The full title and attribution of this important book is The Language Of Trust : Selling Ideas In A World Of Skeptics by Michael Maslansky with Scott West, Gary DeMoss and David Saylor.
Skeptics or Sceptics
I’d better deal with the language issue upfront. The book title includes the word skeptics with a k but because I’m British and not American, I spell sceptics with a c. It’s the same with skeptical and sceptical.
The Language Of Trust Review
I’ve argued for a long time that the background to sales and marketing is to build up the know, like and trust factors.
It’s got much harder in recent years because people are increasingly sceptical and as more information has become available on the Internet and more people have opinions through social media and blogging, control of information has shifted away from the marketer.
You’ve got two choices:
- To concentrate on the hyper-responsives. Focus on the people who intuitively get what you are saying and ignore the sceptics. Glenn Livingston, one of my favourite Internet marketing gurus has a course called Hyper Responsive Marketing Secrets.
- To meet the sceptics where they are and persuade them that you are trustworthy.
The Problem Of Stimulus & Response
If you receive telemarketing calls, you’ll know that you have an automatic response when you’re asked certain questions.
Your defences go up and your aim is to get rid of the interruption as soon as possible.
Too much marketing can now be seen as anti-marketing. It repels rather than attracts customers.
The agenda is too clear. It’s not about helping your customers but about helping yourself to what’s in their bank balance.
This creates a vicious circle making your potential audience more cynical and sceptical.
The Content Of The Language Of Trust
The book is written in four parts.
PART 1 – THE NEW LANGUAGE OF TRUST
1. America’s Post-Trust Era
2. It All Starts with Words
PART 2 - THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF CREDIBLE COMMUNICATIONS
3. Be Personal
4. Be Plainspoken
5. Be Positive
6. Be Plausible
PART 3 - THE NEW WORD ORDER
7. Getting to Listen: Engaging Before Discussion
8. It’s Not About You: Putting Their Interests Before Yours
9. That’s Not What I Meant: Context Before Specifics
PART 4 - THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSAGE
10. The Language of Trust in a Digital World
11. The Anti-Trust Laws: Twenty Banned Phrases
Well Written But A Challenging Read
The Language Of Trust is well written and although the authors specialise in financial services – an area where there is a huge problem of sceptical customers – it provides plenty of examples that are easy to relate to.
However the book does challenge a lot of the orthodox sales thinking and therefore it’s a challenging read since it says that many beliefs and common practices are wrong or at least don’t work any more with sceptical prospects.
Sales systems often try to take control of the selling/buying process and while customers may want to be led, do it too far, too fast and you’ll meet resistance that gets stronger as you go through traditional objection handling and closing techniques.
Overall Thoughts On The Language Of Trust?
The Language Of Trust is a book I plan to think about for a few weeks and then go back to and read again.
I agree very much with the problem. People have learnt to be much more sceptical and this represents a big marketing challenge.
Part of me agrees wholeheartedly with the book. Buyers want the information to make an informed decision on their own. Guided yes but not overtly persuaded and certainly not “sold”.
But part of me worries that the softly, softly approach of The Language Of Trust can be used as an excuse to wimp out. I know from my experience of working with some sales people, there is a fear of closing because the customer may say No. If you keep the conversation going, you don’t get to hear No but nor do you get the Yesses that put money in the bank.
Have You Read The Language Of Trust?
If you’ve read The Language Of Trust, I’d love to hear what you think.
The book is selling ideas, so did it convince you or have you remained a sceptic?
Paul Simister is a business strategy coach who helps business owners to differentiate their businesses and develop winning strategies. Get your free copy of my ebook The Six Steps Profit Formula.
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