Why Should Anyone Believe You?

Imagine for a moment a scientist, quietly working away in their musty chemical smelling lab late one evening, peering deep into their microscope. They stretch, rub their eyes, and put the next glass slide under the eyepiece. They blink. Sit up. They look around with their heart pumping. They quickly gaze back through the eyepiece. Surely it can't be true. They look again.

Yes! They have finally solved a medical riddle that has been plaguing mankind for generations. With this discovery they will save the suffering of hundreds of people each year – creating health where there was previously sickness. Life where there was previously death. Hope where there was none.

Now ... do you think they have a responsibility for sharing this discovery with people? With testing to make sure it really was true. With actively seeking out people that could benefit from their discovery and sharing their knowledge? Do you believe that they should do everything in their power to shout their message from the rooftops – so that even just one person can hear it?

why should people believe you What would happen if they told a few people of their discovery but didn't back it up with further studies, and when the word didn't get out as fast as they wanted, if they just bundled up their research and put it in a drawer. Would they be giving up? Would the world be a worse place for the loss?

Businesses are just like this scientist. The market is full of great products ... I mean there are really great products out there that quietly fade away. These products and services solve problems and create easy solutions that other products and services on the market don't.

Maybe these products and services are not the difference between life and death – but they certainly are the solution to irritations, or things that bug people, so they still have value.

The thing to remember is if you have created something brilliant, there are people who need your product or service, and it is your responsibility to help them solve their problem – they just need to know about you.

But creating something great isn't enough. Just because you have created something fabulous – doesn't mean people will automatically buy it.

People are naturally sceptical. We all grew up with the stories of "Chicken Little" and the "Boy who Cried Wolf" – we may have been excited initially, but as we grew we want to see hard evidence before we get excited about pretty much anything these days.

We want proof that something works. So - scientists start gathering data from trials. They replicate their experiments and then move onto human trials. They gather statistics to see what worked and any side effects. They modify chemical compositions based on the trials and then finally release their findings and after a lot of research and effort, the product finally makes it onto the market.

In business, people need to do the same thing. We want to see the proof. We want to see the results of the clinical trials – we are swayed more by the positive reviews of other people than by the announcement of the breakthrough. We want to see that it really does work.

Yet most businesses fail at this step. They create something great, tell people about it and wonder why they don't get the results they are looking for. They fail in gathering testimonials and proof that something actually does work. Their marketing material still focuses on the claims and the razzle-dazzle, with no proof behind it to back it up.

Until there is proof - people's natural reaction is "Why should I believe you".

So if your online business is not converting or your marketing is not getting a great response – take a good hard look at your material and ask yourself "Where's the Proof?" You need to take action to help people believe your claims.

Get some great heartfelt testimonials and regularly share them with people. I've seen this done by interspersing them with other writing, by a call-out box, by pages added on the end of the document. I've seen them written in chalk on a window or chalkboard and I have seen them filmed or recorded.

Take planned action to get testimonials. Take a leaf out the Big Brown Box's book and automate your testimonial getting. Ask people more than once if need be – just get them.

Don't be afraid of comparison tests and product reviews – these all add weight to your claims.

At the end of the day – you want to celebrate sharing your discovery with as many people as you can, rather than quietly putting it away in a drawer. You want to answer the question why people should believe you – as that is one of the greatest secrets to business success.

HR Tip of the Week - Choosing the Right Customer Service Staff

The most important people in any business are not the CEO and management team, but the frontline customer service staff. These often lowly paid workers, are the ones who create the memorable moments with your customers. Ideally you want them to create positive memorable moments and not negative ones.

So what are you looking for in the best customer service staff - both online and offline:

Personal responsibility: If the words "that is not my job or not my area" leave their lips at any point, they are not the people you are looking for. The best customer service team accept personal responsibility for resolving issues and building a great team.
High Initiative: They need to see a problem and be able to work out what they can do to fix it without waiting for 10 levels of approval.
Understanding of internal politics & policies: High initiative needs to be counter balanced with an understanding of which egos need to be stroked and what the broader rules are. You are looking for high initiative within boundaries.
Solid grasp on English - both written and spoken. If customers are already upset when they contact your customer service staff and then can't make themselves understood by your team, or can't understand what the person is saying - then you are adding fuel to the fire. You need to be conscious of this and either have rapid escalation processes in place if this starts to happen or ensure your hiring practices deal with this issue.
Empathy: Your team must be able to understand and empathise with the feelings of the person - not just be cold and logical. Unless the emotions are appropriately dealt with, the underpinning issue will not be seen to successfully resolved.
Speed. Problems need to be resolved today and not tomorrow. How fast do people tackle the hard issues? Do they leave the ticket open or do they take action to solve the problem?
Resilience & confidence. Your team will face a bit of flak at times. How resilient are they in the face of negative approaches? How confidently can they present the solutions?

Build these into your next selection process and you should get some real winners.

Product of the Week - Management Training By the Book II

Long term readers know I really love the work of the Training Bank in the USA. They have taken some of their best courses they teach managers on building their core management skills - and converted them into easy to follow ebooks.

Well ... they have just released another great book "Management Training by the Book II" - and it picks up where the first book left off.

This e-book covers training for managers in:

Strategic Planning
Reward and Recognition Programs
Conducting Career Discussion
Effective Interviewing
Facilitating Group Dynamics
Get off my back! Is your manager a micro-manager?
Group Decision Making
Conducting a Job Analysis
Meeting Management
Orientation Programs
Making Effective Presentations
Self Directed Work Teams: An Overview
Time Management

All of their training material is practical, to the point and definitely a must for all managers. If you can't afford the time or expense of attending an off-site course, then this is a great option.

And to make it even better - for the first 500 customers they are offering a special introductory price of just $19.95US.

Check out the contents here (and check out my personal favourite book of theirs, "Management Training by the Book I" while you are there.)

If you are a manager - you need this book! It's that simple.

Blog Post of the Week: Looking into the Big Brown Box

Big Brown Box exploded into the online world and now dominate the retail whitegoods and electronic goods in Australia. What was their secret to success? 12 months of prep work before the first thing was made public. In this post I share some of the things Big Brown Box did during those 12 months of silence.

exuberantly yours

Ingrid

Heart Harmony

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriters

PS: This week's Small Business Tips blog included a post about "Random Technology Thoughts"

Legal stuff: This newsletter is intended only a general guideline for Australian businesses. You should seek specific advice for your situation rather than relying only on this newsletter

Earnings disclaimer. Some of the content may include advertorial information, which means I may receive financial compensation for the products I recommend. But - unless I know and trust the product, I will not recommend it.

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