One of the ways Credibility Marketing works for you is by using credible sources to make your points – thus it’s not just your opinion. That sounds reasonable, but is it merely tall on reasonable and short on – well, short on credibility? That’s a question I rarely get asked, but the people who ask it are my favorites because they demand a higher truth.

On an exhausting Monday in December, I delivered (not one, but) two intense presentations on Credibility Marketing during an internet seminar. The audience consisted of people who were either trainers or students of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP enthusiasts have a Dracula-like thirst for knowledge and truth. They asked tons of questions and did not hesitate to interrupt when they perceived a possible weakness in my logic. It was truly the toughest audience I’ve ever had. And in my younger days I was a stand-up comedian!

To substantiate the process of Credibility Marketing, I told them about:

1. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner’s research in leadership credibility. They surveyed thousands of business leaders to define “credibility.” See their book Credibility.
2. Bill Brooks’ research with more than 6,000 decision makers to determine who they buy from, and why. See his book You’re Working Too Hard to Make the Sale.
3. R.F. Bornstein’s study published in Psychological Bulletin on what causes people to like someone.

Borrowing credibility from sources already perceived as credible by your target market – it’s a powerful way to build an association of credibility. How is that possible? The answer is very simple, and it’s explained by Hume’s Law of Contiguity: (if A appears with B, you will associate them).

In addition to the principles of traditional psychology, Credibility Marketing combines several disciplines to create an irresistible presentation of you and your credibility. Those disciplines include: NLP, non-verbal communication, academic research, journalism, persuasion, public relations, eye-tracking psychology and direct mail.

For more information on Credibility Marketing, contact me personally.

Credibility is in the eye of the beholder. It’s all about how other people perceive you. You can know all there is to know on a given subject, you can be honest, confident, and of the highest integrity, but at the end of the day it is other people that get to decide whether you are in fact perceived as credible.

In this case, as in many others, perception is reality.

We know from the research that trustworthiness is the first decision the old brain seeks out and that makes sense because remember the old brain is, well…. old.  It’s still operating in a world where giant predators with enormous appetites were looking to snack on your body parts.  Survival meant quickly being able to size up a situation and choose the appropriate response. Even though you’re not really operating in that world anymore, your old brain still thinks it is.

So in order to increase your credibility and likeability, you have to pay attention to the old brain and get through the trust gate.    It’s a process – First I decide if I trust you, then I decide if I like you.  If I like you, I’ll pay attention long enough to see if I find you credible. The more you can do in those first few seconds to enable the other person to trust you, the better the odds you’ll make it through the likeability and credibility gates.

Of course, you can make sales without credibility, but that’s proving to be a dangerous path these days. If you want long-term success with loyal clients, it’s based on your ability to prove your credibility. If you want referrals, they are too based on your ability to prove your credibility. 

So, the important questions are: 1) are you credible?  2) based on what?  3) does your target market think you’re credible?  4) can you quantify that?

We measure our clients’ credibility in various ways.  Most of them are very decent people who would be immediately seen as credible – if they knew how to display it or prove it.  That’s why they come to us for help.  We wrote the book on credibility (http://www.axisofinfluence.com/) 

How do you rate?  First, what score do you give yourself and your credibility?  What level of credibility would you expect from your own advisors?  100%?  90%:  70%?  Let’s see how you do.

It’s just a numbers game.  If all professionals are credible, you have to prove you’re even more credible.  But, they’re not all credible.  Some are being accused of fraud, so you have to prove that you’re more credible than they.  If you can’t do that, you’re lumped in with them. 

You prove your credibility by displaying it, and you do that in specific ways.  If you don’t use these ways, you already have two strikes against you.  So, let’s look at this short list of ways you could demonstrate your credibility.  Which ones do you use right now:

y/n  3rd party introduction of you
y/n  publishing articles
y/n  publishing white papers
y/n  publishing books
y/n  public speeches (not seminars)
y/n  articles about you, written by other people”
y/n  active listening techniques
y/n  three-level questioning process
y/n  consistent written communication with clients
y/n  frequent face-to-face visits with clients

Those are the easy ones.  Just count the ones you do right now, and give yourself 10 points for each one.  If you score less than 80%, you’re in big trouble.  Would you hire anyone who had so-so credibility? 

So, what are you going to do about it?

Michael Lovas
michael@aboutpeople.com
http://www.axisofinfluence.com/

– Michael Lovas

Work by University of Victoria researchers Reynolds and Gifford suggests that auditory cues are more strongly related to intelligence than visual ones.  Reynolds and Gifford found that the following speaking styles are interpreted as higher intelligence:

• Less halting speech
• More standard use of language
• Speaking more words
• Speaking each word clearly
• Speaking faster

What does this mean? If you are excellent at thinking on your feet, then you are likely not much affected by it.  However, if you’re like most of us, when you have to think on your feet your mouth has to wait for your brain to catch up and give direction.  Thus, your delivery is peppered with halting stutters and stammers.  Listeners perceive such a delivery as evidence that you lack a certain amount of mental snap.

How can you use it? Prepare.  When you are prepared you can improvise more easily and deliver powerful answers in a convincing style.  Practice.  The more you practice delivering, the more natural and fluid your delivery will become.

We’ve been working with Credibility since 1991. Actually, I started to think about it as early as 1986.  Point is, we know it inside and out.  We know what it is, what causes it and what the results are. Here is our working definition:

Credibility is a combination of concepts:

Competence + Character + Consistency+Relevance. 

Together, they enable a belief in the minds of your target market that you understand their situation, have their best interest at heart, are an expert at solving their specific problems, and will do so without robbing them.

That definition is nteresting and important, but not implementable.  See how that definition contains nothing you can implement today? In practical terms, the first step to improve your Credibility is to improve your Likeability, and the first step in that is to learn how to read people.

Where can you go to learn that? Easy, look at our book Face Values. It is the most effective resource for business professionals wanting to improve likeability.

If you find this tid bit of wisdom interesting, you’ll find our books astounding! You can find them on the Shop page at: http://www.aboutpeople.com/

– Michael Lovas

1. We like people who are similar to us in some way (Similarity)
2. We like people who are familiar to us (Familiarity)
3. We like people who like us (Reciprocity).
4. We like people who are genuinely interested in us (Interest)
5. We like people who are easy to like (i.e. demonstrate the qualities of likeability: empathetic, trustworthy, positive, non-judgemental, real).