accounts because of trust.  CEO’s are let go for violating trust.   

Employees and management need to establish trust more than ever especially with the working remote situations.  In uncertain times, it is trust that is the key ingredient in moving forward and achieving desired goals.

There are many aspects to trust and how to build high levels of trust.  Different environments also require different levels of trust.  I have been asked many times for a simple roadmap in building trust.  Something simple for people to remember and be able to apply.  I have also spoken to Multi-Billion dollar organizations to help teams build trust by using this equation.  That is why I have created the Trust equation. 

For today let’s focus in on “Credibility.”  Yes we need credibility to be able to build trust.  Ever read an article that states I had a credible source?   Credibility actually has a few components to it and some that most people don’t think about.

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 is what I call call “being the bridge.”

I have seen very intelligent individuals lose credibility because they could not effectively communicate with others.  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 easy to understand language.  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 one that adds value.  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.

Knowledge, communicating effectively, and being the bridge will allow us to become more credible and help others trust us more.

If you’d like to learn more about trust and the trust equation I have a click here for my online training.

Have a great day!

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!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com