Selling as an Expert Witness
Selling as an Expert Witness
Unfortunately, after your direct testimony comes the cross-examination. That’s when the opposing attorney—-otherwise known as Satan-—does his damnedest to refute, or actually to get you to refute, weaken, mitigate and/or contradict as much of what you just testified to as he possible can. The first time you testify, your natural tendency is to contest every one of the points he’s trying to make. You after all are the expert, the authority. You’ve staked out your position, you’ve delivered the word of God and this non-expert—-this attorney—-is attacking it, by extension attacking you, maybe even attacking God.
The cross examination can quickly degenerate into argument, even a holy war. And that’s exactly what the opposing attorney—-Satan—-wants. Because the more of a combatant he can make you appear, the less you look like the impartial bearer of objective truth.
It’s all right to be an advocate. Everybody already knows you’re being very handsomely paid by the side that hired you. And in case there’s someone on the jury from Mars who might not realize that, the opposing attorney will be sure to point it out first chance he gets. And even the Martian is going to realize that they aren’t paying you because you disagree with their position. Still, even as an advocate, the closer you come to wearing that mantel of objective truth, the more you grant the opposition their legitimate points, the more credible the rest of your testimony—all those points you needed to make your case-—will be.
You Are the Expert Witness
As a salesperson, you are the expert witness. You’re confident, knowledgeable, authoritative. You know what you’re talking about. You’ve sold yourself so you believe what you’re saying. Why shouldn’t you? You’re telling the truth. You make your case, your best possible case. You never have to deny you’re an advocate or to pretend not to be. The Doubting Thomas in the mind of your prospect wouldn’t believe it anyway.
“I’m not a salesperson, Mr. D.T. I’m a lighting consultant.”
“So how do you get paid, Mr. Consultant?”
“The company I work for, Komfort Kitchens, pays me, of course.”
“For recommending the best possible fixtures for my needs.”
“Absolutely.”
“Even if some other company might have the best product.”
“Well . . . I think you’ll find that our products can meet any need you might have.”
“So you’re selling Komfort Kitchen products.”
“I’m consulting on which Komfort products might be best for your needs.”
“I see. And as a consultant you get paid by the hour or you’re on salary—so you can be
completely objective?”
“Well . . . Actually . . .”
The More You Spend, the More I Make
Personally, I’m more likely to say, “Hey, D.T., I don’t want you to forget—I work on commission here. The more you spend, the more I make. Now, let me tell you why you need to be spending more and making me more money.”
Truth is the ultimate sales tool.
Call yourself consultant or salesperson, call yourself Kip the Amazing Kitchen Counselor or whatever you like. You demonstrate your consultative approach by being consultative. You show your concern for the customer by showing your concern for the customer: in your behavior, in everything you say and do. Not simply by claiming to be a consultant.
So you make your best possible case. Then you grant the other side, you grant old D.T., his legitimate points. When he’s right, he’s right. Why deny it? Sure you might be able to fool him for a while, perhaps even long enough to make the sale. But reality has a nasty way of rearing its ugly head. That’s one of the worst features of reality. So Thomas is unlikely to stay fooled. And since being fooled is what he’s always dreaded, when he finds out it’s actually happened, you’ve lost him forever.
Besides, granting D.T. his legitimate points generates such massive credibility that your points-—the points you need to make your case and the sale-—should easily trump his.
If you’re confident in your product, your service, your offer, if you’ve already sold them to yourself, why should you be afraid to admit that the product, service or offer might have a few negatives? To me, it’s a lot easier to sell a product with a few negatives than it is to try to convince someone that I’ve got a perfect product: perhaps the only perfect product that’s ever existed in the history of the planet.
Selling as an Expert Witness - To learn more about this author, visit Barry Maher's Website.
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As a self-appointed guru on sales and management and productivity, from time to time I’ve been hired to appear in court as an expert witness. I love expert witnessing. You sit up on a throne at the front of the courtroom and, like Moses down from Mt. Sinai, you deliver the word of God to the mortals who sit at your feet, hanging on your every word-—even transcribing those words for posterity. And the attorney who hired you—like an attending angel-—tosses you softball questions, which you proceed to knock out of the park. (A mixed metaphor I know, but you get the idea.)
