In this Q&A video, sales coach Ryan Dohrn responds to a viewer, Beverly from Texas, who asks why social proof is important and how to incorporate it. Ryan defines social proof as sharing the names and successes of existing clients with prospects, explaining that it transfers the perceived ROI from the salesperson to a trusted third party, making claims more credible. He notes that salespeople often suffer a negative reputation—portrayed in movies like Tommy Boy and Glengarry Glen Ross—and that using client success stories helps counteract this distrust. Ryan urges sales professionals to weave social proof into every sales activity—objection handling, meetings, prospecting—to accelerate deals. He concludes with a call to action, directing viewers to his website, speaking engagements, and his book Selling Forward, whose proceeds benefit the Golden Harvest Food Bank.
Questions this video answers
Social proof—sharing the names and successes of existing clients—moves the promise of ROI from the salesperson to a trusted third party, making claims more credible, counteracting the negative reputation of salespeople, and accelerating sales.
Chapters
Hey friends and fans, Ryan Dohrn here, your global sales coach, answering your sales and marketing questions sent in to ryan@ryandohrn.com. All right, next question comes from Beverly down in Texas. Hey Beverly. Ryan, why is social proof so important? I find it a little hard to consistently mention my other clients to my new clients. So Beverly, the reason social proof, meaning you're sharing the names and successes of your current clients With new or prospective clients, that's called social proof. The reason it's important is because it gets the illness of the ROI, it gets the thought process or the promises of ROI off of you as a salesperson, and it puts that faith and trust off on another trusted business. So I can say to you all day long, if you buy my product or service, it's going to increase your sales 30, 40%. But if I say, this is Bob Smith, this is Julie Jones, they have used my services and it increased their sales 40%. That just sounds better. It's social proof. It's using the success or experiences of others to help you drive your sale further, faster. Now, salespeople, unfortunately, over the course of time— maybe it was movies like Tommy Boy or Glengarry Glen Ross, or, you know, things like that, Boiler Room— sales reps kind of get a bad name, kind of get a bad rap out there. That's why when you tell people you're in sales, they're like, oh really? You know, because they don't have the guts to do what we do every day. So that's why success stories and social proof, Beverly, are so important, because it gets that illness of success. It puts it over on a trusted business and gets it off of kind of our back as, if you will, salespeople that are untrustworthy. Now don't get me wrong, I love sales and I'm not dogging on salespeople or the sales business. Unfortunately, we kind of get a bad rap out there that we'll do whatever we need to do to get a sale. That's not me. That's not you. Just never forget Beverly and everybody else. I mean, if this job was easy, everybody'd be doing it, and they're not. This is a great job. It'll feed your family for a lifetime. But in every conversation, whether you're handling objections, hosting meetings, prospecting— Beverly, everybody, use social proof. Use the successes of others to propel your sale forward. Hey, if I can be of help to you, reach out to me over at ryandohrn.com. Speaking at a lot of your national sales conferences, which is great. And don't forget about my new book, Selling Forward. With all proceeds going to the Golden Harvest Food Bank over on Amazon. All right, friends, we'll see you next time. Bye.
