It is usually a trust problem...

A short while ago, we released a book called "The Four Minute Customer". It was intended to share insight on how to better service and sell customers. One of the chapters was entitled the " Ten Truths of Sales & Service". If you read this blog long enough, you will get to see or hear all of them.

Here are ten truths of sales and service.

1. Companies rot from the top down
2. You only get what you pay for
3. The key to sales & service is communication, communication & communication.
4. There are two new hire classes in every organization. The one you pay for and the one employee’s give each other.
5. It’s usually a trust problem
6. Bad sales and service habits on the outside are learned on the inside
7. Customers are like elephants, they don’t forget.
8. In sales it is not why you lost that counts the most, it’s when.
9. If you leave a “space”; someone or something will fill it.
10. Nike was wrong: Losers “just do it”; winners “Do it right.”


Our focus today is on number 5. "It's usually a trust problem"


The Four Minute Customer:

"It was very hard not to write that it is always a trust problem! Time and time again, we find that the root cause of most problems in a sales and service organization revolves around trust. Trust permeates every area:
Do they have my back if I get in trouble with a customer?
Is the technology going to fail me again?
Is the sales compensation plan fair or set up to make us fail?
Does my manager have my best interests in mind?
Is all this technology designed to find me doing something right or something wrong?
Which one of my peers can I trust to not stab me in my back?
Those are simply a few of the questions being asked right now within your team. We build trust through almost every contact and relationship we have; manager and employee, C-level and front-line supervisor, customer and employee, technology and employee, company and company, workforce management and employee/manager, just to name a few. Our challenge is that we have to do ALL of them right in order to be successful.
Your direct manager is very important to the process. We all know that “if you don’t trust me; I sure won’t trust you.” An environment of mistrust is bad on many levels. The worst part is that we spend time and energy protecting against ourselves, competing against each other, and always looking inside. When we turn our attention inside; we lose focus on our customers and prospects.
I “trust” that you will take this seriously within your team or organization."


When you look at the potential of the Employee Free Choice Act affecting your business you can assess your risk right from the start on the level of trust you have in your organization. Please don't just look at it from your perspective or your department. If you have just one area where there is a high level of distrust you are at risk. Look through out your organization and not just in sales and service. This risk is not simply for unions. It can be a risk to the very viability of your company. It is hard enough to compete in the market without also having to fight a trust problem within your company.


For starters; "Do I trust my direct manager?" If you are a leader, "do I trust the people I have in management? When the answer is no to either question; you have a problem. If the answer is "multiple no's" as in we have a bunch of managers that fit in this category you are at serious risk. There are only two ways to deal with a manager that has "trust issues" that go up or down in an organization. One remove the manager either from the position or company. Second you train, mentor or "encourage" the manager to change their ways. Our challenge is that it is easier to get into trouble with a trust problem than it is to get out of it. Time if of the essence. I implore you to pick one direction immediately and be on purpose about taking action.


Nothing will derail a department from making their goals like trust issues. Nothing will kill a company faster than a trust issue.