The hidden factor that decides your deals
I often talk about rules for sales, but I recently broke a big one: understanding the role of status.
How people see you determines if they'll give you their time.
When my title changed from "Sales Manager" to "Founder & CEO," more important people took my calls, even though I was the same person. That’s the power of status.
I learned this lesson the hard way recently.
When I was reaching out to other founders, the conversations I had with people at my level went great. But when I approached a successful founder with 20 more years of experience, I made a classic mistake. I put him on a pedestal, praising him too much while asking for a meeting.
The result?
He saw me as a waste of his time, and I never got the meeting.
By acting like he had all the power, I lost any chance of being seen as an equal before we even spoke.
How to Show Your Value and Set the Tone
So what could I have done? The difference in our experience and success was real. I couldn't change that.
But status is really about perception. It's not just what you've done, but how you present yourself. If you feel like you're at a disadvantage, you need to change the dynamic.
→ Offer something they need. If you have a solution to their problem, the power shifts. Their title and experience don't matter as much when you have something they want.
→ Use your connections. When you know people they respect, some of their credibility rubs off on you. It’s like borrowing their reputation to get your foot in the door.
→ Lead with your expertise. You could be a teenager in a hoodie, but if you're a brilliant designer or coder, that skill gives you a lot of status. Being an expert in one area is often more powerful than general business experience.
Perception Is Everything
Every email you send, every post you write, and every meeting you run is being judged. The other person is always trying to figure out who you are and what you're worth.
You have to actively manage how you're seen. Don't let other people define your value for you.
Even though I forget this myself sometimes, I cover it in much more detail in my Choice Design Fundamentals course.
You can watch the first lesson on how people make decisions, completely free, right here.