HWW #35 – 3 Simple Ways To Establish Personal And Professional Credibility Fast

I’ve spent the last couple days wearing out my shoes in New York City and drinking in that powerful East Coast directness that I get none of in sleepy Seattle.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love Seattle and don’t want to live anywhere else (and really, with my job I could live wherever I want), but after 6 years in “The Emerald City,” I get absolutely giddy when I get a chance to forget the polite “dance” of conversation out West and head East where I can just spit out what I mean without pissing anybody off.

Because in NYC, nobody gives a damn what you say, as long as you’ve got the *credibility* to say it.

Which is what today’s newsletter is all about.

You see, I write a *lot* of sales letters, videos and marketing materials for my clients, and the most important factor that determines whether a sales page pulls in massive amounts of cash or just lays there all limp on the interweb is how *credible* the people or the company behind the offer are.

. . . how *believable* they are.
. . . and how much respect they just about demand.

Now, the most common way to throw down some sales-boosting credibility is through the good old fashioned testimonial: find somebody who’s used your product or service and get them to say something nice about you or the great results you got for them.

*But if you rely on testimonials alone, you’re really just touching on the tip of the credibility iceberg.*

Now, I could write pages and pages about credibility building techniques that would blow your mind, but it’s almost Christmas, I’m tired and I’ve got sugary horrible foods to cram down my throat, so let’s just focus on three simple ways that you can use *right now* to pump up your credibility in the eyes of your market and to make more sales.

*Instant Credibility Booster #1 – Borrow Up:*

This is a great one if you’re just starting out, if you don’t have testimonials or if you just haven’t built much of a name for yourself yet . . . and it works great for solo service based businesses or even for individuals climbing their way up the corporate ladder:

What borrowing up means is hitching along on the credibility of people who have taught you, who you’ve learned from or who you’ve studied.

For instance, when I meet marketing big wigs at seminars I’ll often mention that I’ve been personally mentored by David Garfinkel and Harlan Kilstein, and that I’ve devoured the work of John Carlton, Dan Kennedy and guys like that.

And just by saying that (and having it be true) I get bathed in instant credibility.

*Instant Credibility Booster #2 – Borrow Down.*

This is the polar opposite of borrowing up, but can have an amazing effect, especially if you’re selling some kind of coaching or continuity program.

What you do here is talk about the *phenomenal success* of people who you’ve personally mentored or helped out . . . and make their accomplishments your own.

For instance, when David Garfinkel wants to establish his credibility as “The World’s Greatest” teacher of copywriting, all he really has to do is list out the names of his past students (like myself, Vin Montello and Mike Morgan) and *BAM* he’s done.

*Instant Credibility Booster #3: What have you done lately?*

This one should be a *no brainer,* but I’m always amazed at how many people leave their own accomplishments or the accomplishments of their company right off the table . . . or who think that they can’t talk about results but have to beg their clients to do so for them in the form of a testimonial.

But if you want to be successful and create marketing that sucks in cash like a nuclear powered vacuum, you’ve got to tell me *who* you’ve gotten results for, and what those results are.

And don’t be shy.

For instance (and I’m only using myself as an example because it’s easy), if you go to my own site http://www.haddadink.com you’ll see a big section that says “Update” and that lists out a few of my most recent successes.

And if you go further down the page, you’ll see a nice long list of my past clients, a bunch of which are big, juicy, credibility boosting names.

And I’ll tell you, when folks get in touch with me after reading my site, those credibility boosting elements are almost always what tip them over the edge and get them to pick up the phone and call me.

And that’s it, folks, the last HWW of the year. It’s been a great 2007 and I’m looking forward to sending more your way (and working with some of you) in 2008.

Questions? Comments? Harsh Invectives? Hit me up at chris@haddadink.com

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