Faking it is never good.
Get your mind out of the gutter… or keep it there, I suppose, but for a moment focus on the business side of faking it, then you can get back to wherever else you went.
Early in my career I remember a mentor telling me to act as if I had everything together and had it all handled. The problem was that I didn’t… and I wasn’t that good an actor. Instead of acting confident, what actually happened, is that people lost confidence in me the moment they picked up on the vibe that I was pretending to have it all together.
Yeah, that didn’t close deals. It didn’t get me too far in my sales career either.
What I wished my mentor told me at that time that took me years to learn on my own was to Ask As If rather than Act As If.
Ask as if you really want to understand your prospect’s challenges.
Ask as if you are genuinely concerned in helping them solve a problem.
Ask as if you didn’t already know the answer because you know how important it is for them to tell you why they asked.
Ask as if their response is the only one that really matters, because it is.
Just last week I attended a networking lunch and overheard a young woman ask a more seasoned business woman how she got started in business. The woman being asked said, “I acted like I knew what I was doing and then figured it out” which likely means she asked questions to figure it out.
She meant well with her advice, but she focused on the wrong part of the lesson when she shared her wisdom with the young woman.
At the end of the meeting I shared my experience with the young woman and simply said, “Instead of acting as if you’ve got it together, ask as if you intend to.”
I challenge you to ask a few more questions next time you’re not really sure… watch your natural confidence grow when you get more information by asking good questions.
If you’ve had a good experience as a result of asking more questions share it in the chat!