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You have probably heard the saying, “Fake it until you make it.” This expression suggests that you should fake something until it actually happens or comes true.
I don’t disagree with this…at least not for some things…
There have been times that I have been sick on the day of a presentation and I kept telling myself, “I feel great. I feel great. I feel great.” And when it came time to deliver my speech, I did feel better.
I have experienced days when I was wasn’t feeling tremendously confident but I changed my body positioning and tone of voice, and a little while later, my confidence level improved.
However, sometimes faking it isn’t the best approach.
A few days ago, my wife and I were taking a walk through our neighborhood and we came across a property whose owner had replaced the grass on his front yard with artificial turf.
That’s right…artificial turf!
I’m not sure what his rationale was but replacing real grass with fake grass just didn’t work. His lawn stood out—and not in a good way!
Unfortunately, some sales people still think that faking it is an effective sales strategy.
In my profession as a sales trainer, I have encountered sales people who say, “If you don’t know the answer to someone’s question, just fake it” or “Baffle them with B.S.” or “Tell them what they want to hear” or even “They don’t know so it doesn’t matter what I tell them.”
I once heard someone say, “If you never lie to a prospect you will never have to remember what you said.”
I think that’s wise advice.
It may be tempting to pretend that you know something, but in the long run, your prospects will find out that you don’t. It is much more effective to say, “I’m not sure about that, let me find out and I’ll get back to you.”
Faking it can be a great way to improve your mental outlook or break out of a slump. But it is not an effective approach to use when engaged in sales conversations with your prospects and customers.