Look At The Facts
“Facts don’t care about your feelings.”
As I blog, the ‘pinned tweet’ of a popular American of The Right. Often extremely entertaining, even if his overly religious views may taint his main thrust. I lately learn also popular with those of the non-Left emerging around voting age.
Yet he just got schooled by the irrepressible Andrew Neil. A man who’s dogged insistence of scrutiny he laudably allows to muzzle his worldclass Right-ness. His presence on our political discourse set to end Summer 2019, it will be sorely missed. At least Mr Shapiro displayed the humility to quickly admit to his error.
This particular incident brought to my mind a piece of coaching I enjoyed. In America, long ago. When you feel a negativity running against you, jolt proceedings with the statement; “let’s look at the facts!”. Then reel off all the unambiguous, stark reasons why you ought prevail. With which you seek firm acceptance.
Nowadays, I chuckle when I hear – as I have recently – a seller sum up a point with the postface, “and that’s a true fact!”.
It’s always an interesting tactic to evoke “facts” on a solution sell. Buying decisions are notorious for being based not on them, but emotion.
Indeed, there’s also a truth that “there’s no such thing as facts, only opinions” (attributed to Nietzsche, swapping in interpretations for opinions, which note in selling feels a more powerful term).
Many a salesperson uses this to their advantage when it is apparent they can quote John Maynard Keynes’ famous wisdom; “when the facts change, I change my mind (what do you do?)“. Which usefully for us, may be a misquote we can readily deploy, of; “when my information changes, I alter my conclusions”.
It can be worth speaking alongside imagery of “the fact”. I searched for quotes on ‘facts’, and found one source alone claiming a trove of 549. Second on that list, Sherlock Holmes no less, from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle, “there is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact“.
Whether your audience will appreciate literary themes might require consideration. Yet discussing with them what they believe “the facts” to be, and preparing for how you frame that, is an essential part of many a successful sale.