Strategic Application of the Trust Equation Model to Enhance Sales Team Effectiveness in the Indonesian Financing Sector

Abstract

Background: The financing industry in Indonesia is currently grappling with a significant trust deficit, largely driven by the proliferation of illegal online lending practices that have damaged public perception of legitimate financing institutions.
Purpose: This study aims to evaluate how the Trust Equation Model (TEM)—comprising Credibility, Reliability, Intimacy, and Self-Orientation—can enhance the sales effectiveness of marketing teams in financing companies and identify trust-based strategic priorities for implementation.
Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative approach was employed using Structural Equation Modelling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) to examine the causal relationships among trust dimensions and sales performance, complemented by the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to rank strategic initiatives based on expert judgment from industry professionals.
Findings/Results: SEM-PLS results demonstrate that reliability (β = 0.406) and intimacy (β = 0.197) exert the most substantial influence on sales team effectiveness, followed by self-orientation and credibility. AHP analysis highlights that "Marketing Training on Customer Trust and Product Transparency" holds the highest strategic priority (weight = 0.38), followed by emotional engagement and personalized communication.
Conclusion: The TEM provides a robust framework for improving sales effectiveness through trust-building capabilities. Behavioral attributes such as consistency, empathy, and customer centricity are essential for rebuilding customer relationships and driving performance in the financing sector.
Originality/value (State of the art): This study contributes novel insights by integrating behavioral modelling (SEM-PLS) with strategic decision-making tools (AHP), bridging the theoretical constructs of trust with actionable sales strategies tailored to the financial services industry, a domain that remains underexplored in the existing literature.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, customer trust, sales effectiveness, sem-pls, trust equation model