credibility advantage 2.0

(c) About People 2011. All rights reserved

1. Increase sales

2. Shorter sales cycle

3. Higher valuation

Credibility =

Trust & [Credibility]Increase Speed & Lower Cost

Trust Speed

Trust Speed

Cost

Cost

=

=

Trust Equation from Stephen Covey - The Speed of Trust

What is credibility?

Rate Yourself

Haven’t YetEstablishedCredibility

Among the Most Credible

In My Field

1 5 10

Credibility is a cluster concept

• Expertise

• Knowledge

• Trustworthiness

• Believability

• Integrity

• Reputation

• Experience

• Relevance

• Confidence

• Leadership

It doesn’t matter what YOU think.

Credibility is Perception. It lives only in the mind of other people.

It’s not your measure that matters.

Credibility is...

The confidence you inspire in

others to trust your ability to deliver results.

How do you communicate

credibility?

Tools for Communicating Credibility

1. Association

2. Expert Validation

3. Social Proof

4. FaceMore (not Faceless)

5. Thought Leadership

6. Get in Print

7. The Network

1. Association

You gain or lose credibility based on the people, brands and

organizations you associate with.

Your Industry

Your Profession

Your Company

You “inherit” credibility based on your perceptions of your profession (engineer, sales person, graphic artist), the company you work for and the Industry you work in.

You Personally

Inherited Credibility

2. External/Expert Validation

• Research• Certifications,

Licenses, Awards• Expert Reviews• Credible “Mentions”

3. Social Proof• Testimonials• Case Studies• Customer reviews• Social conversations

Research by Forrester (2008) &

Nielsen (2009) shows:

Most trusted information source

=“people like me”

Employ Other

Messengers

“Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.”

-- Will Rogers

1. INTERNAL: Demonstrate that you’re worth referring

2. EXTERNAL: Make it easy to do and rewarding for them

How can you enlist other people to become advocates for you?

Proactive Advocacy

• Pick a natural advocate.• Provide Meaning/Purpose: “I need your

help to.....”• Make it easy. “Here’s something you can

pass along”• Appreciate/Reciprocate. “Your help

means a lot to me. I’d like to return the favor by...

4. Face More (not Faceless)

• Show how things are done behind the scenes

• Show the real people

• Let them speak

Meet the folks in Peru who grew the banana I ate this morning

• Global perspective, local context

• Practical applications and specific How-to

• The go-to guy for.....

5. Thought Leadership

Example of Credibility Leveraging

6. Get in Print

• Book

• White Paper

• Article

• Blog

7. The Network

If small or solo, show how you’re part of a larger network of resources and support

YOU Personally:How to look, speak and

write credibly.

Your Personal Credibility

Yes, looks do matter...but it’s not what you think.

What does credibility look like?

Who looks more Credible?

Who looks more Credible?

Who looks more Credible?

What does credibility sound like?

The Sound of Credibility

•The lower the pitch, the more credible the voice.

• Lack of volume equals lack of credibility.

• Slower speed and pauses diminish credibility.

Credibility Language

It’s like...you know....well um...

you might want to do some social media stuff.

Cool, eh?

Take a look at what ABC Company says about

how they increased sales by 50%

I’m an expert in SMO and SEO focused on improving CTR and

PPC on integrated platforms.

Credible Language is...

• Simple, visual and relevant• Jargon-free• Questions-based

Simple, visual, relevant

And jargon-free

The more jargon-laden the language, the lower the believability [credibility]. - Pat Thompson, American Institute for Research

Ultimate Credibility Tool

“We think the best way to seem smart is to know all the answers,

when in fact the best way to seem smart is to ask the right questions.”

Dorothy Leeds, The 7 Powers of Questions

Let me show you how much I know about social media marketing.

VersusHow have you incorporated social media into your marketing strategy?

Example:

What does credibility read like?

• Accurate

• Fact-based

• Objective

• References

• Appropriate level of detail

• Relevance

Credible Writing

Distinguish Yourself! 1. Association

2. Expert Validation

3. Social Proof

4. FaceMore

5. Thought Leadership

6. Get in Print

7. The Network

8. Look, sound & write credibly

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