Why Buyers Don't Trust You (And What To Do About It)

Summary

Summary of "Why Buyers Don't Trust You (And What To Do About It)"
The Advanced Selling Podcast
Release Date: May 19, 2025

In this insightful episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, hosts Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale delve into the critical issue of trust in modern B2B sales. Titled "Why Buyers Don't Trust You (And What To Do About It)," the episode explores the evolving landscape of buyer behavior and offers actionable strategies to bridge the trust gap between sales professionals and their prospects.

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1. The Evolution of Buyer Behavior

Bryan Neale initiates the discussion by highlighting a fundamental shift in buyer behavior. He observes that buyers today are more informed and self-directed in their research processes. This change means that sales professionals can no longer rely solely on traditional training and sales tactics to close deals.

"I think the modern buyer has changed their behavior significantly enough that we had better start studying that."
— Bryan Neale [05:07]

Brian Neal echoes this sentiment, recalling his class on buyer behavior from 1991 and noting how marketing strategies then were perceived as manipulative. He emphasizes that contemporary buyers are adept at recognizing and rejecting outdated, insincere sales approaches.

"The world has tired of manipulation, and even Gen Xers and Baby Boomers can see through it."
— Brian Neal [09:35]

2. Understanding the Trust Gap

The hosts introduce the concept of a "trust gap," a pervasive skepticism that buyers harbor due to past negative experiences with salespeople. This gap is not merely about mistrust but a deeper sense of suspicion shaped by previous interactions where buyers felt deceived or undervalued.

Bryan Neale explains that buyers today are conditioned to question the authenticity of sales pitches, making it imperative for sales professionals to adopt more transparent and efficient processes.

"The trust gap exists because buyers have been burned before, and they don't believe you when you say you're different."
— Bryan Neale [16:32]

Brian Neal concurs, emphasizing that both sellers and buyers should approach transactions with balanced intentions. He advocates for a collaborative decision-making process where both parties have equal say.

"The intention of the seller and the intention of the buyer should be very balanced and equal."
— Brian Neal [18:07]

3. Strategies to Bridge the Trust Gap

a. Transparency in the Sales Process

One of the primary recommendations is to establish a clear, defined sales process that is transparent to the buyer from the outset. This involves outlining each step of the journey, setting expectations, and providing milestones that guide the buyer towards a decision.

"Be explicitly clear about the process... here's a yes, no place. Here's where we decide whether it's a fit or not."
— Bryan Neale [20:20]

Bryan Neale cites the EOS system from Gino Wickman's Traction as an example of a transparent and efficient sales process that has successfully been adopted by over 10,000 companies.

b. Educational Content and Value-Driven Engagement

Both hosts stress the importance of providing educational content that helps buyers make informed decisions without feeling pressured. This approach fosters trust by demonstrating genuine commitment to solving the buyer's problems rather than merely closing a sale.

Brian Neal shares his admiration for sales strategies that guide buyers through an efficient process using personalized content, such as case studies and customer testimonials.

"Push them through an efficient process to yes or no."
— Brian Neal [12:57]

c. Avoiding Manipulative Tactics

The hosts caution against outdated manipulative sales techniques, reiterating that authenticity is paramount. They argue that manipulative strategies not only fail to build trust but also alienate potential customers who are increasingly savvy and skeptical.

"The world has tired of manipulation... it's not effective because it shows that you're not being real."
— Bryan Neale [09:35]

4. Building Long-Term Relationships

Brian Neal highlights the importance of building long-term relationships based on mutual respect and understanding. By aligning the sales process with the buyer's needs and providing consistent value, sales professionals can foster enduring partnerships.

"Let your actions speak for your intentions. Show that you’re invested in their success, not just your own."
— Brian Neal [19:46]

5. Practical Takeaways

• Define and Communicate Your Process: Clearly outline each step of your sales process to provide transparency.

• Focus on Buyer Education: Offer valuable content that helps buyers make informed decisions without feeling pressured.

