“Your honor, I swear – I didn’t do it.”
“Prove it.”
“I was at home… watching TV… alone…”
A judge wouldn’t buy this defense, but do you try it with Ms. Jones? Do you try to persuade her with generalities?
“Lowest prices of the season…”
“Great service…”
“Unbeatable selection…”
It’s quite another thing to speak with specificity –
“Our bestselling sofa is marked down 18 percent.”
“We have a 98% customer satisfaction rating, and three out of five customers have shopped with us before.”
“With 37 recliners in-stock for you to sample, your butt will wear out before your options do.”
Ms. Jones writes off generalities as puffery and pomp. Frankly, she thinks you’re lying. Prove yourself with specific, quantifiable, reliable and credible facts.
Think like a lawyer questioning a suspect when preparing a specific statement: Who? What? Where? Why? When? How much? Why should I believe you?
Ms. Jones is your judge and jury, and she’s waiting for you to make your case.