Customers usually remain open to people who are just like them: real people. Sales professionals who are just as often customers themselves and are not only able to listen without impatience, but also put themselves in the customer's place allowing them to understand what the customer's real needs are. Being genuine is where building high trust with customers begins.

To maintain a habit of being real with your prospects and clients, remember the contents of the acronym R.E.A.L.

Real.

Empathetic. To understand the customers' needs, you must be able to put yourself in their shoes; and that shouldn't be difficult because you are just as often a customer as they are. To improve your ability to empathize with your customers, take mental (or physical) notes as you walk through the isles of each retail store you frequent. What you'll find is that the things that delight or disgust you are often the same things that delight or disgust your customers. And when you can readily make that association in your sales efforts, you'll find that customers are much more comfortable with you.

Authentic. It should go without saying that if you're not completely honest with prospects and clients, you will rarely win their business, let alone their respect. In High Trust Selling I dispel many of the myths of the sales profession that seem to indicate you can be both deceitful and successful at the same time. You see, when it comes to long-term sales success, the bottom line is that trust must be at the foundation of your client relationships. Without trust at the foundation of your success, you're just building a house of cards in a whirling wind. It will eventually fall. Build with trust and you success will be sturdy.

Likeable. As simple as it may sound, being likeable is probably the most important ingredient to giving a good first impression. I have come across many an unlikable salesperson in my time, and it always surprises me. It always makes me wonder, How do they keep their jobs? Because you see, no one wants to maintain a relationship—even a business relationship—with an unpleasant person. But when you're likeable, people are not only attracted to you, they tend to be much more forgiving when you make a mistake here and there. And that's something that may certainly come in handy someday.

Glenn was an average salesperson. In fact, he'd been that way for 10 years. He'd had his good months and he'd had his bad months. But all in all, he'd just managed to pay the bills, save up his vacation days, and put away some money for a fly-fishing trip he'd always wanted to take. Yet deep down, he wasn't satisfied, and his discontent was beginning to mount.

As Glenn embarked on his eleventh year in sales, one question began to move from the back to the front of his mind: What do I really enjoy about this job? The answer, he felt, was something he'd never considered. After a few days of deliberation, he came up with one answer. The people. His customers. Although he didn’t have many that came to him over and over, he still enjoyed getting to know new people. This year, his eleventh year of selling, he decided would be a year that he'd just focus on getting to know people. And if it didn't work, he'd just go fishing for a few months and see what came up.

In a moment of apathy, Glenn decided he didn't have much to lose. Selling had just been a job, but not a vocation. He'd just be himself, the Glenn that his friends knew and respected. Not a salesperson. Just a person. And if that didn't work, he'd take some time off and reevaluate his career.

But something happened that Glenn didn't expect. The more himself he was with his customers, the more they seemed to buy from him. For the first time in his career, he began to develop genuine relationships with his customers. And the customers began to return to him. Not only that, they began to introduce him and his business to their friends and family. In fact, at the end of his eleventh year, Glenn had sold 25% more than any other year he'd been in sales. The next year his sales increased another 20%. And after his thirteenth year of selling, Glenn had actually doubled his tenth year production.

Today, Glenn still maintains a significant flow of sales from those clients and their friends and family whom he met in that eleventh year of selling. And what's even better is that all he does with the majority of his time is build and foster relationships. What started as a half-hearted effort to phase out of selling became Glenn's epiphany and his businesses' eureka. And all it took was just being himself.

Often, as salespeople, much of what we do and say off the job has to do with keeping to a certain status or reputation that we've created on the job. Is the person that your colleagues and clients see each day the same person that your family and friends know when you're not working? Would your family and friends be shocked to see the person you become when you step through your office door? For some, these are tough questions to consider; but they're questions that we all must answer because becoming the best salesperson you can be begins by being genuine.

You can't go to work and all of a sudden become a genuine, heartfelt salesperson. There isn't a phone booth on the way to work that has magical power to change you from an unhappy, dissatisfied, or pessimistic person to a sales superhero. Unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and cynicism off the job can't be hidden on the job. And vice versa. If you approach work with a level of displeasure, disapproval, or lack of enthusiasm, those feelings will run over into your personal life - no matter how good you are at stuffing your feelings and emotions. While you may not have a single gripe with a family member or friend, you will find that when your patience runs thin with clamoring customers, your temper will be shorter at home too. It's what psychiatrists call projecting; and we all tend to do it. It is only when you learn to be honest with yourself and those closest to you that you begin to find the freedom to express yourself consistently no matter what shoes you're wearing.

To determine whether you have become a poser, honestly answer the following three questions, then seek to make the necessary changes to become genuine on and off the job:

First, you have to ask yourself: Who is the real you? Do you feel more yourself when you're at home, but still feel you have to put on a salesperson mask when you ride to work? Let me free you from that tendency. Customers don't want you to act like a salesperson. It's good to constantly remind yourself that the salesperson stereotype is still not a positive one - and I don't know if it ever will be because, unfortunately, there will always be sneaky, selfish salespeople. And most customers try to avoid salespeople that seem underhanded and bent on getting the sale no matter what. Take off the salesperson mask and just be yourself.

Second, ask yourself: Is the real you someone that would be attractive to the average customer? If you are not naturally an outgoing, friendly, ambitious person, sales may not be the career for you. I'm serious. I am always amazed at how many people in the worldwide sales community are unfriendly, shy, or apathetic. Now, I don't suspect that anyone would actually readily admit that they are rude. But here's a way to determine if you have the personality of a sales superstar. Ask those closest to you to give you some brutally honest feedback on your personality. If you find that a consistent thread throughout the answers you receive is a character trait that could be detrimental to successful, genuine selling, then determine what needs to be done to improve your attitude and approach toward the sales profession. And if you don't know, ask those who gave you the feedback. Those who know us best usually prove to have some great insight that can help us improve.

Third, ask yourself: Is there anything that I do or say while on the job that would surprise those who know me best? If your family or closest friends saw you throwing back beers with coworkers during Tuesday's happy hour, would they be shocked? Would that image of you be contrary to the image you've portrayed to those closest to you? How about this one: Would the way you talk to your employees, assistants, or coworkers be in keeping with the character your loved ones know and respect? If there is anything that you do on the job that is contrary to your real character, then take the time to evaluate what immediate changes you need to make in your actions. And remember that it takes a little practice to change a bad habit. Stick to your changes and before long you'll find that you don't have to try so hard at work when you're the same person on and off the job.