Have you ever heard the phrase, 'PREPONDERANCE OF PROOF'?

I recently heard it to describe a situation where a person was backed up against a wall (legally speaking) and needed a way out of the mess.

The legal guy came in and said, 'I feel we may win this case'. The defendant was furious with his lawyers. I want you to have an abundance, a 'preponderance of proof' so that we bury them in evidence. I want them to 'surrender' because of the unending proof we can give them!

That real life example helps to reinforce the fact that generally we're a nation of sceptics.

But, if someone was able to win us over, with just amazing proof, reasons and credibility to back up what they say, we'd be pretty much sold on whatever they were trying to persuade us with.

To illustrate things, let's say were planning on selling our car and we want to give the prospective buyer enough evidence to buy from us.

The question is "what can we include in our written communication that'll help cement a sale?"

How about we start with...

Photocopies of the logbook that details the full service history. Then, we could send ...

A copy of a Tax disc that has been fully paid up for a year. And, what about...

Photographs of where you've been on holiday with your car, so putting a picture in the mind of the prospect that 'leisure' can be made more enjoyable. And, to prove our reason for the sale, we could include a copy of...

A flight ticket that shows you have to go out of town in the next 30 days, hence the spectacular offer you're making to sell the car. To add a little status and glamour to the car, we could show...

Pictures of celebrities, local or national, who also have a similar car, so bringing in the principle of 'association and esteem' in having the same as 'prominent others'. To prove the market value of the car, we can show...

A copy of the dealer price for the car, and the market place average, and how you're able to undercut the price, and the reasons why you're able to do it.

A letter from your loan company showing the amount outstanding on the vehicle to date, and, a copy of a report that shows why the car you're selling, has tremendous resell value.

... I think you get the idea here.

Whatever it is you want to sell, giving people irresistible reasons, backed up with a caseload of proof, is the surest and quickest way to a sale.

What proof elements can you add to your products and services?

Copyright 2005 Nick James