There has been a lot of talk about engagement in sales blogs recently (with some of the finest work coming from my colleague Skip Anderson - http://blog.sellingtoconsumers.com/).  Engagement occurs when prospects or customers actively participate in the sales process.  They are talking about their situations, goals and needs and listening carefully to the seller to determine if he has the products and services that will offer meaningful solutions.  Engagement looks like two parties who have the possibility of coming to an agreement

Achieving engagement is obviously critical to successful selling.

In my last post trust and credibility were identified as the foundations of engagement.  That is, in the absence of trust and credibility there will not be engagement.  We noted that trust may be initially achieved through:

    -    Familiarity
    -   Shared Experiences
    -   Attraction

and credibility, for sellers, often comes from:

    -  Borrowing credibility from a corporate entity.  
    -  Earning credibility through a reference. 
    -  Assumed credibility based on associations (professional, personal or other)

Most sales training tends to focus on the "trust" aspect of the trust and credibility scale.  That is, sellers are encouraged to prove to the prospect they are trustworthy because they enjoy shared experiences or because they are familiar with certain people or places.  A friend of mine, who is a very good seller, opens up every new meeting by asking the prospect about the places he grew up.  Like this:

Jeff:  "Your last name is Berkowitz?  Do you mind if I ask you where your family is from?"
Prospect:  "Well, I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio but most of the Berkowitz's are from Lansing, Michigan."

Jeff:  "Lansing.  That's pretty close to Ann Arbor isn't it?  My father's brother has lived in Ann Arbor for many years.  I used to visit there when I was a kid."
Prospect:  "Yeah, me too.  We had all kinds of cousins over there and we used to go swimming and fishing in the summer."

Jeff:  "I think we used to visit a place called Lake Whitmore. . ."
Prospect:  "I know it well!"

Jeff:  "Well, it sure is a small world.  I appreciate you taking the time to see us today.  We came to talk about. . . "

Jeff was a master at playing this game and it seemed like there wasn't a town in America that he couldn't claim to have visited or known someone who lived on the corner of Maple and Main.  However, this approach didn't always work.  In fact, I remember one meeting that went like this:

Jeff:  "Say, I know a lot of Goldsmiths.  Where is your family from?"
Prospect:  "Listen, Jeff, I don't want to play Jewish geography.  Can we just get to the point of the meeting?"

Ouch!

Since there are plenty of prospects like this one that don't have an interest in exploring shared third party relationships or experiences, I recommend that sellers first establish credibility instead of trust.

The extent to which we must establish credibility depends on how much credibility we currently enjoy.  To find out we must ask questions that reveal the way the prospect feels about our company or us.  Here are a couple of approaches:

If the prospect has called us and requested a quote:

Seller:  "How did you find out about ABC company?"
Prospect:  "I asked my neighbors for recommendations and two out of three of them told me to call ABC."

If we called the prospect and they agreed to a meeting:

Seller:  "I'm sure that you get requests to meet all the time.  May I ask why you agreed to this meeting?"
Prospect:  "Well, you guys are the #1 search engine in the world.  I thought it would be interesting to hear what you have to say."

If we were canvassing businesses door to door and were asked to come in and sit for a spell:

Seller:  "Thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.  Before I launch into a lengthy and potentially boring presentation about our company, may I ask what you know about ABC company so that I can fill in the gaps?"

Prospect:  "I don't know much as your name is only vaguely familiar.  But, your timing was good so I thought it made sense to spare a few minutes to hear what you had to say."

Each situation reveals the extent to which we need to further establish our credibility.  In situation #1, we simply need to reinforce the neighbors recommendation of our company and begin to establish our personal credibility.  In situation #2, we agree that our company has worked hard to become the most trusted name in our category and that each representative is carefully chosen to protect and enhance the reputation the company enjoys.  In situation #3, we break out a few facts about the greatness of our company and throw in some information about our own expertise as appropriate.

A conversation centered on credibility easily morphs into one where trust can be established through familiarity or shared experiences.  Check it out:

 Seller:  "How did you find out about ABC company?"
Prospect:  "I asked my neighbors for recommendations and two out of three of them told me to call ABC."

Seller:  "I'm not surprised!  As I was driving through your neighborhood I counted at least six ABC customers and three of whom I have personally worked with.  Before I leave today, I'll give you the names and numbers of those three so you can check out my work."
Prospect:  "Sounds great."

Seller:  "Your home is beautiful!  How long have you lived here?"
Prospect:  "Ever since we moved to Atlanta - about 12 years ago."

After gauging credibility and finding it to be high, the seller has reinforced the sense that the prospect should find the seller's company credible.  Then he steers the conversation towards one in which he can establish himself as trustworthy.

Seller:  "Really?  I moved to Atlanta about 14 years ago.  My wife and I just decided this was going to be a better place than Buffalo, NY to raise our kids.  What brought you to town?"
Prospect:  "Oh, we moved because I was transferred from Dallas."

Seller:  "I've never lived in Texas but people have told me that Dallas is pretty similar to Atlanta."
Prospect:  "Sure.  It's about the same size and the cost of living is about the same.  My girls like it here better because the high school they go to has so many sports teams and clubs."

Seller:  "My kids just graduated from Northview.  You guys are probably in the Chattahoochee district."
Prospect:  "Yup.  Both Janey and Elizabeth play field hockey there."

Seller:  "Field hockey?  That's crazy.  My next door neighbor is the head coach of the field hockey team at Chattahoochee!"

Sellers must be trustworthy and credible before a prospect is willing to engage in a conversation about what they want, need or desire.  By determining and enhancing the level of credibility first, sellers are best able to steer the conversation towards shared experiences and familiarity to build trust between themselves and the prospect. 

Trying to do this in reverse order often comes across as forced, slick or cheesy and the resulting lack of engagement dooms the sale.