• Be Authentic and Transparent: Avoid manipulative tactics and prioritize building genuine relationships.

• Adapt to Generational Differences: Recognize and adapt to the varying preferences and behaviors of different generational buyers.

Notable Quotes

• Bryan Neale [05:07]:
  "Everybody wants more. More customers, more profitability, more this, more that. We want more without wanting to work harder for it."

• Brian Neal [09:35]:
  "The world has tired of manipulation, and even Gen Xers and Baby Boomers can see through it."

• Bryan Neale [16:32]:
  "The trust gap exists because buyers have been burned before, and they don't believe you when you say you're different."

• Brian Neal [18:07]:
  "The intention of the seller and the intention of the buyer should be very balanced and equal."

• Bryan Neale [20:20]:
  "Be explicitly clear about the process... here's a yes, no place. Here's where we decide whether it's a fit or not."

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Conclusion

In "Why Buyers Don't Trust You (And What To Do About It)," Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale provide a comprehensive analysis of the modern trust issues in sales and offer practical solutions to enhance credibility and build stronger relationships with buyers. By embracing transparency, focusing on buyer education, and fostering authentic interactions, sales professionals can effectively bridge the trust gap and achieve sustained success.

For more insights and live coaching sessions, listeners are encouraged to join the Insider Program at advanced selling podcast and engage with the community on their LinkedIn group.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign to the Advanced Selling Podcast, the longest running sales training podcast in podcast history. My name is Brian Neal.

[B]

And my name is Bill Cast.

[A]

Wow, that was very right on cue.

[B]

I was very thoughtful.

[A]

I don't know what happened the first time. We were 30 seconds in, no audio, but we're here. Glad you're here. If you're not a part of the Insider, what. What are you waiting for? Go to advanced sellingpodcast.com join the Insider Program. Live coaching with my friend Bill Caskey every first Friday. Is that right? First.

[B]

Every first Friday. And we had, we had ours last Friday. Got one in June coming up. Awesome. If you're on our email list, we will be. I'm going to be sending out some kind of just like a video recap so you see what we talk about. Because sometimes it's. You think, do I really need another 97amonth thing? And I wanted to share with you what we talked about so you can see the value of it. So I'll be. We'll be sending that out. So if you are not a part of the email newsletter list, then go to advanced sellingpodcast.com and hop on that.

[A]

Just hop on it. Yeah, hop on it.

[B]

I was listening to a podcast the other day with a guy who I know, and he knows me, and we've had. We've had some, you know, very small business dealings. But I like the guy. And I'm not going to say who it is, but every time the host or every time the guest, he had a guest on, this guest was very complimentary toward the host, the guy I knew. And the first time he said, hey, well, listen, first name. You know, I got to tell you, I've just, I've just been thoroughly impressed with your podcast, and it's just such a nice treat to be invited on. And my buddy, my guy, the host said, I received that.

[A]

Oh, man, that's triggering.

[B]

That's not where you thought I was going.

[A]

It was not. I thought you were going chick fil A on us. I thought you were going chick fil a with my pleasure. When you said what people say to say thank you.

[B]

But he said it three times during the pod during this one episode where the guy casually threw out a, you know, well, you're really good at this, you know, first name. I, I. And I received that. Oh, come on. Just say you're welcome or it's my pleasure.

[A]

Now I'm gonna go a little dark, but it's. But I'm, I'm over this. We've both had Our experiences in recovery, things in our past. I' but you're public about it. I'm fairly public about mine with my dad, and we did intervention with my dad, and that's what my dad said and then kept drinking until he died. I'm not saying that bad. It's okay to let. No, no, but it's true. He literally said, I received this, and I had the same reaction you do. I'm like, are you kidding me, dude? Like, we're trying to, like, save your life here, brother. We're trying to save your life. And I'm not making light of my dad.

[B]

Very, very.

