The statement that people only buy from those they know like and trust is considered a fact of nature. Like gravity, it isn’t questioned. And on face value it’s hard to quibble with.

If you don’t know somebody you can’t buy from them. You have to know them first. Next sales are often motivated by emotion versus logic. If the seller exhibits likability you’re much more likely to be persuasive. That makes sense. And If you don’t trust somebody why would you give them your money? There’s no argument there.

But in my experience I have found this pithy statement false. Let me show you what I mean.

But first I’d like to share a story.

About five years ago I was the sales manager for an Internet startup company. I was hiring a lot of new sales reps and was ready to move to a modern CRM. I had an immediate need to collect metrics across the sales staff. Aggregating sales report by hand was inefficient, time-consuming and frustrating.   I was experiencing true pain.

There were many vendors to choose from and we set up an appointment with one of the major players. They met with us for a preliminary meeting and did a fine job of collecting our needs and desires. They wanted to be prepared for a demonstration and I appreciated their extra effort.

You can’t ask that

A few days later we met for an online software demo. As the meeting proceeded I had some questions.

I asked about things we hadn’t   mentioned in the earlier meeting. They couldn’t answer them.   Or better put they weren’t prepared to answer them. In fact they said,

“You didn’t bring that up earlier; we didn’t know that was important to you”.

So I couldn’t help but ask “Let me get this right, I can only ask you about things we brought up last week? Am I understanding this right?”.

“Yes”, they responded.   “The sales engineer’s ONLY prepared to chat about what we’ve previously discussed.”

You Must Be Kidding

I found this to be unbelievable. I was selling software in those days and became quite adept at giving terrific demos. I understand the value of letting buyers control the demo by asking questions. I also know this requires a high level of knowledge and sophistication on the part of the seller. You have to know your software, inside and out. You have to be prepared, but that’s what professionals do. .

But this company didn’t work that way. They answered some of my questions.  In 60 minutes the time was up. And I said “Wait, I’m not done, I still have more questions”.

But the sales rep said “Sorry I only have the engineer for an hour he’s got to go to another meeting right now”.

“You must be kidding”, I responded, “What kind of blankety-blank company are you?”

The rep mentioned he would try to set something up later.  The call ended.

After the meeting some of my people were in the office next to me. They had overheard the call.  I guess we were loud. “Pat” they asked, “What were you yelling about in that meeting?”.

I felt bad because you should know something about me.  I rarely get angry. Frustrated yes, but never angry and rarely loud.  They found the entire thing funny.

But it wasn’t for me. I was really expecting to love the demo and buy that day. The sale was there’s to lose.

Time to Find Another Vendor

There was no way I was going to buy from these people.  That day I set up an appointment with another vendor.    It was a smaller company but it looked like they had a great technology.

Two days later I was ready for the   demo, but when the time arrived they didn’t call. I thought maybe they had forgotten, so I called them.   The phone was out of order.

I thought maybe I had the wrong phone number looked it up online. The website was offline. It’s like they just disappeared.  It was a mystery.

I found out a few days later the company had lost its funding. They were scrambling to make ends meet.  I heard a week later they were able to acquire more funding. But there was no way I was going to introduce their technology into my business.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

So now you can probably guess what I did.   I chose the first vendor.

Did I know them? Yes.

Did I like them? No.

Did I trust them? No. But I trusted them more than the second vendor.

So why did I buy from them?

I can sum it all up in to l just one word. Value.

I had a problem I needed to solve RIGHT NOW!  I had a terrible headache and I was ready to buy the first bottle of aspirin I could find. Pain is a terrible thing to experience.  Sometimes you will do anything to alleviate it. That was me.

Despite my anger I went ahead and hired the first vendor.  And to my relief they actually did a nice job for us. They had exactly what we wanted and did exactly what we expected.

But it was one of the worst sales experiences I’ve ever had.

But in the end they provided a service that brought value to my company. It also brought value to my customers. And the quality of their service brought value to the workplace and the quality of life for my staff.  It was the right answer for my company and thus the myth of know like and trust. 

Value Wins Deals

Many times in my life I’ve had to suck it up and buy from people I don’t like. I’ve also bought from companies I don’t even know. Think of some of your latest internet purchases.

And lastly I’ve even bought from people with two and three-star reviews that I don’t trust. But I did it because they appear to have exactly what I want.

I’ve gotten burned here and there.  But it does know good buying things that don’t add value.

Know like and trust can make sales easier. These aren’t bad things. But they’re not the most important thing that makes sales.

Why I’ve Lost Deals

I’ve lost my share of deals in the past.  In many cases the prospects really liked me. They knew me from a referral and appreciated my professionalism. And I often felt they bent over backwards giving me the benefit of the doubt. They wanted to buy from me.   But they couldn’t.

The problem was that I didn’t have what they needed. I wasn’t solving their problem. I wasn’t addressing their pain. I wasn’t adding value with my products and services.

You have to have what people want. That’s what matters most.

This is the thing.  You could be the greatest sales professional in the world.  But you can’t be successful in the long run, selling crap.

Value is the secret sauce

To quote Warren Buffett “Price is what you pay, value is what you get”.   Give your clients what they need. And you will be successful.

20 Secrets of Sales Success

As I mentioned earlier before sharing the  myth of know like and trust. , this episode is sponsored by  Selling With Confidence sales system.  The system teaches business professionals how to build a sales process that custom fits their personality.  I  believe anyone can learn sales with the  20 Secrets For Sales Success.