Tweet

Selling as an Expert Witness

Written by: Barry Maher

Article Overview: When a salesperson pushes against a prospect, the prospect pushes back. And the salesperson loses. When the prospect pushes against the salesperson, the salesperson loses. To avoid pushing and being pushed, expert salespeople present themselves as expert witnesses.

Selling as an Expert Witness

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.

Related Articles
  Video Forensic Expert Witness
  Four Tips on Hiring a Video Forensic Expert
  How to Get Business to Drop Out of the Sky
  Internet Marketing Expert – Finding The Best
  Life Coaching | Business Coaching: How To Clarify Your Values

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Power of attorneys, wills - I charge $50.00 for a basic will - but I'm a paralegal, they can start anywhere from $100.00 and up if you have a lawyer prepare one. You can get the will kit and it cost approx $40.00 plus tax. You can do what is called a "holographic" Will which is one that is completely in your handwriting. These are free. You can type one up yourself there are samples on the internet you can follow just make sure you get one that represents your province. The Witnesses are one of the most important part of a Will because they are the ones that will confirm your signature if you are not here to confirm it. Make sure you choose a Witness that you can trace if you have to. You may want to take it to a lawyer to have it witnessed and they charged about $25.00 plus tax. Hope this helps!:)
Re: Kevin's Case Study #10 - When to become an entrepreneur? - When the bug bite you. A lot of successful entrepreneurs started in their teens or at school. Selling sweets to fellow students or lemonade to firends in the neighbourhood.
Re: This is Marketing Warfare! - Hey GT, I guess this was from a while back, and it'll test your memory a bit but could you possibly elaborate on Unique Selling Proposition? Can you give us some examples of good USPs?
Re: How can I promote my site? - I think because you have a very visual product you should focus on creating valuable videos and post them to sites like YouTube, Viddler and Expert Village. Some ideas for videos could be an overview of how to create an animated movie, tips for editing, how to find actors ...etc...provide value to your customers and they will flock to you like a magnet. Rachel
Blog pinging - Thanks Martin - yes, I do ping and it has been very effective. I'm currently on the first page of Google for Mastermind Group and on the second page for Selling to Small Business.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Online Business Ideas: A Look At Various Options

Marketing & Sales tools – going back to basics

How do you keep it together on a daily basis?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.