How a Source of Proof Can Build Your Credibility

I played rugby at the tender age of 12 and foolishly didn’t wear a gum shield. In a rather brutal and physical scrum, I came a cropper and lost two front teeth.

Now at the age of 44, I’m having some dental implants done to replace these missing teeth and boy is there a lot of work involved.

I was referred to a firm of dentists, a private practise in Cheltenham and in the summer, I had my first appointment with Mike.

Now this man was going to do some major surgery in my mouth and I wanted to make sure he was up to the job. Yes he was referred to me by my own dentist, the plaque on the wall outside his surgery looked pretty impressive and the private clinic did look the part.

But Mike was young, very young and I guess I looked worried. But before I could ask, Mike began his re-assurance patter, in a very professional salesperson manner.

The first thing he said to me was his full name, his qualifications and his experience in the dental industry with particular mention of his familiarity with dental implants.

Looking for my reaction, he then provided me with a Source of Proof and went on to tell me about someone recently who had a similar problem to me and how his dental solution dramatically changed the person’s life.

He watched me closely and then provided another Source of Proof. Clever man.

In selling, particularly if you’re selling a big ticket item or involved in business to business selling, you need to have your reassurance statement and several Sources of Proof.

Your reassurance statement should include your name and your experience both in the customer’s industry or sector and your experience in dealing with similar problems to your customer.

So if you’re selling a mortgage to someone who is looking to release equity, state your name, details of your general mortgage market experience and particular experience in the equity release market.

Then have up your sleeve some Sources of Proof. These are so important and can be put to a variety of uses. Showing the customer you have handled similar situations to theirs before, building up your credibility or used to overcome an objection later on.

So what should your Source of Proof include?

The name of the previous customer (with their permission of course)
The industry sector
The pain or problems they were experiencing
The reasons or causes of the pain you established
The solution you recommended and the outcome that occurred
What your solution meant in money terms to the customer

Continually update your Sources of Proof so they remain fresh. Many salespeople ask their satisfied customers for these and give them a template to use to cover everything. Satisfied customers are usually happy to provide these.

So next time you’re beginning a meeting with a customer, remember to give them your reassurance statement and a Source of Proof to establish your professional credibility.

And yes, my treatment begins next year and being the big baby I am, I’m not looking forward to the pain, even though he had a Source of Proof for this one. Oh and I’d better come clean, actually the rugby story is a little white lie. I just fell over all those years ago and lost my two front teeth. The rugby story just sounds better!

Paul is an international sales speaker, sales trainer, author and coach based in the UK.

He specialises in rapport selling and rapport coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small.

Sign up to my weekly eZine of sales and coaching tips and get a free report on getting the best out of 2009 plus a free hypnotic relaxation MP3 to download. www.archertraining.co.uk

01452 730276

paul@paularcher.com

Blog – www.paularcher.com

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