[A]

Lots of years of therapy to laugh.

[B]

I'm laughing.

[A]

Please do. Because it's. It's true. I'm like, what? I received it. What does that even mean? You know what I mean.

[B]

This had to be 20 years ago for you then.

[A]

Oh, at least almost. Let's see. 15. Eight plus. Yeah, eight plus six. 14 years ago.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Probably 15 years.

[B]

Well, I thought this was a new thing because I've heard people say it.

[A]

Well, maybe. Maybe my dad was ahead of his time. Maybe God called him up a little early, you know, like, hey, we need you up here, bro. Yeah, can you send down the response when people try to get people to stop drinking? Say, I received this and keep drinking so you can get up here sooner. Oh, man, that's crazy. That's not where I thought you were going.

[B]

What should you say? Oh, no problem.

[A]

Thanks. How about thank you? Thank you. Appreciate that. Very nice of you.

[B]

That's very nice.

[A]

And you can even say, like, thank you. I'm really proud of what we. What we built here. That's okay to say, Like, I'm very happy. We worked really hard. We're. We're proud of it.

[B]

I do, too.

[A]

I received this.

[B]

You can receive it without having to say.

[A]

I just don't know what that means. I. You know, it's almost like I'm not gonna totally accept it yet. I'm just gonna receive it. I'm not gonna agree with it or acknowledge it or say thank you. I'm just gonna receive it. So I'll put it over here with the other things that I've received I've received lately.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And just put it in this.

[B]

My list of. Of compliments I've received is very long. I can't possibly receive.

[A]

Is there. Honey, we have any room for any more complime or, you know, we're gonna have to. Okay, yeah, we're getting a storage facility, but we don't have it. Yet. So if you could come back with that compliment, that would be awesome.

[B]

Oh, okay. So anyway, that was my.

[A]

Thank you. That's fantastic.

[B]

As, As I get older, I know that I, I become a little bit more intolerant of those kinds of things, you know.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Some of you were saying, what's a big deal, Bill? Yes, it's a big deal.

[A]

Well, thank you.

[B]

So I knew you'd get a kick out of that.

[A]

I got a great kick out of that. It was my dad's birthday last week, so in very. In a very healthy place. So.

[B]

Oh, good.

[A]

My relationship with my dad, who's passed on and was his birthday, so it was great. Good, Good memory.

[B]

Okay. Topic today. I have been my voice changing.

[A]

You're the Peter Brady of the Advanced selling podcast. There's that.

[B]

Topic today is. Comes from a lot of my work with companies and their sales teams and a lot of what I hear in the marketplace. And the way I positioned this to Brian when I pitched the idea is, you know, everybody wants more. We want more. More customers, more profitability, more this, more that, we want more. We don't want to work harder for it, which I agree, but we want more. And so then the question is, well, what do we throw at this? What. What do we do to get more? And we typically buy coaching, buy training, whatever. We, you know, engage a guy like Brian or me or the other 40 million people who do what we do similar. But the question becomes is, I don't think we're working on the right problem when we are always working on training of skills. I think the modern buyer has changed their behavior significantly enough that we had better start studying that. Because if we're always studying ourselves and not the person to whom we are selling, persuading, engaging, then we keep, we keep hitting our head against a rock and, and not being able to close business. And so therefore Our closing percentages are 15, 20, 25% and they should be higher than that. And I think the reason they're not because we're paying no attention to buyer behavior today.

[A]

Really good. I took a class called buyer behavior in 1991. A little different than it is today.

[B]

A little bit.

[A]

A little different. Great class. I really enjoyed. It's one of the few classes I really enjoyed and thought was practical after the fact.

[B]

Was it a. A business class?

