Anyone who has been involved in sales training knows that during a sales call or meeting, it is important to get as many customer agreements as possible. For example if I was selling a product which boasted five specific benefits I would describe each one in turn and ask the customer if that benefit was important to them. I would of course already know that the answer would be ‘Yes’.

By the time I get to the end of my presentation, the customer will have agreed that each benefit was important and therefore there is a momentum toward the closure of the sale and an innate drive for them to remain consistent with their previous positive responses. While closing, the customer might have other objections such as the price but they are unlikely to object to the product because they have already committed themselves through the string of positive responses and have therefore already acknowledged that the product meets their needs. To object now would be inconsistent.

When selling anything it’s wise to cover as much detail as possible early on in the discussions and avoid a barrage of objections when it comes to closing the sale. High performing sales people spend much more time qualifying their customers and understanding their needs. It’s said that following a sales conversation, the sale should be ‘an evolution rather than a revolution’ meaning that if the job is done well at critical points during the sales cycle, the resulting sale will be the natural next step.

Case studies and testimonials are a powerful tool in any marketing strategy. They allow a business owner to demonstrate their ability to solve a particular challenge and this can reassure customers and assist in making the sale. Human beings are comforted by and drawn towards things that are accepted by others – a characteristic that is explained by Cialdini as ‘Social Validation’ or ‘Social Proof’. The example used is his study is an experiment where a man stops on a New York street and looks up for a short period of time. Four percent of the people passing at the time stopped and joined him. Later the experiment was run again but with five people looking to the sky. The number of passers by to join them increased to 18%.

Many of us are used to buying brand name everything from shoes to bathroom cleaners. In many cases we do so because we perceive that the brands success is due to their large customer following. In essence a successful brand is simply tapping into the power of Social Validation. If people like me, or people I aspire to be like are wearing a Tag Heuer watch then I am more inclined to purchase a Tag Heuer Watch. We are driven to ‘fit it’ and Social Validation acknowledges that.

Although ‘Branding’ is out of reach for most small businesses we can still tap into the power of Social Proof by using customer testimonials in our marketing literature and website.



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