But third-party validation worked for The Lone Ranger.
Today’s newsletter is an excerpt from my book, Selling the Truth: A ‘Semoir’ with Insights for Life and Business, currently available for .99 cents on Amazon Kindle because it won’t make Bezos richer and it just might make you a fan of my work! All I ask is that if you purchase the book and LOVE it, please leave a review!
Okay, let’s get down to it, with the excerpt from CHAPTER 5: Third Party Validation and Why You Should Listen to Hersh:
Let’s start this out with a shout out to sidekicks. Isn’t it ironic that The Lone Ranger was never seen without Tonto by his side? One published theory is that, after 11 episodes of the TV series, the producers decided LR needed someone to talk to. But I have a different idea: Though the Ranger stands alone, he needs third-party validation, a sidekick, an advance man…
So when he rides into a new town and people say, “Who is that masked man?” Tonto can explain, without revealing LR’s name of course.
What are we talking about here, with this third-party validation, and who needs it? Are the Lone Ranger, Batman, and other superheroes the only darlings worthy of such endorsement? Why is it important in our efforts to sell the truth? In this chapter, we’ll take a closer look at why it matters and how it really works.
Third-party validation comes through word of mouth, “grassroots marketing,” seeding, events, networking, testimonials, referrals, guesting on podcasts, and “influencers.” Any of these can be integral to your efforts to get real and stay real.
Let’s say you’re at a party—meeting someone new, and you want to sell the truth about yourself—the last thing you want to talk about is yourself. The ideal situation, if asked, is to give a very general, modest reference to your vocation i.e., “I sell shoes,” as opposed to “I own a chain of shoe stores.”
Next, ask about the other person, sincerely trying to understand their role and perspective. Thankfully, within a moment or two, a third party arrives, perhaps someone who knows you both, and instinctively begins singing both of your praises. This is a game-changer. Credibility is key, of course. There’s no validation without verification.
And what’s beautiful about third-party validation is it inspires us to live up to the hype. It keeps us on our toes, spurs us to be our best. That’s the fun part, in my humble opinion, making the people who referred us look good.
They teed us up; we smashed it, and now they look great for having recommended us. They now receive credible third-party validation from us. There’s nothing like this circular endorsement for getting the best out of ourselves and others, nothing like giving our clients, teams, organizations, and customers confidence in our devotion to telling the truth. After all, we don’t want to make them look like a liar, now do we?
My goal is not to sell a million Kindle copies of Selling the Truth at 0.99. I’d like people to read it, and to hear how the book affected you…and hopefully, that it made you smile and think about “the truth” with a bit more hopefulness.
If you enjoyed this article, you might want to join me on August 21 for a discussion about Maximizing Your Success Without Being Famous!
