How Top Sales Professionals Build Trust and Boost Productivity

In sales, trust isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s the accelerator.

Trust shortens the sales cycle, eliminates friction, improves close rates, and strengthens long-term relationships. As Stephen M.R. Covey coined it, “There is a speed of trust.” When trust exists, decisions are made faster, conversations are more candid, and deals move forward with less resistance.

So how do great salespeople earn that trust? The answer is a blend of hard skills (measurable, teachable tactics) and soft skills (emotional intelligence, adaptability, authenticity). Let’s break down both—and explore why trust is one of the most powerful sales multipliers.

The Hard Skills That Build Trust

These are the technical skills, methods, and practices great salespeople use to earn credibility:

1. Preparation and Research

Great sales professionals know more than just the name and title of the buyer. They dive into the buyer’s business, industry trends, pain points, and even public data like recent earnings reports or leadership changes. This level of preparation signals respect and instantly earns attention.

2. Consistent Follow-Up

Trust isn't built in a single call. It’s established through consistency. The best salespeople are organized with their outreach. They follow up when they say they will. They provide timely responses. Their reliability of good communications becomes part of their brand.

3. Transparent Pricing and Process

No one likes hidden costs, vague terms, or slippery tactics. Trustworthy sellers lay it all out: pricing structures, implementation timelines, contract terms ...warts and all. They don't dodge hard questions; they welcome them.

4. Proof Points and Case Studies

Sales pros who can back up their claims with facts, not fluff, build confidence quickly. Testimonials, quantified outcomes, success stories from similar customers. These serve as social proof that you deliver real results.

5. Deep Product Knowledge

A great salesperson isn’t just a relationship builder, they're also a trusted advisor. That means knowing their product or service deeply enough to answer questions, configure the right solution, and avoid overselling features that don’t apply.

The Soft Skills That Build Trust

While hard skills earn credibility, soft skills build connection.

1. Authenticity

There’s nothing more trust-eroding than a salesperson who sounds like they’re reading a script or wearing a mask. The best reps bring their full selves to the conversation. They speak like real humans, share real stories, and show vulnerability when appropriate.

2. Empathy

Empathy is the superpower of elite sellers. Understanding what the buyer is feeling, not just what they’re saying, allows the rep to tailor their approach, acknowledge risk, and build a human-to-human (authentic) bond.

3. Active Listening

Too many salespeople wait for their turn to speak. The best listen with intention. They ask clarifying questions. They restate what they’ve heard. They make the buyer feel seen and understood, which is foundational to trust.  The top 20% of salespeople spend over 60% of the sales meeting listening.

4. Curiosity

Curiosity communicates that the salesperson isn’t here to push a product, but to understand the prospect’s world. It’s the difference between “Here’s what I sell” and “Tell me what you’re trying to solve.”

5. Humility

Humble salespeople admit when they don’t have the answer. They’re not afraid to say, “Let me find out and get back to you.” Paradoxically, that kind of humility actually increases perceived competence and builds trust.

How Trust Fuels Better Sales Productivity

Trust isn’t just about closing a deal—it’s about compounding efficiency over time. Here’s how:

• Shorter Sales Cycles: Buyers who trust you ask fewer questions, need less convincing, and get to “yes” faster.
• Fewer Objections: Trust reduces skepticism. Prospects stop looking for “the catch” and start exploring real partnership.
• Higher Win Rates: When buyers trust the rep, they’re more likely to choose them, even if the competition is cheaper.
• Stronger Referrals: Happy customers refer others, but only if they trust the salesperson who helped them.
• Repeat Business: A trusted relationship means the rep can re-engage with less friction when upsell or renewal opportunities arise.

Last Thought ...Trust Is a Force Multiplier

In the modern sales landscape where buyers are more informed, more skeptical, and more overloaded, trust is the differentiator. It doesn’t matter how slick your pitch is if the buyer doesn’t believe you have their best interests at heart.

Trust transforms a transaction into a relationship, a deal into a partnership, and a salesperson into a strategic ally.

And when you’ve got that? There’s no limit to how fast—and how far—you can go.


Author's Note: I'd recently quoted a prospective customer a project in the five-figures ($$$).  So, it was a meaningful investment for them.  They misinterpreted an aspect of the proposal and what the full cost would be.  When I explained this to them, I neglected to take into consideration how and why my lack of empathy and compromise would result in an immediate erosion of trust.  Because I was only seeing things from my side, and failed to understand how my poor word choice in the proposal caused them to believe the price would be one thing and the reality was another, I broke trust with them.  The right thing to do would have been to repeat back to them that I understood their issue, take shared responsibility, and met them half way (split the $$$ difference) as a bulwark of trust.  Instead, I held firm and lost the entire deal.  By the time I realized this and went back to them, they had moved on.  Trust is hard to win and easy to lose.