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For business owners, few things are as important as credibility. Business owners who don't take the time to maximize their credibility will struggle to secure favorable terms with suppliers, attract investors, retain existing customers, and close new deals. Through personal experience and the annual B2B BuyerSCAN survey conducted by my company, I've studied how credibility is destroyed and how to restore it.
Below I will tell you seven credibility killers that entrepreneurs should know about.
1. Not discoverable via an online search
When many business people encounter a potential business partner, employer or vendor, the first step is to conduct an online search. In our AI-driven world, people want to be assured that they are dealing with a legitimate company and person.
They're looking for information about competence and likeability and asking themselves: Is this person or company reputable? Is this someone I want to spend time with and work with? If they can't find you online, your credibility is called into question.
Since many of us have common names, it's worth taking the time to create a unique profile. For example, there are many Lee Smiths in the world, including a very famous baseball relief pitcher. But I created my professional profile with C. Lee Smith, which makes it a little easier to find me online.
I also encourage my team members to create a professional profile on sites like LinkedIn when they connect with my company. This strategy makes my employees easy to find.
A while back, we hired a sales professional who kept changing his name on his LinkedIn page. Some days he used only his first name. Other days he left out the fact that he was employed by my company. This behavior is sure to confuse potential clients and drive away business. Many of us wondered who he was hiding from, because he didn't make him easy to find. This sales professional didn't stay at my company long.
Related: Want to gain trust? Don't break any of these 4 links in the chain of credibility.
2. Ignorance of the potential customer’s industry/company
If you want to offer your product or service to another organization, avoid the opening sentence: “Tell me about your company.”
This statement shows the prospect that you haven't made the effort to research them. You obviously don't understand their business problems or how your solution can help them.
As a business owner, you are your company's most important salesperson. B2B buyers don't want to educate the salesperson. They expect the salesperson to know their industry. Our research shows that 46% of B2B buyers surveyed pay attention to how many years of experience a salesperson has in their industry. Unfortunately, 65% of salespeople don't even look at the buyer's website before making their offer.
If you don't have specific experience in the prospect's industry, do your homework. Follow trends in the industry. Comment on other people's LinkedIn posts about that industry. Being supportive and not self-serving will boost your credibility.
3. No reaction
Decision makers are busy people. They may not get back to a potential buyer or business partner immediately. For example, because they prioritize their daily activities, they may make the top candidate for a job opening wait a day before calling back.
As a seller, you have to accept this buyer behavior. However, buyers will not tolerate it from you.
If you ignore their offers, you show them that you don't care about them. With that attitude, you will have a hard time being successful.
4. Push for a decision
Many entrepreneurs are ambitious and impatient, but when that impatience leads to pressure on a decision maker, he or she loses credibility.
Your pushiness shows desperation and shows that you only care about yourself or need to get things over with quickly before new information comes to light. In fact, 38% of B2B buyers told us that a salesperson's pushy behavior can be a deal breaker.
Related: Every brand and entrepreneur should do this to ensure their credibility
5. Posting offensive content or misbehaving online
Your online profiles can destroy any credibility you've built with prospective clients. You should be especially careful with your LinkedIn presence. I tell my employees to keep their personal social media profiles separate from their professional listings. They are instructed not to include our company name or website on their personal social media.
This rule came about after one of my best friends was considering using a real estate agent in her hometown. While the agent's bio page looked professional, this person's X-Feed was full of rude and explicit content that was highly offensive. She quickly decided to switch to another agent.
To maintain your credibility, you should use a personal social media profile that is not linked to your full name. But even then, you should keep the tone of your online comments moderate. You can respectfully disagree with another person and still make your point.
6. Working with a dubious company – or having done so in the past
Half of B2B buyers make it clear that they would not answer a call or meet with someone, either now or in a previous job, associated with a company that was in the news for the wrong reasons.
If you have done business with a shady company in the past, don't try to cover it up. A determined buyer will find evidence of what you are trying to hide. A better strategy is to aggressively pursue damage control. I recommend developing a breakup story.
For example, you could say that you started looking for a new job immediately after the problems were announced. Or you could point out that you would never have accepted a position with the company if you had known what was happening.
Related: 10 Ways to Build Trust and Credibility with Your Customers
7. Poor treatment of support staff
When I'm screening a potential employee, supplier or business partner, I want to see how they behave in a non-professional setting. If they're in town, I invite them to meet me at a restaurant.
I arrive early and ask the head waiter to observe the behavior of my lunch partner. If I learn that the person is rude to staff who clear or wait, I have an indication of how they feel about people who provide service. Rudeness is a problem and I don't want arrogance to reflect badly on me.
Remember, your visibility in a company begins the moment you interact with an employee. Any negative behavior will trickle down through the hierarchy. Simply put, treating support staff poorly will not build your credibility with decision makers.
Entrepreneurs face a never-ending list of tasks. Despite the daily challenges you must overcome, building and maintaining your credibility is too important to neglect. One small misstep could require extra time and energy to restore your lost credibility.
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