The Credibility Factor
Jonathan ?? Pritchard
Does your company exhibit at 2+ trade shows a year? What if there's a way to get 2-5x more business from your booth? Would that be worth a conversation?
These are reviews of my local once-a-month mind reading show here in Asheville.
It named it the “Asheville Mind Reading Show.”
(Never bury the lead. Lede? Whatever.)
Anyways.
There are two points I want to talk about.
First: Persuasion is a function of trust, and trust is built by demonstrating ability.
Can you do what you say you can do? Awesome, you’re on your way to being credible.
The more often you can Do The Thing?, the better. The more consistently you can Do The Thing?, the better.
This is where it’s important for you to play the short-term game in a way that encourages people to play with you over time.
Mega long-term game win here.
Second: Credibility is established more by other people than by you.
If you say you’re good, you’re bragging. If other people say you’re good, it’s a testimonial.
(Some would say it’s not bragging if its true, but we’d tell me them that it’s not helping…)
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Of course you’re going to say you’re good. Why wouldn’t you say that?
But we are social creatures. We pay attention to what our friends say.
Did my friend say you’re awesome? Cool! I’m going to be WAY more likely to think you’re awesome before we ever even talk.
Even weirder?
People trust online reviews nearly as much as a personal referral from a friend.
Even though there are bot reviews, even though there are review farms, even though we don’t know that reviewer personally.
Sure, there’s not as much trust as in-person, but there’s way more than you think.
The Lesson
If you want to be more persuasive, get as many people telling the world that you’re great at what you do.
How do we do that?
That’s for another time.
?? Jonathan Pritchard is a mentalist-turned-consultant & the founder of ZAVANT enterprises, Academy of Applied Mentalism, & ROI Trade Shows.
Each project helps clients have more successful businesses through the power of better communication skills. He’s also the author of several books focused on the power of applied psychology, memory, and motivation.