EP #475 - Manuel Hartmann: Why Trust is Broken in Sales – And How to Restore It

Feb 16, 2025

Manuel Hartmann, Founder and CEO of SalesPlaybook and former Tesla employee, dives into the critical topic of trust in sales. He shares insights on the 'speed of trust' and highlights how AI-driven practices often erode this essential quality. Manuel discusses the need for authenticity in sales communication and the role of CRM solutions in fostering trust. He also addresses the competitive landscape shaped by companies like HubSpot and emphasizes how genuine care and problem-solving can restore trust in sales relationships.

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INSIGHT

Speed of Trust Definition

"Speed of trust" is about how quickly trust is established with stakeholders.
It's crucial in sales, where trust is often broken due to impersonal tactics.

ANECDOTE

Fastest Buyer

Manuel Hartmann closed a 40k deal in six days because the client already trusted him.
The client had engaged with his content, attended events, and sought references.

ADVICE

AI as a Trust Breaker

AI can break trust in sales if it pretends to be human.
Be transparent about AI usage, especially in videos or personalized messages.

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Timestamps:

4:48 - What is ‘speed of trust’?

7:40 - Why AI is a trust-breaker

12:35 - Cultivating customer trust

23:15 - Hubspot taking market share

33:43 - Learning from other people’s mistakes

This episode was co-produced by the SalesPlaybook, DACHs' leading B2B Sales & HubSpot agency for fast-growing 7-8 figure entrepreneurs to increase pipeline, revenue & sales efficiency.

About Manuel Hartmann:

Manuel Hartmann is the founder and CEO of SalesPlaybook, a sales agency with 7-figure annual revenue helping clients like bexio, Beekeeper, Skribble, Brame & Urban Connect. He holds an MA in Business Innovation from HSG and worked for companies such as Tesla, Accenture and Onedot before founding SalesPlaybook in 2019.

During his chat with us, Manuel discussed “speed of trust”, a concept first developed by Stephen M.R. Covey in his book of the same name. Speed of trust is the speed at which trust is established with clients, employees, and all stakeholders. Manuel applies this concept specifically to sales, where, according to him, trust is currently rather broken, due to practices like sending mass AI-written cold emails and email-bombing prospects who have not opened a salesperson’s previous emails.

It’s easy for us to understand and recognize trust in our personal lives: we do not need a 17 page contract to move in with our best friend — we simply trust that it will work out fine. But how can we scale this, especially in a field where trust needs to be restored? Manuel recommends doing things that don’t scale: send postcards, meet people in person. He is also a fan of the 4/7/11 framework, according to which salespeople need to meet a prospect in 4 different locations, spend 7h with the prospect in total (not necessarily consecutively) and have 11 touchpoints with them (email, whatsapp, etc). This framework has been proven to work at a neurobiological level when it comes to creating trust. Finally, Manuel urges salespeople to ask for referrals. Only 10% of salespeople do so, when 90% of happy customers would gladly give a referral — so there’s an 80% gap that is ours for the taking.

The cover portrait was edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.smartportrait.io⁠⁠
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