[A]

Business class, yeah. At the. Yeah, IU Business school in the marketing department. Buyer Behavior. It was really good class, very interesting. It's very psychological psychology based. And then I worked a proctor and gamble and it was all it was all, it all, it was all seemed gaming to me back then. I feel like everything was trickery. You know, I just saw, I saw a marketing thing and I get it. But I saw this marketing thing that, that gave names to all these things like the popcorn pricing rule. You know, we have three offerings instead of two and the second one is just a little bit below the first one. So everyone upsells. You know, you get $2 for the same amount of stuff or something like that. Or the 99 center, you know, the, the one below a dollar.

[B]

Yeah. Or 90 psychology. Yeah.

[A]

So it's real interesting to me and one observation and I've not given as much thought, I don't think to this as you have. So mine's a little off the, off the top of my head. There are some common things I think that we'll talk about here that you think, well, how has buyer behavior changed? I love the concept. First, I'll tell you that you said that we need to study the how buyers buy more than we need to study how we sell. Yeah, like that's a brilliant statement and a real great reframe of the whole because everyone run around as you said, the 40 million of us spewing ideas and advice is 99.99 around. What do you say? How do you get versus how do I understand? And then how do I adapt very different.

[B]

And how do I sync up my behavior? Not so I can manipulate, so I can, so I can help them eventually get what, what they want, which is a solution to their problem. Help me get what I want, which probably is a new customer or their money or whatever. So it's, it's simpatico there. It's.

[A]

It' yes. So one thing that I wanted to bring into this, and I'm not by any means an expert in this, is the generational differences that are occurring as the world, you know, gets older. Millennials get into buying areas. Gen Z's come into buying influence arenas different than Gen X and baby boomers. And that's a thing I, I was talking to a, a Gen Xer who were actually the same age in a sales environment and he started to use some old techniques that we're both familiar with from a really big brand that everybody knows. And it was. You used to be a member of this company, Bill, back in the day, and everything was, was based on this. What I think is pure manipulation. In fact, I heard the founder, whose name is the company's named after, even say in a tape back in the day that the Sales game is all about manipulation. He talked about John Elway manipulating the defense and in football. And that's what it's about. It is. Right, exactly. So it was acceptable then in this conversation? This guy is buying from me. He did that. And I said, I can tell your blank trained. He goes, what do you mean? I go, well, you just did the thing. And he goes, oh well no, now I said now you're doing that thing.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

And he's like started laughing. He goes, okay, okay, you know, whatever.

[B]

I give up.

[A]

Okay. We're not gonna. No more manipulation. No more, you know. So the point is, I think the world has tired of that, number one. Number two, even if you're a Gen X or a baby boomer, you're so aware of it, you know what's going on, it just doesn't work. It's not effective because it shows that you're not being like real authentic in that whatever. So that's a long way to totally agree.

[B]

Yeah. I can tell when someone who has been through this training when I come across them because they, they have a certain smell.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Certain scent. Okay, well let's go through. I, I've got two or three things here that I think are at the. Where buyer behavior has changed.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, and then you weigh in and maybe we can come up with is there one thing that we can recommend to avoid this or navigate through it? Number one, I think the, there is a much more self directed research angle now that the customer can go to the Internet, Google, wherever now, you know, AI and get a lot of information that they don't have to depend upon you for.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it used to be that salesperson was privy to all the, all the insider, the technical specs and all that stuff and now it's just, just not true. So they can do a lot of the research before you even get the call or even show up or even if you do show up and then you leave, guess what they're going to do over the next week is they're going to research the heck out of whether what you were saying is true or not.

[A]

Yes. There's no, no doubt. And it's at that to me is in. And we've been talking about this like everyone's kind of dabbled in it. Like. Oh, you know, like the whole, all the stats that people throw around. 85 of the buying process is done before they even talk to a salesperson. Like that to me is just all like, that's just like base house rules now that's just Baked into the cake. It versus like, oh, gosh, that's a. You know. But people don't think. They don't sell that way is the point. They don't sell that way. They might even know that and don't do anything with it.

