Ryan Dohrn advises a salesman losing deals to a competitor who lies. Stop comparing directly. Instead, highlight what makes you different, call out false claims politely, and lean on client testimonials that liars can't refute.
Questions this video answers
Focus on three things: (1) stop making apples‑to‑apples comparisons; instead highlight stark, differentiating factors (apples to salmon). (2) Don't play games—politely question dubious claims and state that you don't engage in such tactics. (3) Use client success stories and references as social proof rather than battling with stats, because liars can't refute genuine testimonials. Maintain professionalism, stay positive, and let satisfied customers speak for you.
Chapters
What's going on, friends and fans? Ryan Dohrn here, your friendly neighborhood sales coach, and we're answering your listener questions sent in to ryan@ryandohrn.com. And don't forget, whether you're watching the YouTube channel or listening to the podcast, be sure to subscribe down below, click the little bell button so you'll never miss out on any new content that we're updating online. All right, next listener question comes into us from Dennis in Denver. Dennis in Denver, that's awesome. We've got family out in Denver, Dennis. So, uh, Dennis's question is pretty straightforward. Hey Ryan, I'm selling against a liar, flat out a group that just lies. Don't want to get in the gutter, not sure what to do. Maybe it's just the selling climate we're living in today. Any help is appreciated. So Dennis, first and foremost, I don't think it has anything to do with the selling climate that we're in today. I think most of us would agree Liars are liars, and it's just tough to deal with, with liars. Now, I used to say, hey, don't get in the gutter, don't start fighting with them, there's really no reason to do that. And quite honestly, I really have changed my tune. I feel like there's not a lot of people driving on the high road because there's not a lot of people driving on the high road these days. So I guess that could be the selling climate, but more than likely it's just a lot of people that happen to be unfortunately just a little unscrupulous. So what are we going to do to kind of fight Fight a little bit, but maintain professional ethics and professional standards. So there's three things, Dennis, that I've made note here that I'd love to to share with you. First and foremost, I'd love for you to stop the comparisons of any kind. So if somebody is comparing you to somebody that potentially you're saying is a liar, when you're being compared to somebody, you're allowing an advertiser or a client to create an apples to apples comparison. And I would encourage you to create more like an apples to salmon kind of comparison, really create some stark differences. Now I know what you're saying. Sometimes I'll say I've got 5,000 readers and they'll say, oh, I've got 10,000 readers and they really have 2,000 readers. Well, in that particular case, the comparison then you could say isn't always about the numbers, but could potentially be about the quality of the audience. Find some differentiating factors that maybe they don't wanna fight about. Now, when you think about that though, You have to have a pretty decent list of things, but what I want to do is focus on 3 main things. Dennis, you've heard me talk about it a lot. I always focus on 3 things. So I would encourage you to consider what are the 3 things that make you different than this person instead of trying to compare apples to apples. When people lie, it tends to be an act of desperation in the sales business. So the first thing I would consider is don't compare the two. Find areas where you're completely different if possible and really accentuate those things. All right, so the second thing is I like to say we don't play games. So when someone says, well, you know, so-and-so said this or so-and-so said that, my standard response is, I really appreciate you sharing that with me. You know, we're not a group or a company that likes to play games like that. I don't know where those numbers are coming from, but we don't play games like that. So I believe that if someone was to share that with you, you might want to question it. But from our perspective, we don't play those kind of games. But then what it does is it leads us to the third thing that I would share with you, and that is you really can't fight a liar with stats and facts. Because if you say you've got 2, they say they've got 4. If you say you've got 4, they say they've got 8. If you say you're great, they say they're even better, right? So when you really get down to it, the reason that I really want to make notes here in my notes, and for you as well, Dennis, share with success stories. Anytime somebody wants to create a comparison between me and somebody else, especially if they're not being truthful, I really want to say, what about Company A? What about Company B? What about Company C? Are you familiar with these different folks? We've been working with them on and off for the last 4 or 5 years. You don't have to trust what I'm saying. You don't have to listen to what somebody else is saying. We don't play those kind of games. Let me put you in touch with somebody that really likes working with us. Now, what's interesting is the number of times that a client won't call the person that I'm giving as a reference. They just, they just don't even do it. Now, sometimes they do, so make sure you're prepared for that. But rather than trying to sort of, if you will, fight fire with fire or slug for slug, I like to differentiate myself by taking the illness of success or the illness of those lies or data. I want to get it off my shoulders. Let's find some customers of ours that like us. Maybe we get them, give them an incentive to be willing to speak with new clients or, or something like that. But facts and stats are kind of meaningless to a liar. And so all it does is make them dig in deeper. So instead, it's very difficult for them to refute the success stories that you're sharing from other clients that you're, you're working with. In the end, Dennis from Denver, it is difficult and it's frustrating to deal with somebody, another company that's being untruthful. But I would say to you that there's a reason there's not a lot of people driving on the high road. There's not a lot of people up there anymore, unfortunately. So what I want to do is differentiate myself, stop creating those comparisons, and put all the illness of success, put those success stories on the backs of our happy clients. And in the end, Dennis, I think you're gonna find that they can only lie so long. And here's the other thing, most people can see a liar from a mile away. So if you keep rocking forward, stay positive, don't play games and things like that, I think, Dennis, you're going to be very successful for a very long time. Never forget, friends, if sales was easy, everybody'd be doing it, and they're not. We're not crazy. This is a great job, friends. It will feed your future and your family for a lifetime. Keep your questions coming, ryan@ryandohrn.com. We'll see you next time. Get out there and sell something to make us all proud.
