Chapter 9 - Confirming Your Credentials
The author tells a story about a friend of his who was asked for an ID in a bar, and even after she had done so, the waitress insisted it was a fake and demanded to see another form of ID. The connection to selling services is this: even when you present your credentials, in the form of claims about the quality of your service and testimonials from satisfied customers, the prospect will still likely be doubtful.
He also suggests this is largely unique to services - as there is no physical product to inspect. The customer can't squeeze and sniff the tomatoes to see if they are fresh, or kick the tires and peek under the hood. (EN: Again, an exaggeration because there are many non-tangible claims about a physical good. Kicking the tires won't prove the car is safe, or that it will have a good resale value, or that it will have few maintenance problems.)
More to the point, people have to believe that what you are saying is true and evidence you present is reliable, and that's not guaranteed. They know that "paid spokesmen" will make false claims, and they know that you likely sifted through a lot of customer feedback to find the few gems you present for their consideration. Liars want you to think they are telling the truth, and will use evidence to support a lie.
This is part of the value of an ongoing relationship: they know you and trust your integrity based on your fulfillment of past promises. They will buy the same product from you again, and will buy other products as well, trusting that because you told the truth before, you are doing so again.
It's far harder to gain the confidence of new clients who do not know you, and whose experience with salesmen has been negative. They believe that you want their money, but don't believe you will keep the promises you offer in exchange of it.
How to Build Trust
Salesmen, who tend to be narcissists to begin with, are fond of showing off credentials - their years of experience representing reputable companies, their college degrees and certifications, and their involvement in various professional associations. Other people used to be impressed by this sort of thing, but in the present day regard it as boring, irrelevant, and obnoxiously self-centered.
The driving reason that customers purchase products is to solve their problems - and the reason they choose one supplier over another is because they feel assured that the problem will indeed be solved. Unless your experience is directly related to the problem the client is attempting to solve at the moment, it's irrelevant.
The author provides a personal example: since he sells sales training, he talks about the number of salesmen he has trained and the increases his clients have had in sales after his training was delivered. Such a claim indicates experience at solving problems, and the benefits the client will gain from hiring him to train their sales staff.
He does note that many clients still ask personal questions of salesmen. Some clients still cling to the notion of years of experience and academic credentials, others see these as "getting to know you" types of details that enable them to make a personal connection to those with whom they do business. It's not that you should hide your credentials, just that you should not inflict them on clients who are not interested in them. So long as you keep the relationship professional (rather than personal), there's no reason to conceal this information.
On the upside, the author asserts that "once you establish your credentials, they're forever." That is, a prospect may be incredulous about your claims, but once they believe them, you won't need to re-prove yourself.