The following tips will show you how to build trust with prospects before sending them a pitch! Now more than ever, it’s easier for buyers to gain a wealth of information about companies through online research and a little social media investigation. And because of this, B2B firms selling products or services need to stand out from the crowd and be a cut above the rest if they’re going to win the sale. And to win the sale, the prospect needs to trust you first. Trust can be elusive; it’s hard to win and very easy to lose. This is why your business needs to make sure it’s building trust with prospects, even before the words “sales pitch” are sent out.
Building trust with prospects greatly increases your chances of closing a sale. In this article we’re going to discuss:
- The problem with pitching too soon
- How to build trust with prospects before you pitch
The Problem with Pitching Too Soon
What goes wrong when your sales team pitches too soon?
Don’t put yourself at a competitive disadvantage by giving prospects your sales pitch too soon.
There are many B2B firms that can offer potential buyers products or services that meet their needs and addresses their pain points. However, most buyers already have a shortlist of firms they would like to do business with, so what makes yours the best bet for their money? No one is going to trust your product or service is exactly what they need, nor will anyone be willing to buy from you the first time they research your company or speak with your team. First, you need to develop a relationship of trust that shows you’re interested in meeting their needs and helping them find what’s right for them.
When a prospect shows interest in developing a relationship with a firm, businesses put themselves at a disadvantage by almost immediately delivering their sales pitch. This is off-putting to prospects who want to get to know your company more, perhaps build a relationship, or potentially buy. They don’t want to hear about your products/services when you haven’t taken the time to first find out what their needs are, and how you could address them. The job of a competent B2B sales team is first to build relationships with prospects, by first allowing them to trust you, and then they’ll have an easier time making a decision of who to buy from.
How to Build Trust with Prospects Before You Pitch
Tips to build trust with prospects
Building a trust relationship is key for B2B businesses to make a sale, and one of the best ways to do that is by engaging prospects with content. We’ve put together a list of tips your business can use to build a relationship of trust with your prospects, and convert them to sales.
Start slow
As we mentioned earlier, no prospect is going to trust your company just because you offer a product or service that they need. Instead, their path towards becoming a customer moves through a series of steps, a hierarchy of commitment levels that they go through until they decide to become a customer and develop a relationship with your firm. Once they have already shown your firm preference over another, the next step is their willingness to share their information (such as an email address or phone number) with you.
At this stage, the sales pitch should still be far from your firm’s agenda. Instead, this is the right time to use this access to engage them with content. You’ll need to use content that will show how you can help them solve their business challenges–and why you are the company to do it.
Prospects go through levels of commitment with your firm, which hopefully develops into a relationship of trust.
Engage prospects with content at each stage of the sales funnel
Once a potential buyer has decided that your firm may be able to help them solve their business challenges, it’s time to show them how. Many firms don’t take advantage of having a point of access to prospects such as an email address, and neglect to send relevant content. Without engagement, your sales team is at a disadvantage and your firm will quickly disappear from the radar of your prospects.
Having a personalized email drip campaign is one of the best ways to stay in contact (and stay in front of) your prospects. The type of content your firm can use to engage with prospects can include case studies where your product or service has solved business challenges in the past. Infographics and articles relevant to the industry (even someone else’s articles) will keep your company a part of your prospect’s consideration. Comparisons, white papers, and e-books are all ways that your firm can take advantage of your new relationship and build trust with your prospect. If the prospect is on the fence between two firms, your company’s initiative and engagement will help increase your chance of winning the sale.
Be consistent
Although we all wish we could build trust and convert clients to sales quickly, it just doesn’t happen that way. This is why consistently using content to keep your firm in front of your prospects is essential. You may not know what stage they are at in the sales funnel; However, they could be still considering if your firm will meet their business challenges, or they could be already in the evaluation phase and willing to reach out to hear about your sales pitch. Keeping your content in front of your prospects is one of the best ways to increase your chances of winning the sale.
After a relationship of trust with the prospect has been established and they know that your firm can meet their business challenges, they are now ready to hear your sales pitch. Here you have the opportunity to teach your prospect about your product or service again, and both parties are already aware (because of the content you’ve already exchanged with them) that this relationship has the chance to be mutually beneficial to both the buyer and seller.
Don’t fall into the trap of giving your sales pitch before you’ve had a chance to let the prospect decide if you can meet their business challenges. By engaging in a thoughtful, personalized content campaign, you can build a relationship of trust that has a much higher chance of converting into a sale.
