As a salesperson and marketer, you face an uphill battle.  Gallup recently conducted a poll asking which jobs people considered untrustworthy or highly suspect.  The results:

10. Business Executives
9. State Governors
8. Lawyers
7. Insurance Salespeople
6. Senators
5. HMO Managers
4. Stockbrokers
3. Advertising Executives
2. Members of Congress
1. Car Salespeople

This wasn’t news to Dan Kennedy, who writes:  “The #1 Trend is Skepticism. Distrust is, understandably, everywhere.  People, by and large, distrust the Government. Their Churches. Their Banks. Big Business. Etc. Yet most people put out marketing messages that clearly presume they’ll be believed. Why?  One of the most important ideas I’ve ever taught about marketing is ‘preponderance of proof.’   Craft your Marketing Messages with the assumption and understanding that the recipients will be stubbornly reluctant to believe a word you say.”

It’s critical that with every marketing piece you create you “pull out the stops” to overwhelm the prospect with proof verifying that what you say about your product or service is indeed reliable.  This applies to print ads, radio, long sales letters, websites, brochures, even business cards.

By recognizing this fact – and addressing it with all your promotions – you will stand apart from competitors who simply take it for granted that their promises will be believed.