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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.
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Leanne Hoagland Smith
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Barry Maher
(Visit Barry's Website)
Barry Maher is a leading writer, speaker,
trainer and motivator on sales,
leadership, management and communication.
He's appeared on the Today Show, NBC
Nightly News, MSNBC and is frequently
featured in publications like USA Today,
The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, the London Times and Business
Week.
Selling Power magazine declared, "To his
powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher
is simply the best sales trainer in the
business."
His client list includes ABC, AT&T, Budget
Rent a Car, Blue Cross, Fox Cable
Television, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, the
National Lottery of Ireland, Verizon and
innumerable smaller companies and
associations.
A keynote speaker and a workshop leader,
Maher is also the author of "Filling the
Glass," which was cited by Today's
Librarian magazine as "[One of] The Seven
Essential Popular Business Books.
His other books include "No Lie: Truth Is
the Ultimate Sales Tool," "The Prentice
Hall Marketing Yearbook," the niche book
"Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages
Advertising" and even the cult classic
fantasy novel, "Legend."
Contact him and or sign up for his free
newsletter at www.barrymaher
.com.
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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