[B]

So if you believed, let's just say 70%, but whatever it is, 70, 80% of the, of the buying of the sales cycle is executed. The journey is started before you show up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

What does that mean for the sales professional or the. Or the business owner who has a sales team? What, What? Okay, so now, now what do I do with that?

[A]

I just saw Gary Vaynerchuk talking about this, and again, this is not like a new idea, but I do think you've got to take it from an idea and put it into practice now. Right. Is the person who puts the most educational content out and toward people, both broadly. And then also I just saw a different person put something on LinkedIn I thought was really clever. Not clever like tricky clever. Like, that's really intelligent. Clever is guiding people along a efficient process and educating them along the way without talking to them. And you do that through a personalized video, through a personalized case study, through a connection to an existing customer, those sorts of things that facilitate the efficient process to. Yes or no.

[B]

Yeah, that's.

[A]

And push it to them. And these. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

You said something there that I want to, I want to call you out on a positive way. You said, you know, without talking to anyone. I don't think that's our decision. If, if somebody calls me because they've heard a podcast or they've. They've researched me or something, I don't say, oh, I can't talk to anybody until you watch these seven videos. That's not the way. But what I know is that people won't even call until they've watched the seven videos and then say, okay, I'm comfortable. He seems like a, you know, the right dude or whatever.

[A]

Yes. So, yes and yes.

[B]

I don't think it's a matter of avoiding conversations at all. It's a matter of how are people making decisions. Well, they're not calling salespeople right out of the blue like they may have used to. They're actually checking you out and they're consuming content, whether it's video or audio or. Or whatever. So, yes, I like that.

[A]

No doubt.

[B]

I noticed that I had a guy who I saw on Twitter, he offered a free booklet. It was a. It was a booklet that spoke to some of the things I'm working through, in the business right now in life. And so I thought, well, that might be interesting. And so I asked him for it. It never came. I direct messaged him, said, hey, I, I tried to get it, couldn't get it. He said, okay, I'll send it to you. By the way, I've got a program starting on Monday. Do you want to be a part of it? And this guy holds himself out as a marketing expert. And I'm like, no, why not? Be blunt with me. Be blunt. And you can. Now you can start to see. Okay, well, he's just, he's just shilling. He's just shilling a program and he wants people to. And I'm like, I didn't say it because I, I declined because I don't have time for free, free advice. But it's like, well, you didn't help me buy, brother. No, did not help me buy. You didn't tell me anything about the program. There was no web page to go to. There was no video of you describing how it's going to benefit me. It was more just, hey, you went in. I only got two seats left.

[A]

Yeah, well, so this is my. And I kind of hinted it a little bit. Another one of my observations of how buyers buy these days. I believe buyers buy in a transparent, efficient manner. And if you ask any of them, would you want to do this in a transparent, efficient manner to the highest extent, the most transparent and efficient manner possible, everyone's going to go, please, God, yes. That's all I want. That's all they want.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And I think the way to do that is by having defined, you know, one page visible process with even dates and times on it that say, here's the process that gets us to yes or no. That's it. And it's got dates and times. And you know, we run on this program. I've mentioned you. Eos by, based on the book called traction by Gino Wickman's awesome, awesome system. We've been on for about three and a half years. Will you buy EOS? They take you through what's called a 90 minute meeting and they hit their marks like at 1 hour, 29 minutes and 58 seconds, the guy's done and that's it. And he goes, if you want to do the next meeting, you pay my fee. Here's my fee. That's it. And that's it. And they've got 10, 000 companies who've been sold that way. And I believe people love to buy that Way and transparent.

[B]

I do, too. Yeah, that's good. That's good. Okay, I've got a second one here that. And. And we should do another episode of this if you're okay with it.

[A]

Oh, for sure.

[B]

I feel we're just scratching the surface here. Here's another one. I heard something the other day that talked about the trust recession, or trust gap. I'll call it a trust gap. And the trust gap is what exists between your customer and you or your prospect. And you. You think they trust you because you're trustworthy. They don't trust you because they've been burned before, They've been lied to before. They've had engagements with people that have been.

