Creating Credibility
Let's say you have some extra cash after getting a bonus that you're looking to invest. You have a dream of owning your own home one day so you connect with a financial advisor who says they can help your assets appreciate. Upon meeting the advisor, they don’t ask you a single question and recommend you put it all into TRUMPCoin. Of course, you fire him on the spot and find another advisor. Why? It’s not because you’re making a political statement, but because there’s no certainty that the crypto investment would get you any closer to your home-buying goals.
Your new financial advisor asks questions about your home buying timeline, gauges your risk appetite, educates you on why certain index funds dominate the mutual fund space, and shows data on which funds have performed consistently well over the last few decades. He also says most of his portfolio is similarly invested as he’s got a big-ticket purchase coming up as well. He recommends allocating a portion of funds in high yield savings and the rest S&P 500 index funds*. You invest all your money with this advisor. What happened here? The new advisor dramatically increased your certainty that a path forward would get you closer to your goals. This is your job as a salesperson.
In sales, a core challenge is accurately addressing the uncertainty that prevents a client from buying. Customers often experience doubt about your product's value, its fit for their needs, and even you or your company's reliability. At a high level, here’s how to bridge this uncertainty gap:
Deepen your understanding of the customer's needs. This goes beyond surface-level questions. Probe for pain points, personal motivations, and dream outcomes. The better you understand their challenges, the more effectively you can position your product as the solution.
Provide clear and compelling evidence that your product delivers. This could include data-driven reports, 3rd party data (i.e. a Deloitte study), market insights, or product demonstrations. If your company allows it, run a strings-attached experiment where if the client does everything right on their end and it still doesn’t work, you give them a credit/refund/discount. Tangible proof points build credibility and reduce skepticism.
Be transparent and honest. Address potential concerns directly and avoid overpromising. If your product has limitations, acknowledge them and explain how they can be mitigated. This builds trust and positions you as a reliable advisor.
Social proof is consistently a powerful tool. Highlight positive customer experiences and showcase how others have benefited from your product. Bring case studies and testimonials. This leverages the herd mentality and reassures prospects that they're making a good decision.
Building certainty (or reducing uncertainty) is a repeatable process— regardless of the customer.
This week, try identifying the most skeptical client in your book and define why they’re uncertain about your widget being the right thing to buy/invest in. Start playing with the above levers.
According to a Persuasion Institute poll, 44% of respondents stated that credibility was the most important factor in building trust, yet only 11.4% of the time was it effectively established (source). There’s clearly a significant gap between the importance of credibility and its actual implementation in communication.