Confidence and Conviction

I disagree. I appreciate that the server was honest and tried to find out the customer's needs. Isn't this what we need to do with all our businesses?

Confidence, conviction and pride are important. Because once we find out that we can help the customer/client we must project confidence, conviction and pride. It will help close the sale and make them feel good about our prices. You're right there.

So the next time you visit the ale house, do you trust the server who says “It’s a great presentation: crispy top and served over our lime rice. I’ve sold lots of it today” about bony halibut? Sure I would admire their willingness to admit the mistake and feel good about the employer that empowers employees to make wrongs right. But I would be suspicious of the server.

The restaurant already made the sale when the customer sat down. It's just a matter of what they buy after that. A lack of confidence in halibut could be replaced by conviction about how good the steak is. Or whatever the server likes to eat there.

Confidence, conviction and pride are valuable business tools. But they need to be used in the right places.

Chris – Confidence and conviction require a dose of passion. All too often I see people just punching the clock. If you're going to wake up everyday and serve bony halibut, you need to love that job enough to care. No passion, no care, no confidence, no conviction.

Ask a real estate agent “how's the market” and you'll often get a direct look at their confidence and conviction – even if the news they have is negative.

Right here with Carl on this – confidence and conviction are great, but honesty is the trait everyone should be looking to use. The best liars can make you believe anything because they're confident in what they're trying to dupe you about – but the best liars also get caught out because honesty isn't something you can fake.

Give me “I'm not sure and this is why” over “I'm confident you'll like it because I've sold lots and even if it's not right for you, 20 previous customers can't be wrong” any day.

True enough – I agree that honesty is central – but when people are in an unfamiliar setting (new restaurant, etx.) they frequently fear making a mistake, and are HOPING to be led by someone who should know the landscape better. I don't need someone else's conviction when I already know the landscape, and I certainly don't need a liar – but when it's time for expert advice, give me someone who confidently provides guidance.

This same stuff can be applied to parenting. No parent really knows what they are doing, but if you don't exhibit confidence and conviction, you're dead in the water.

Confidence and conviction yes, but your reply is a sales pitch.

Someone is asking what “you think” and at the moment, the reply is mostly fact rather than opinion or personal insight. When someone asks me for my opinion, I give it fully, warts and all, because “what do you think” yearns for it. Yes, the waitress was too waffly, so another effective, and full, reply in her case could be – It's a great presentation: crispy top served over our lime rice. I have not tried it myself but I have sold lots of it today.”

Bang – complete.

I have been in restaurants where the waiter/ress has been completely honest saying “I'm not a fan of that because X” and I've really appreciated it.

Confidence and conviction are a natural byproduct of honesty.

Spoken like a true Champion.

I think that honesty and confidence can and should co-exist in situations like this (I also think that restaurants should let every server taste the “special” ahead of time!!!). But even if there is a subjective confidence that the halibut is good (I tried it and loved it!), and a crowd-sourced validation (half my tables tonight have ordered it and loved it!), the fact is, this customer might take the recommendation and still not like it.
But even if you haven't tasted it, to say: “I've served a lot of it tonight, and everyone's been positive. If you like an undercurrent of lime, I think you're going to enjoy this special” – that's providing real guidance without false bravado or deception (and also gives a specific hint that can be an “in” or “out” for that customer – the lime)

It's only dangerous if you're (knowingly or unknowingly) spreading misinformation.

It's always best to have an opinion. If nothing else, it's a starting point for action. Otherwise, you're just treading water.

I agree entirely confidence and conviction in the product you are selling is everything. If it isn't get it off the menu.

The Afterthought
My dad always orders the haddock or the halibut, I always think oh yeah he is just ordering that because of Cod stocks to save the planet or something. He just prefers the fish, he always ends up pishing them off in the Chip Shop. But he always gets what he wants, often with confidence, always with conviction.
That is how America escaped the Brits!!

