The story of 2 identical resumes...In the mid 1980's researchers at Cleveland State University conducted an experiment. They created resumes for 2 people. One for David and one for John. Both resumes had similar format. Both had identical supporting letters of reference. There was only one small difference. John's letter included the sentence "Sometimes, John can be difficult to get along with." The two identical resumes were sent to many companies. And you know what? Majority of companies selected the resume of John over the resume over David. John, who was difficult to get along with, got more interview calls! One line of criticism of John made his entire resume more believable than that of David’s. "How can this help my business?" Telling your prospects about your weakness is really a good business idea. You will gain instant credibility with your prospects when you reveal your weakness. And credibility makes selling so much more easier! You might be thinking, showing an individual’s weakness is not the same as showing the companies weakness. But it’s not much different. A few years ago Hertz was no.1 in car rental business. Avis was lagging far behind them. But with one statement Avis closed in on Hertz. The statement: "We're No.2, We Try Harder" Similarly, a restaurant gained more diners by revealing their weakness:
“Our chef makes everything except salads!” Checklist:
Also read: Mini case study of outrageous names [This article is licensed under a Creative Common Lisence]
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