By Michael Norton
“It was on the edge.”
“It really got me to think.”
“This is what success is all about.”
These were just some of the remarks heard at the Dental Trade Alliance (DTA) annual meeting workshop on “Enhancing Sales in Tough Times.” Rather than using the traditional approaches of discussing the basics of the sales process or strengthening a companies referral system, I asked attendees to consider the impact of trust on enhancing sales.
Why? Simple. I have discovered that trust, when fully earned and extended responsibly, is what ultimately drives success. It is the foundation for all successful relationships … and dentistry is definitely a relationship industry.
The responses in the surveys collected at the end of my workshop were extremely positive and confirmed how important it is to understand the impact of trust. Interestingly, one individual came up to me after the workshop and said that our discussion on trust had helped him understand why he was not happy in his job . He no longer trusted the senior leadership of his company and realized during my workshop that it was time to move on.
I have thought about this conversation many times since the workshop and wondered when, how, and why did trust break down for this person? How much productivity and success were compromised or lost between the time he first lost confidence in his leaders and his final decision to leave that company?
In Steven Covey’s book, “The Speed of Trust,” he makes the case that when trust is low, the cost of business goes up, and the speed of business decreases.
Let me share a simple conversation from a recent sales meeting I attended and use it as a case study to illustrate how the speed and cost of business can be impacted when trust is low.
It was a typical Friday sales meeting. Matt, the branch manager, asked his sales associates to share one success from the past week (this happens to be my favorite part of a sales meeting).
Jill, a rookie with less then a year in her territory, raised her hand to go first. “I had success this week while traveling with Joe from ABC Company,” she said.
Elizabeth, a veteran sales rep, said, “Really? You had success with Joe?”
Jill replied, “Yes. We were able to talk with four doctors and better understand their digital needs.”
The branch manager interjected, “Elizabeth, I’m curious why you questioned if Jill really had success with Joe.”
Elizabeth said, “Because the last time I traveled with Joe, he didn’t seem to care about the doctor. He wouldn’t listen to what the doctor was saying. Joe was very pushy. After he left, the doctor was upset that I had brought Joe into his practice.”
Jill didn’t think Joe had acted pushy in front of her doctors, and said so.
The conversation moved to other successes shared. This simple exchange of dialogue is not unusual during a sales meeting. However, the impact of this dialogue can be significant on the success of all parties involved — the manufacturer’s rep and his or her company, the dealer’s rep, other sales reps within the meeting, the dealer’s company, and most importantly, the client and prospective clients — because at the heart of this dialogue is an expression of low trust.
Let’s examine this simple exchange of dialogue to identify the impact of low trust on the speed and cost of business. In considering the impact of low trust, it is important to understand that this branch has four sales reps and that Elizabeth’s territory makes up one third of the business for the branch. Also, the company Joe works for has a great brand and some of the best digital products.
To assess the impact of low trust in this case, one might ask:
- What is the impact of low trust to Joe’s company now with regard to sales opportunities within this branch and market?
- What impact do these statements, voiced by a respected veteran sales rep, have on the trust Joe will have from other reps in this branch?
- How might this impact Joe’s success in the future?
- Does this slow Joe’s abilities to secure travel and lead opportunities?
- How is the speed at which the branch can help clients succeed with their digital needs impacted?
- What is the cost to the branch to rebuild trust?
- What is the cost to the branch if trust in not rebuilt?
- How are current customers and prospective customers impacted by this low level of trust?
As you consider these questions, it becomes clear that when trust is low, executing and generating business is slowed and the cost of doing business is increased.
The reverse is also true. What would the impact have been if Elizabeth had stated that she had a lot of respect for Joe and appreciated how professionally he conducted himself in front of the doctors? More than likely Joe would be getting calls as soon as the sales meeting ended to schedule travel time. More opportunities would become visible and sales would increase.
I often meet with presidents and vice presidents of manufacturing companies, who ask how they can increase business with us. My response is, “We must make sure our reps have great relationships with each other and the customer.” Great relationships are built on trust that has both strength of character and strength of competency. Trust is not just a matter of character, but equally important are the skills, capabilities, talent, and knowledge of a person and organization.
For all I know, Elizabeth may like Joe as a person and trust him to know his products, but his incompetency to listen to and ask questions of her doctors has made her less likely to introduce Joe and his products to her customers.
When we think of whom we trust, most of us measure character and forget competency. As Covey points out in his book, just because he trusts his babysitter to watch his children doesn’t mean he trusts her to run his business. Although the babysitter has tremendous character and skills in one area, she lacks the competency to be trusted with business matters.
In this economy of uncertainty where the speed of business has slowed in many industries, trust must be the starting point of how we move forward. This must begin with a personal trustworthiness examination of character and competency. In seeking to better understand how we extend and receive trust in our day-to-day responsibilities, we can have a significant impact not only on our success, but also on the speed at which we achieve it.
Michael E. Norton is currently the director of sales for Burkhart Dental Supply. Prior to his promotion to director of sales in October of 2009, Norton served as Burkhart’s director of equipment since January, 2004. Norton has been in the dental industry for more than 12 years. He currently serves on the DTA Market Data Executive Committee, ADC Equipment Committee, and as chairman of the Membership Committee for the DTA. He has authored articles on topics related to technology and dental equipment. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].
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