Dead wrong. Confidence and conviction in what you know, yes. What you're doing is both mealymouthed and borderline deceitful. The fact is, the server didn't know how good the dish was and that was the customer's question. They're not asking what it looks like or whether the server sold a lot *they want to know if it's good*.

Your answer doesn't lie, but it is a typical dodge and it's done on the mistaken premise that selling the customer that dish is the most important thing the server can do. It's not – the job of the server isn't to sell any particular dish it's to sell each customer something they'll like and that might result in them coming back (or ordering more that meal such as a dessert).

If the customer really was interested in the halibut they could have said “It looks good, but I've not tried it – I can check with another server who has or I can tell you that the trout is killer good if you'd like to try that.”

Confidence and conviction come behind honesty.

Sage advice. I was just talking with a friend tonight about this very same thing. Someone we know had to talk to a group about a tough financial position his organization was in. When he came out on stage he tried to diffuse it with a little self deprecating humor, saying “Guess I got picked to share this since I am the new – young guy, etc.” It made him appear lacking in confidence and certainly not convicted. He should have owned it. He should have stepped into it and lead. Confidence and conviction are huge in convincing others and making influence (leadership) work.

I think the general sentiment expressed in this post is good – just illustrated and explained with a very bad example.

The lesson I would hope gets drawn from the post is that we need to have confidence and conviction in our lives when we have done the research/preparation for it. Many people are so lacking in C&C even when they have done the prep that they sabotage themselves – they basically don't believe in themselves. That's a worthy message to spread.

What isn't a worthy message to spread is to have false bravado, to sound confident when you have no facts, to provide opinions based on ignorance, to ignore what your customer is ultimately asking (does the fish taste good) because you don't know the answer. Chris' example response is your typical weasel salesperson or politician response.

My preferred answer that is both honest and has C&C is to cheerfully say: “I haven't yet had the chance to taste the special today yet, but I can tell you it's looks beautiful with a crispy top and served over our lime rice. And most importantly, I've had a lot of people order it and say that's it delicious (assuming they did of course).”

It's kind of interesting because the “being honest” was the first part that I said. I think where the server got in to trouble in Chris' scenario is when she started talking about how customers should know what they want when they come in. I rarely know what I want when I come in to a restaurant (except for a few where I order the same thing almost every time).

The response that Chris suggests for the server walks the line of truthiness. She isn't lying and saying she had the halibut and loved it, but she is pumping it up a bit. I do like when servers can answer questions about the menu and offer suggestions, but I've been burned by that in the past.

Completely agree. I see where Chris was going, but the first thing I wanted to say was “what about trust?” If a server was to give that glowing of an item that she really didn't feel that strongly about and then it was horrible, would I trust that restaurant again?

There are certain things where you can have a lot of conviction on and then there are those where that doesn't apply.

Oh and another thing …. (Sorry Chris – three negative comments on this … love your other posts, just think you are dead wrong on this one)

The waiter example is a benign harmless one … what if the scenario was this:
Customer: Will there be any side effects if I take this medication. I'm allergic to X?
Doctor (ignorant of medication): Lots of people have ordered this medication

Conviction from someone performing a service is great! It gives one a sense of security.

The server in your story, Chris, should have known exactly how the Halibut was. The server said s/he sold a lot of it that day. It is their job to check with the customers on the meal, asking if everything is to their liking, etc? And they would have seen if any of the customers left some fish on the plate or was it eaten. Certainly yours with the fishy taste and bones wasn't the only nasty halibut of the day. The server was not a very good one, was he?

I used to bluff my way through things I didn't really know about. In fact I won many arguments or debates from 'acting' confident although my facts were wrong. My views were accepted because the other persons weren't sure of their convictions.

Know what you sell, handle, make, promote, or give away. Have conviction and confidence in what you know to be true. Have the facts to back your conviction.

Super post Chris. Your confidence radiates, it's an energy that's either attractive…..or repelling in the case of someone who has little confidence. Step up to the plate and as you noted if you're wrong simply own up to it and make up for it.

Ryan

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