This is the most important type of trust that a salesperson can develop. The seller's objective is not just to make sales, but also to develop trust-based business relationships that lead their buyers to perceive that the seller is a competent professional with the client's best interests always first and foremost in that professional's thinking and actions. When the seller actively engages the buyer in the process, in a collaborative way, this trust is strengthened. One action tool that helps meet the consultative seller's objectives to engage the buyer in the process in a collaborative way and to develop the buyer's trust in the seller's recommendations is the Discovery Agreement. This step within the overall selling procedure is derived from the practice of discovery in both civil and criminal law.
Discovery is the pre-trial procedure by which one party gains information held by another party.
In certain legal cases, the discovery must be reciprocal, and both parties agree to the evidence the discovery process uncovers. In both professions, power is derived from disclosing what one has discovered from factfinding and the other party then agrees to those findings. Here's what to do. Ask for your prospect's agreement that this information is correct so that you can proceed with your work to study the situation and develop your recommendations. Keep it simple.