3rd Person

Third Person Selling

Third-person selling simply means that rather than making a claim and asking the dealer to believe it on your word, you quote someone else, preferably a source they know, who said the same thing.  Quoting a credible source, or even how another dealer has sold the product, is an element of 3rd-person selling.

Why Use Third Person Selling?

Third-person selling helps establish credibility and validity to your remarks. It also eliminates contention, ties you to the familiar, and keeps any disagreements from getting personal. The resellers can’t argue if the source isn’t present.

When To Use Third Person Selling?

When do you use 3rd-person selling? ALL THE TIME! Using testimonials should be a part of every phase of the sale.

Examples

• PC Magazine said, “Beg or borrow time on a system running Ami Pro… and you’ll soon see what a word processor should be.”
• “One of the dealers that I talked to showed the Franklin Day Planner software, Ascend, to Rockwell and they bought 2,000 copies. It just so happens that ALL top executives at Rockwell are trained by Franklin. There are lots of other companies located close by that are also trained by Franklin. Go get em’…”
• “One dealer said that after seeing the Iomega Zip Drive he was able to sell 30 units to the local Navy base. He said the Navy likes the Zip Drives because they are easier to destroy when top secret information is on them–they don’t have to send them to the smelter, but instead can destroy them on-site. He said that the Navy feels Zip Drives are the most economical medium available.”

Review Questions

• What do the reviews say about one of your products?

• Are there any notable corporations that currently use one of your products?  List:

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Resources

• How to Win Reviews. This section on Chanimal shows how to create a reviewer’s guide, find the upcoming reviews and win those reviews.
• ReviewInc. Your online reputation can be the single highest decision factor that generates leads. There are over 600 review sites, most of us don’t have time to find or manage them. You may want to consider review management software. ReviewInc makes the industry’s best reputation management software.