“Trust.” It’s a short word and perhaps the most important word in selling – but do you really know what it means or how it works? In my experiences, too many salespeople do not. Trust is the hardest won, yet most easily lost, characteristic in a customer interaction – and will cost you more sales than any other.
The dictionary defines “trust” as “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” A lot of times I’ll put a “sales definition” on top of the dictionary, but today I won’t. That definition works. I think most of us would agree – and yet, even salespeople who would readily agree that “customers have to trust me” still use sales tactics that destroy customer trust, even from the beginning. I’ve had two very diverse experiences of how customer trust can be forever destroyed in the last couple of weeks, and there are lessons in each.
In a recent training class, a young salesperson asked about the old cold-calling tactic where you call the President of a company, and upon getting his/her voice mail, you just leave a name and number. The way this tactic works is that you’re hoping that the President thinks that you’re a customer rather than a salesperson, and thinking so, calls you back when they wouldn’t readily call a salesperson back.
The problem with this tactic is that, as soon as the President realizes that you’re a salesperson and not a customer, they realize that they have been deceived. Do people place “a firm believe in the reliability or truth of someone” who has initiated their conversation with a deception? I’d venture to say that very few do – and while this tactic might result in more call-backs from phone calls, it results in fewer actual appointments, and a miniscule number of sales.
The sale goes for another old, hackneyed tactic, where the salesperson calls, leaves a name and number, and then starts into a message and pretends to get cut off right before you get to “the good stuff.” Again, the thrust of the message is pretending that you’re not a salesperson. And the result is the same.
But what about instances where you’re already doing business, the company already has your money, and destroys your trust? I had an instance like that a few weeks ago.
I was flying to Islip Airport on Long Island for a training session. My flight on the airline – let’s call them American Airlines, because that’s who it was – was to leave Kansas City for Philadelphia at 11 AM, where I would change planes, and fly into Islip at around 6 PM. My flight from Kansas City was delayed both due to maintenance issues and then to the weather, to the tune of three hours – just long enough so that I could see my connecting flight to Islip take off while I watched longingly.
No problem, I was assured. I would be rebooked on the 9 PM flight. That was fine with me, as I’d still be able to start my training program the next morning. After about an hour, I was notified that my 9 PM to Islip was canceled, but I could be rebooked on the 9 PM to LaGuardia. You guessed it. 30 minutes later this flight was canceled. The reason for the cancellation was given as “weather,” but I was watching other planes take off.
At the customer service counter, there were now about 20 people wondering how we would get to Islip. American “helpfully” offered to rebook us – on 9 PM flights THE NEXT DAY. You see, the earlier flights were all booked up. One man in the crowd made an incredibly logical suggestion. “Why don’t you just delay the 9 PM flight tonight to 7 AM tomorrow? That would get us into Islip by 8, and we could go about our day.” That would have worked for me, since I could have started my training class perhaps a half-hour late. No, they of course couldn’t do that, “Because we wouldn’t have time to sell seats for that flight.” The logic that they were flying people to whom they’d already sold seats cut no ice.
Long story short, I ended up renting a car from Budget and driving three hours to Islip, arriving at midnight. My training program was a great experience for myself and for the company, and I headed to Islip airport on Friday knowing that this flight would be better.
I was incorrect.
When I got to the ticketing desk, the man informed me that the flight was to be delayed about an hour and a half due to a “late arriving crew.” He then said that I’d be stranded overnight in Philadelphia (seems like I’ve heard this before), and offered me my choice of Saturday morning flights home, one at 8:15 and one at 9:15. He assured me that both flights were direct, take off in Philly and land in KC, no problem, so I selected the 8:15 flight.
Arriving in Philadelphia and picking up my hotel voucher I was informed differently – that the 8:15 flight first flew to Charlotte, where I’d sit in the airplane for an hour and a half, and then fly to Kansas City. Keep in mind that American had screwed up every leg of my trip so far. The next morning I went to the gate, explained that their person in Islip had made a mistake, and that I would like to switch to the 9:15 flight. I had already checked and there were seats.
The person at the counter informed me that this wasn’t possible – I could fly standby on the 9:15 but she couldn’t guarantee me a seat on it. Keep in mind, the only reason I was on the 8:15 was a mistake by THEIR employee. It didn’t matter. She rudely shoved the boarding pass back at me and said, “Be on the 8:15 or go standby on the 9:15. Those are your choices!”
I reflected on her, and on the fact that every American Airlines employee I had encountered was a stone-faced, sullen, unhappy, unsmiling person who made it very clear with every gesture and word that I was an intrusion and that they didn’t care whether or not I got where I was supposed to go when I was supposed to go there, and I realized something important.
I no longer trust American Airlines to transport me. Anywhere. At any time. I envisioned another bout of incompetence in Charlotte stranding me there (granted, I love Charlotte – but not on this particular weekend), and I made another choice. I walked to the Southwest desk and spent nearly another $500 because I trusted Southwest to get me home. And they did, 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The Southwest ticket desk employee was the first smiling person I’d seen at an airport in my journey.
So, what does all this mean? Am I just complaining about American Airlines? Well….to be honest, yes, a little. But more important than that is this: What broke my trust with American was not the flight logistics issues, even though those were awful. What broke my trust was the utter lack of empathy and caring shown by their employees, every one of whom acted like I was an imposition. Those people didn’t care one bit whether or not I got home. Had even a single AA employee shown real human empathy, I’d have stayed on them, and had I had a successful experience on the 8:15 flight I wouldn’t have written this article and I wouldn’t have sworn off flying that airline (and I will not, again, EVER). I should point out that the last three trips I’ve taken on AA they have stranded me on my way home, so this isn’t new.
Machines, computers, and processes may impact your customer experience. But to truly establish, or destroy, trust requires a human being. Think about that the next time you’re dealing with a customer who has had a bad experience, show empathy (and MEAN it), and you just might preserve a customer relationship.
