Trust Earning Perceptions of Sellers and Buyers

Abstract

Success in selling demands effective trust earning behavior. This article examines and compares the perceptions of manufacturers' reps and purchasing executives in relation to this process of earning the buyer's trust. The results indicate statistically significant differences over the two groups in their perceptions of how various trust earning components contribute to the development of buyer trust. Manufacturers' reps overestimated the trust earning potential of the “likeable,” “competent,” and “dependable” constructs. Manufacturers' reps also held an inflated view of the overall extent to which they were trusted by purchasing executives.