Some unbelievable research I read a few years back changed how I sell (and the results I got). I was in my 3rd year as a seller and pretty average. Had a couple solid quarters, a couple garbage ones, and one-time, managed to get #1 rep for a month.
But I wasn’t going very far. Then I read this piece of research (which I’ve shortened but kept the sources for anyone curious):
It doesn't really matter whether the message is strong or weak what matters is whether the source is credible or not (Chaiken & Maheswaran 1994, Kumkale & Albarracin, 2004)
Okay, what???
You’re telling me the way people decide whether to take action or make a judgement call has very little to do with the actual message but rather whether they believe the messenger is credibile?
This made me start thinking, “Well how credible am I?”
Like am I really doing anything that shows my buyer that I know my shit. That this is my area of expertise. You might have this conversation once a month or year as a buyer, but I have this conversation daily with people in your position.
Now the mistake that gets made is people equate trust and credibility. You need credibility to be trusted, but trust takes time.
It requires multiple interactions and consistency for someone to trust a complete stranger. And even the slightest shadiness can reset the trust level back to zero, especially with skeptical buyers.
Credibility on the otherhand? It’s instant. We make snap judgements all the time about a person’s credibility just on how they look and present themselves. It’s part of our stereotyping that we sometimes can’t stop doing.
So start asking yourself just how credible am I? What can I do to flex my credibility to a buyer and make them realize I’m a domain expert?
Events & Updates
We back! Join us today for live cold calling. Feedback from this show has been amazing, so Omar and I are definitely gonna keep doing it weekly on Thursdays.
Next week Jed Mahrle and I are doing a takeover of each other’s newsletters. Jed is an outbound sales genius, and he’s gonna bring the fire. I’ll try to bring on a guest post once a month from people I really respect and hold in high regard.
Where's the link, lol
Excellent Training