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If you've been in the industry for any length of time, you were likely taught that getting your prospects to like you is a crucial part of your sales process.
Your mentors and peers probably emphasized the importance of building rapport, creating small talk, and ensuring that your prospects walk away from every interaction liking your personality.
But what if you trying to get them to like you, is hurting your sales process?
It might sound counterintuitive, but the truth is, them liking you, is completely different from them trusting you.
Likeability and trust are two entirely different concepts.
In fact, trying too hard to get your prospects to like you can come across as inauthentic, which can undermine the trust you’re trying to build in the first place.
Real relationships take time (lots of time) to develop in real life, and in your effort to save time and shorten your sales process, time is a luxury you don’t have.
The traditional mindset in selling has always been relationship first, sale second.
The traditional logic was always: if your prospects like you, they’re more likely to buy from you.
But in today’s fast-paced, commoditized market, this thinking is now outdated.
When your primary goal is to be liked, you inadvertently lower your authority in the eyes of your prospects – because you’re working hard to be seen as a peer.
They see you as someone who is eager to please, rather than someone who is the Trusted Authority to solve their problems.
The key here is to shift your focus from being liked -- to building deep trust instead.
Think about a doctor-patient relationship.
Doctors don’t need their patients to like them, they need them to trust their expertise.
When you go to a doctor, you probably don’t care if they’re personable or friendly – you care more that they understand your problem and can provide the right solution.
This same principle applies to your sales process.
When you approach your prospects with a diagnostic mindset, focusing on understanding their true issues, rather than trying to win them over with your personality, you establish yourself as an authority – not a peer.
Your role isn’t to create a superficial relationship, it’s to build deep trust by going down the “iceberg” of their issues to such a deep level, they can’t help to say to themselves “He gets me, he’s the one for me.”
Think of your sales conversation like an iceberg.
The visible part above the water is what your prospects tell you outright – their surface-level issues and concerns.
But below the surface lies the real problem, the one they may not even be fully aware of.
Your goal isn’t to get them to like you -- it’s to dive deep and uncover their unsaid and hidden issues below the surface, showing them that you truly “get” them – that’s what real trust is.
When you replace the need to be liked with a focus on deep trust, you elevate your sales process to a whole new level.
Your prospects will immediately perceive you as a Trusted Authority (not a friend) who understands their problems and has the expertise to solve them.
If you’re ready to shift your own thinking on how to create trust in your sales process, order your complimentary book and consultation below.
Related: Why Is It So Hard To Make the Sale?
Get your Free copy of Ari’s best-selling book "Trust In A Split Second!" here and you’ll also receive a Complimentary Sales and Lead Generation Consultation (value $995.00). Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is the most sought-after high-net-worth new client acquisition expert for financial advisors. His latest book, “Trust In A Split Second!” has become an instant best-seller among financial advisors worldwide.