Warren Buffett Would Outsell You: The Credibility Principle

About this episode

Sam Wakefield discusses the importance of credibility in sales and how context affects the perception of advice.

Picture this: You're at the park on a perfect 75-degree day. An old guy sits next to you and starts rattling off investment advice. You're half-listening, being polite, but not really paying attention. 45 minutes later, you get up to leave. And he says, "By the way, I'm Warren Buffett." Everything changes. You wish you'd listened differently. You wish you'd asked questions. You wish you'd recorded the conversation. Why? Credibility. The advice was the same. The words were the same. But who you thought was saying them changed everything. Here's another example: Joshua Bell, one of the world's most celebrated violinists. Three days before this happened, he sold out Boston's Symphony Hall—even the nosebleed seats went for $100. Then The Washington Post set up an experiment. They had Joshua Bell stand in a D.C. Metro station during morning rush hour in plain clothes, playing his $3.5 million Stradivarius violin for 45 minutes. Out of 1,097 people who walked past him, only 7 stopped to listen. One person recognized him. His case held $32.17 when he finished. Same person. Same skill. Different context. That's exactly what's happening in your appointments. In this episode, Sam Wakefield…

People in this episode

Host: Sam Wakefield

Topics covered

• credibility
• sales techniques
• investment advice
• perception
• contextual influence

Keywords

• credibility principle
• Warren Buffett
• Joshua Bell
• sales appointments
• investment advice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Washington Post

Products: Stradivarius violin

Places: Boston, D.C.

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