For new sales leaders, there are three fundamental keys to building trust with your sales team and getting off to a great start in your new role: Competence, Consistency, and Concern.

If you are a new sales manager, few things are more formidable and important than building trust with your sales team. This can be especially difficult if you were previously a single contributor on that team and moved into your sales leadership role through a promotion.

Should you fail to build trust or break trust it can set you back months. In extreme cases, in which your salespeople turn against you, it can cost you your job.

Your are Always on Stage

Your salespeople are watching every move you make and listening to every word you say. They are interpreting your behavior, and deciding whether or not to trust you, based on their intention-not yours. Therefore, as a new sales manager, you can never forget that you are always on stage.

To build trust with your sales team you must be intentional. You must manage everything thing you do and say. You must be disciplined at all times in your interactions with your salespeople.

Three Keys to Building Trust With Your Sales Team

1. Competence: Your salespeople need to see that you are competent with prospecting, sales process, closing, negotiation, and sales strategy. When you demonstrate competence, your people will be much more open to coaching.
2. Consistent: The easiest, fastest way to break trust with your people is to be inconsistent. Salespeople resent and despise inconsistent leaders. Do what you say you are going to do. Show up on time. Keep your promises. Avoid flavor of the day. Do not try to please everyone. Be consistent with your actions, words, demeanor, and vision. When people know what to expect, it is easier to trust you.
3. Concern: People need to know that you are empathetic, interested in them, and concerned about their success. This is why it is important that you spend time with each person on your sales team and just listen. This doesn’t mean that you need to become everyone’s best friend. That is not that point. People want to know that you care about them before they will take the first step toward trusting you.

The good news, is when you make a sincere effort to build trust with your people, they will respond to your sincerity, begin to trust you, and follow you anywhere.

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