About The Guest(s): Andrew grew up in South Africa and built one of the country’s largest healthcare consulting businesses. He has lived, worked, and run businesses on six continents, and has been a salesperson for 25 years.
Andrew is the author of The 11th Habit, a Tedx speaker, and a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Andrew is the founder of Habits at Work, where he and his team help customer-facing teams build relationships, create and leverage trust, and uncover their customer’s

needs beyond what’s on the surface.

Episode Summary: 

In this episode, Andrew Sykes discusses the importance of trust in sales and how it can be built in the first few minutes of a conversation. He shares his journey from being an actuary to starting his own business and becoming a professor of sales. Andrew emphasizes the need for salespeople to be trustworthy and highlights the perception-based nature of trust. He also discusses the current state of sales training and the opportunity to professionalize the sales profession. Andrew provides practical tips for building trust, such as making a positive first impression, finding common ground with prospects, and making promises and delivering on them. In this conversation, Andrew Sykes shares insights on building trust and making a strong first impression. He emphasizes the importance of building trust through small promises and micro-moments rather than grand gestures. Andrew also provides tips on building trust in a boardroom setting, such as greeting each person individually and taking the time to connect with them. He discusses the power of storytelling in sales and how well-told stories can inspire and influence others. Andrew's personal origin story framework is also shared as a tool for building trust. Lastly, Andrew shares his favorite sports team, music genre, movie, and place to visit.

Key Takeaways:

• Trust is crucial in sales and can be built in the first few minutes of a conversation.

  
  



• Salespeople should strive to be trustworthy and focus on building trust with prospects.

  
  



• The current sales training model often emphasizes quantity over quality, but there is an opportunity to professionalize the sales profession.

  
  



• Practical tips for building trust include making a positive first impression, finding common ground with prospects, and making and delivering on promises. Building trust is about making small promises and delivering on them in micro-moments.

  
  



• In a boardroom setting, take the time to greet each person individually and connect with them on a personal level.

  
  



• Storytelling is a powerful tool in sales as it allows others to see a future that includes their personal transformation.

  
  



• Craft a personal origin story that includes one sentence about credibility, one about why you do what you do, and one impactful sentence about the privilege of what you get to do.

  
  

Notable Quotes:

• "Customers decide that they want to buy from you before they decide if or what they want to buy from your company."

  
  



• "Your job is to stand apart as someone who others view as trustworthy."

  
  



• "Sales is the conversational art of helping another by speaking their preferred future into existence."

  
  



• "A well-told story is the gift of allowing others to see for themselves a future that has an opportunity for personal transformation."

  
  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

02:11 The Importance of Trust in Sales

10:00 Building Trust in the First Five Minutes

17:10 The Flaws of the Current Sales System

23:19 Shifting Towards a Customer-Centric Model

29:47 Creating Trust from the Start as an Entrepreneur

37:30 Building Trust in a Boardroom Setting

41:02 Authenticity and Personal Background

43:25 The Importance of Storytelling in Sales

48:03 Legacy and Personal Transformation

50:43 Quick Fire Round

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