[A]

Been.

[B]

Okay. And then you come along and say, oh, I'm different. They don't believe you. They just don't believe you. And I know that. We think, well, personal brand helps that, and it does. And. No, we really want to. We want to be honest with them. I know. I'm not saying you're not honest. I'm saying that they are conditioned by the. By the previous experiences they've had. So they are very suspicious. It's not even. They don't trust. They're just suspicious of you. And so how do we close that trust gap? Some of the things that you just mentioned are ways to do that. Being totally transparent, being unbiased. Look, I'm not invested in whether you work with us or not. I would love to have you as a client. But I also know that not everybody fits me and my personality. So if we get to the end and I'm not the right guy, let me know. I'm. I'm fine with, you know, going back into the woods for another four years, trying to find food anyway.

[A]

Trying to find.

[B]

So the trust gap, I think, exists, and I think we're blind to it most organizations. And we just think, well, we'll just, you know, we'll just keep going. You know, they'll trust us. They love us. Hey, Mikey. They love us.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

What do you think?

[A]

I completely agree. And I. Part of it goes back to the. One of the core things that you and I have talked about for years, which is the intention of the seller and the intention of the buyer. And I. To me, it should be very balanced and equal.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Meaning that we both vote. We go through a pro. We agreed. We vote to go through a process together. We vote on how long that's going to take, give or take. We can modified if we need to, and then we're going to vote yes or no along the way. Each step you get a vote and I get a vote. If we get two yes votes all the way through, we do the moment we get a no. A no vote from one or the other. Yeah. It's a side. Yeah. Can we work through something maybe. Or if it's just a thing, it. That's a no. It's a no. And it should be from you or us. And I just, I don't know any sales people or any sales coach that, that talks about that. They, they, some very lightly like, you know, get, get to know fast. I'm like, but do you really mean that? Do you really mean that? I think what you do, what you mean by that is let's get through my process. I'm going to ask you for the order and then you're going to tell me no fast. That's not what get to know fast is for me. Get to know fast is one, one meeting with you, Bill, and go, man, where you guys are at startup wise, that's not really what our program's for.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I'm gonna suggest you go somewhere else after 15 minutes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And mean it. And it's not a move.

[B]

And it's not a move. It's not some kind of a manipulative strategy to get to know so that, so that you can then pull out your, you know, the real tools.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Real, real weapons.

[A]

The handlers. The objection handler.

[B]

Exactly. My no. A bag of how to handle. No.

[A]

Now are we done now, Bill? Are we. Is that it? Are we done? Can we talk now that we're done?

[B]

Now that we're done. Oh, I'm guilty. I'm guilty of using that back in the.

[A]

Well, that's it. But it was modern then. It was modern then. It was, it was modern. And it's not, it's really old now and tired.

[B]

So here's, here's what I would recommend on the trust deficit, if you feel like there might be that. And it's, it's usually in companies where buyers have been so conditioned for average, average vendors that when you come in and with all shiny and bright and all the hoopla, they don't believe you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I think one way to build that trust gap to fill it is to be explicitly clear about the process which we talked about. Number one, what is the process that you, that they will go through in the event they want to talk to you and what are the milestones along that process? So that here's a yes, no place. Here's where we decide whether it's a fit or not. After the second call, we decide that and just get get a little bit more intentional and explicit about what? What this, what the buying process. We talk about sales. What's the buying process? Look.

[A]

Yeah, that's really good. I love it. You want to pick this one up next episode?

[B]

Let's pick it up next episode because I got 27 more here.

[A]

Continued on we're gonna write a book about buyer behavior. Check out the insider [e-mail] go join that. Live coaching from my friend bill and big LinkedIn group. We've got 13 or 14,000 of you on a LinkedIn group. Go join that. We'll post things up there periodically. And that's it. See you next time.

[B]

See you next time.

[A]

Bye.