Unfortunately, after your direct testimony comes the cross-examination. That’s when the opposing attorney—-otherwise known as Satan-—does his damnedest to refute, or actually to get you to refute, weaken, mitigate and/or contradict as much of what you just testified to as he possible can. The first time you testify, your natural tendency is to contest every one of the points he’s trying to make. You after all are the expert, the authority. You’ve staked out your position, you’ve delivered the word of God and this non-expert—-this attorney—-is attacking it, by extension attacking you, maybe even attacking God.
The cross examination can quickly degenerate into argument, even a holy war. And that’s exactly what the opposing attorney—-Satan—-wants. Because the more of a combatant he can make you appear, the less you look like the impartial bearer of objective truth.
It’s all right to be an advocate. Everybody already knows you’re being very handsomely paid by the side that hired you. And in case there’s someone on the jury from Mars who might not realize that, the opposing attorney will be sure to point it out first chance he gets. And even the Martian is going to realize that they aren’t paying you because you disagree with their position. Still, even as an advocate, the closer you come to wearing that mantel of objective truth, the more you grant the opposition their legitimate points, the more credible the rest of your testimony—all those points you needed to make your case-—will be.
You Are the Expert Witness
As a salesperson, you are the expert witness. You’re confident, knowledgeable, authoritative. You know what you’re talking about. You’ve sold yourself so you believe what you’re saying. Why shouldn’t you? You’re telling the truth. You make your case, your best possible case. You never have to deny you’re an advocate or to pretend not to be. The Doubting Thomas in the mind of your prospect wouldn’t believe it anyway.
“I’m not a salesperson, Mr. D.T. I’m a lighting consultant.”
“So how do you get paid, Mr. Consultant?”
“The company I work for, Komfort Kitchens, pays me, of course.”
“For recommending the best possible fixtures for my needs.”
“Absolutely.”
“Even if some other company might have the best product.”
“Well . . . I think you’ll find that our products can meet any need you might have.”
“So you’re selling Komfort Kitchen products.”
“I’m consulting on which Komfort products might be best for your needs.”
“I see. And as a consultant you get paid by the hour or you’re on salary—so you can be
completely objective?”
“Well . . . Actually . . .”
The More You Spend, the More I Make
Personally, I’m more likely to say, “Hey, D.T., I don’t want you to forget—I work on commission here. The more you spend, the more I make. Now, let me tell you why you need to be spending more and making me more money.”
Truth is the ultimate sales tool.
Call yourself consultant or salesperson, call yourself Kip the Amazing Kitchen Counselor or whatever you like. You demonstrate your consultative approach by being consultative. You show your concern for the customer by showing your concern for the customer: in your behavior, in everything you say and do. Not simply by claiming to be a consultant.
So you make your best possible case. Then you grant the other side, you grant old D.T., his legitimate points. When he’s right, he’s right. Why deny it? Sure you might be able to fool him for a while, perhaps even long enough to make the sale. But reality has a nasty way of rearing its ugly head. That’s one of the worst features of reality. So Thomas is unlikely to stay fooled. And since being fooled is what he’s always dreaded, when he finds out it’s actually happened, you’ve lost him forever.
Besides, granting D.T. his legitimate points generates such massive credibility that your points-—the points you need to make your case and the sale-—should easily trump his.
If you’re confident in your product, your service, your offer, if you’ve already sold them to yourself, why should you be afraid to admit that the product, service or offer might have a few negatives? To me, it’s a lot easier to sell a product with a few negatives than it is to try to convince someone that I’ve got a perfect product: perhaps the only perfect product that’s ever existed in the history of the planet.
Selling as an Expert Witness - To learn more about this author, visit Barry Maher's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Speaker, Trainer, Barry Maher - EvanCarmichael.com expert Barry Maher is a motivational keynote speaker and workshop leader, who speaks and trains on leadership, management, communication and sales. And when it comes to sales training, as Selling Power magazine writes, "To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business."
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