The Best In The World, But Do You Believe It?

Written by Michael Port | February 02, 2010 | 2 Comments

Here’s a video from the NFL Fantasy Football “Pick Me” Campaign. The best athletes in the world showing off their “unbelievable” talents.

But there’s a problem. Most people, myself included, don’t know whether or not to believe it’s real. Because these are Reebok sponsored videos (read: ads), are they acts of draw-dropping athletic mastery or are they tricks created through special effects and clever editing? Either way, it’s fun to watch. But this is representative of what you’re dealing with as a salesperson or someone who sells something, anything. Most people think there’s a catch, a trick, something up your sleeve.

The public is afraid of being bamboozled, and rightly so.

Years ago, I offered seminars all over the country as “pay what you want or pay nothing” events; no strings attached. I promised no up-sells, pitches or offers of any kind, not even a table selling books. Just a motivating, content rich, memorable small business success seminar. Still, my office received hundreds of calls from people asking, “What’s the catch? There has to be a catch.” The theory was that nobody would go to the trouble of producing seminars all over the country without a sales angle. I do. Do you? Of course, we know why there is such general distrust in the marketplace. People have been burned over and over again. We live in the age of the bamboozle. (Oh, and, by the way, I would understand if people thought there was a catch if I offered the typical pitch-fest seminars in the past. But I don’t, never have, and never will.)

Just like these athletes are the best in the world at what they do, I know I’m the best in the world at what I do—teaching you how to be a successful entrepreneur and small business success. But, no matter how long I’ve been doing it, how many books I’ve sold, how “famous” I am, I know that I have to do everything in my power to counteract the fear of the bamboozle. How do I do it? Lots of ways. I start by simply giving so much value that you think I’ve gone too far and then I give more.

(Update: For the record, I’m not the only “best in the world” at what I do. There are a number, maybe even lots of “best in the world” in every service driven field. Each client defines what “best in the world” means to them and will hire the person that is the “best in the world” for them given a whole host of various criteria.)

Print This Post |

2 Responses to “The Best In The World, But Do You Believe It?”

Julie Hunt says:

February 2, 2010 at 10:07 am

True dat! I just gotta say, I like the way you make me think bigger about how I show up and how I authentically offer and introduce services to the world. This made my heart swell. Now, I’ve got some giving to think about.

Fantasy Football- Pick Me. « Theories of Perception says:

March 5, 2010 at 12:02 am

[...] athletes’ confidence both in their physical abilities as well as their mental ones. However, some articles have questioned the “reality” of the ads, citing the fact that they are sponsored by [...]