How to Always Be Right
An old coworker of mine had a knack for always being right.
He could disagree with a room full of senior executives in a way that compelled them to agree with him.
He always got his way. Even when that way was, at first, enormously unpopular.
How did he do it? He was a usability expert.
For some reason, every usability expert I’ve ever met has been a walking encyclopedia of data.
Usability experts have a true and undying zeal for statistics. “30% of users do this when you do that,” etc.
True to his calling, this coworker had a statistic for practically everything.
I don’t know how many of these statistics were actually made up, but they were very compelling.
Who can argue with a statistic?
Like beauty, being right is in the eye of the beholder.
Especially when the beholder is your client or your boss.
How do you get buy-in for creative when your boss or client disagrees with you—
but you just KNOW you’re right?
Arguing won’t get you very far.
You can do what Erik did.
Arm yourself with compelling statistics.
(Statistics that are also verifiable and from a trusted source.)
But what if you’re not an encyclopedia of statistical knowledge?
And what if you don’t have time to spend 3 hours hunting for some obscure statistic on how email subject line lengths affect open rates to prove your point?
Thanks to Marketing Sherpa, you don’t have to.
Here’s your new Emergency Rightness Deployment Plan:
1. Sign up for a free trial membership of Marketing Sherpa.
- It’s $397 a year, but if you just get the free trial in a pinch, you can cancel at the end of the month. Don’t cancel, though. I’m not getting any affiliate commissions. It’s just that this really is the most valuable resource ever created for marketers. (Sorry, I don’t have a statistic for that.)
2. Click here to get in touch with your personal Marketing Sherpa librarian. This is a real librarian with a Masters in Library Science, whose job is helping you find what you need. Her name is Erin. You can call or email her what you’re looking for, and she’ll let you know where to find it.
- Maybe you’re looking for proof that shorter subject lines are more effective.
- Or, that having a call to action on the right side of the page works better than on the left side.
- Or, that having a subscription embedded in the page itself will be much more effective than making it a link.
- Do you have time to hunt through their thousands of articles to find what you need? Me, neither. Now your personal librarian will find it for you!
3. Armed with your statistic or best practice, present it with a flourish to the client.
Success! Not only did you just make your case, but you reduced the chance of future arguments.
Now, you may say your boss or client hired you because you’re the expert. They should trust your recommendations. And, if they don’t agree with you, that’s their loss.
In reality, even though most people want to hire the best experts, it’s difficult for them to put aside their opinions all the time. It’s our job to help them see the light. Think of it as part of the service you provide. You want to help them get out of their own way.
Without getting in your own way spending the day hunting for statistics.
Now that you know how easy it is to be right, go forth and librarify! (And let me know how it went below.)
2 Responses to “How to Always Be Right”
Great resource, I love the Sherpa and never knew about that great stat librarian service, thanks!
(And your smart post brings to mind that old saw: “93% of statistics are wrong 94% of the time” or something like that… it was just in the comics last week… )
Thanks for the comment, GirlPie, and you’re welcome! I was so excited to learn today that I had a personal librarian & could email her whenever I wanted.
Comics should definitely be added to the list of argument-winning resources…