High Trust Selling

ReaderStrength™

Resources for Leaders

Vol. #9 9/12/03, Deanne G. Bryce, editor,

Book Review by A. Corrine Tharp

ReaderStrength™ is published monthly

©LeaderStrength Systems, Inc. 2003

High Trust Selling by Todd Duncan

What does selling have to do with leadership?” Whether we like it or not, we are all salespeople. From the day we are born we embark on our sales career! We cry to "sell” someone on the fact that we are uncomfortable. Whether it is hunger, a need to have a diaper change or the need for love and attention. As we grow there are other ways we work to “sell” someone on what we want to have happen for our benefit.

Leaders, in particular, must “sell” their visions, plans and ideas to staff, associates or clients in order to accomplish goals. As leaders we may not think of that as “selling”, but it is. Insert the word leadership in place of the word selling and read the book titled High Trust Selling by Todd Duncan for some amazing insights into leading others! Duncan writes,

"Most people can discern the difference between a salesperson who is out to make a dollar and one who is out to make a difference."

The same can be said of a leader. People can tell when leaders are out just to make a dollar or a name for themselves. Real leaders do much more than this by building trust within their team.

The book is structured with fourteen laws. Applying these laws can assist us in building trust. I have found them very helpful and applicable to all areas of life -- personal, family, business and leadership. Listed below are 4 of the 14 laws that will give you a taste of how the information presented in the book can apply to leadership.

The Law of the Iceberg states that the truest measure of your success is invisible to your clients. Like an iceberg there is much more to us than what we show the world. In terms of leadership, change the word client to “follower” or “team.” In any case, we need to dig deeper to find out why we are leading. First we might say we are leading because we want money and recognition. While that is important, we need to look deeper into our values and our purpose in order to be a better leader. I have learned that in order to lead others I have to continually work on me; that I am a constant work in progress.

The Law of the Summit states that your direction is a result of your perception. If you perceive failure as a dangerous and scary idea you will continually shy away from making real progress. Apparently perseverance isn’t enough. Duncan says,

“To continually move from your foundation toward success, you must have more than perseverance - you must have the right perception of failure.”

When we are the leader, we know that others look to us for our reaction to something that could be deemed a failure. I am learning to stay focused on what's right about a seeming failing situation and search for lessons I can learn from this experience and to convey my learning to others. Seeming failures are excellent stepping stones for growth.

The Law of Courtship states that for a relationship to be right on the outside, it must be right on the inside. Duncan uses the analogy of dating to explain that people move too fast into sales relationships. The same could be said of leadership relationships. When a new leader comes to a company or moves into a new role, they will improve their long-term results with the team they are leading if they take time to build relationships with people before starting to improve the performance of their new team. What does Duncan mean by relationships? Getting to know your team by learning to ask appropriate questions. Finding out if you have common values and expectations. Building lasting friendships and trust with people.

The Law of Incubation states that the most profitable relationships mature over time. This means we need to work harder to keep a good relationship than we did to get it. This law reminds me of the importance of being big enough to apologize when I have made a mistake or offended someone. I need to walk toward him or her and admit my mistake no matter how embarrassed I might feel. I feel it is more important to build integrity and trust with people than to always be right. People forgive us when we are honest with them.

My first introduction to Todd Duncan's ideas was when he was speaking at a business conference. I was very impressed with his philosophies and ideas and I can easily recommend reading High Trust Selling. There is something for us all to learn and I do believe that, "life is a constant work in progress." Going back to the Law of the Iceberg, “Having a secure foundation beneath the surface helps everything above follow suit.”

A. Corrine Tharp is a regular reader of ReaderStrength and business owner from Folsom, CA. She is affiliated with a global organization based in Atlanta, GA. Her passion is educating people on the realities of wealth building in today's economy and business development for the 21st century.

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