The Trouble With Being A “Trusted Advisor”

We all know sales people who use every other word under the sun to describe their core role, except for the word “sales”.

The reasons are obvious.

Who wants to be associated with being a yucky, sleasey, salesey salesperson?

It challenges the very core of your own sense of self-worth:

“I don’t want to be seen as a sales person!”

No one rocks up to a weekend BBQ amongst friends to proclaim themselves in sales (except for top producers – you can work out why 😉).

Besides, only 37% actively chose sales as a profession. Sales chose the other 63%.

Two thirds of all sales teams are what we call accidental sales people.

And therefore some make it, some don’t.

One way many try to manage this uneasy association and connotation with sales is to proclaim and proudly call themselves a “trusted advisor”.

Which all sounds pretty noble except that who calls them that?

They do.

And therein lies the problem.

It’s not what you call yourself, it’s what you do.

Your behaviour and intent will always matter much more than your title.

I’ve never heard a farmer or re-seller proudly call their rep “my trusted advisor”.

Instead, I’ve heard them say “They always have my back” or “They always give me good advice that best serves my needs, not theirs.”

Or better still and more simply, these 3 golden words:

“I trust them.”

Integrity is important too but let’s be clear, it’s not a differentiator.

Your farmer and re-sellers already expect you to have integrity by not selling them something if you can’t solve their specific problem.

Integrity alone is not enough to differentiate you.

It’s only one part of the farmer’s value equation.

So how do you get a farmer or re-seller to trust you.

Simple – do the basics brilliantly:

• qualify and clarify if you can in fact help them
• if not, refer them to someone who can
• focus on serving their needs rather than your own
• provide them with all the information they need to make an accurate and informed decision
• capture the value you could create in the conversation
• put them at ease and make them feels safe and comfortable in your company by being non-assumptive
• ask really good questions that really get to the heart of matter and make them think (they will thank you for this)
• mitigate any perceived risk for them
• make it easy for them to make the right decision
• focus on them specifically rather than deal in generalities
• plan and prepare for all conversations thoroughly
• be purposeful, persistent, polite and professional always
• be everything the others aren’t

Sales is often so complicated when it doesn’t need to be.

Focus on the human side of selling by serving before selling.

A lack of trust adds a lot of cost to both parties.

Ultimately trust comes down to character.

Being a better person makes you a better sales person.

Be that person.

Ready to Improve Your Rural Sales Results?

Join the Rural Sales Syndicate™ for affordable ongoing coaching and support for individuals, or apply for the Rural Sales Success™ Programme to help your team become rural sales legends.

We also run the Rural Sales Manager Mastery™ Programme for new and existing Sales Managers who want to become exceptional sales coaches and leaders. Think of it as a “train the trainer” programme that helps you build internal capability and reduce reliance on external support.

And if budget is tight, explore FieldCoach IO™; your AI-powered rural sales coach that gives you instant access to practical answers, tools, and strategies for every sales scenario you face.