How to Rise above Sales' Low-Trust Reputation

In surveys about trusted professions, sales typically ranks near the bottom, often just above politicians. This is not a cyclical phenomenon; it seems to be a perception based on the nature of the job. People just don't seem to trust those whose job it is to part them from their money. It sounds too much like manipulation.

Yet there are many salespeople who are not only successful, but also well-liked and trusted by their customers.

How can this be? How can you be successful, and trusted, in a low-trust role? What's the difference between being a successful, and trusted, salesperson and being a manipulator?

There is a difference, and it can be articulated—and lived. Let's start by examining manipulation and sales in turn.

The Nature of Manipulation

A commonsense definition of "manipulation" involves some form of trickery, masking a hidden objective favorable to the manipulator. In other words:

• Motives that are self-serving
• Context that is hidden
• Tactics designed to move toward one outcome only

Put that way, it's easy to see how certain sales approaches can appear manipulative:

• Urging the customer to buy, even though the service may not be right for the customer
• Urging the customer to buy this month, not mentioning that the salesperson wins a special prize for getting the sale in under the wire
• Inducing confusion in the customer, e.g. by "closing" tactics like generating repeated "yes" answers to obvious questions

Nobody likes to feel manipulated. This is what's meant when we hear "nobody likes to be sold." But people do like to buy. And it certainly makes sense for sellers to employ people to facilitate that action.

The Nature of Selling

Is it possible to define selling without manipulation? It might sound something like this: "Helping the customer make a decision that is right for the customer, and one that leaves the customer feeling good about the decision."