Fake It 'Till Ya Make It!

That is "fake it 'till you make it" to me.

My example doesn't require that you emulate any one person but instead that you adopt a certain mindset depending on the circumstance and act accordingly. If you want to be a champion golfer then you need to act and make decisions accordingly, as if you already were a champion.

This concept of mindset that has captivated us for over a decade is a fascinating one - what it means in different contexts and how it's applied to action is a fascinating study.

What it means to have a champion mindset with behavior that matches the mind set has so many variations and descriptions. How the character of our thinking and actions develop and work in harmony is a study I continue to explore.

Emulating a mindset and what that means, acting and making decisions as you believe someone who has done what you want to do are not things typically taught in our schools, are they SpeedRacer.

MitchM

Fake it til you make it...

In a +ve sense, it means that action changes thinking.

In another +ve sense, it refers to what Tony Robbins would call 'modeling' I think - i.e. do what successful people do until it becomes second nature to you.

Maybe a -ve version of this idea would be people pretending to be what they're not as mentioned.

I don't use the phrase myself.

This thread is perhaps starting to get a bit into Semantics. The NAME or TITLE of

Perhaps this will shed some light on the topic from a new direction; in the Network Marketing (MLM) business/industry the term "Fake it till you make it" really does mean something. But does it meant eh same thing in sales?

Do you need to fake the reputation of the company you have chosen to work for or built? If you built your own company surely you used references you had while working in a similar business before you started you own, that and offers to your first few clients to fulfill first and only send an invoice after they are happy, just to get started.

I could take a job selling almost anything and start tomorrow. Do I have to fake anything or do I need to just know how the benefits of my product or service can potentially help my prospect?

Starting in MLM you can appear to be successful - how would your prospect know any better unless you simply had not studied the industry? That is different and perhaps the subtle difference is not easily apparent unless you have had this experience but there is a reason why you might want to leave the perception of your prospect that you are more successful than you are!

In Earl Nightingale's case he was better prepared than anyone else. That is how he got his first big time radio announcer job.

The same thing must be true if you are to start a website. You must be prepared as the GURU, not just write ad/website copy like you are one. Because you will get found out as a fake.

Preparation and study are essential if you are to succeed to your full potential in what we might call 'the art of influence', otherwise known as salesmanship. It is now 30 years since I took Xerox's sales course (Professional Selling Skills II) and now, more than ever, I am certain that preparation, study, creativeness and hard work are the things that have caused me to rise above the crowd (when I have). And I did not fake any of those things.

I agree wholeheartedly, Earl's example is the only example that I want to follow. No matter what NAME or TITLE you wish to give it. Perhaps this expression and what it means (Fake it till you make it) is really not what matters. And, to that all I can say is I hope my perspective helps.

"If you want a quality, act as if you already had it." -- William James

__________________

Faking it 'til you make it in multi level marketing or sales in general can mean different things as this thread has come to show. Faking it as in pretending, falsely projecting, or lying about your personal success is something I dislike. I also know that a clever deception has turned an idea into gold and saved a nation from calamity - we all know this.

In my small world of day to day business activity: "I could take a job selling almost anything and start tomorrow. Do I have to fake anything or do I need to just know how the benefits of my product or service can potentially help my prospect?" - Gold Calling needing to know how the benefits of my product or service is enough.

AND "I am certain that preparation, study, creativeness and hard work" - Gold Calling is also what matters.

MitchM

Two things come to mind when I see that phrase.

Lack of proper training --leading one to have to fake knowledge until they can obtain it through real life expereince.

and

Acting more prosperous than you actually are. Taking on some debt you really don't need to adorn yourself in fancy clothes, car, house, etc that you really can't afford yet.

Dangerous path to success IMO.

If you go down that path, and it isn't going so well, I think you will be more likely to bend rules, etc to make it to the top. Not a path I'd like to see people take, but I understand the draw.

No, you must never lie. This is acting without integrity.

However, I have noticed people assuming that I was more successful than I was at the time in both Traditional Sales and MLM. Perception is reality.

Training and preparation - these are the keys to success along with blood, sweat and tears, otherwise known as good old fashioned hard work.

Once again, though this thread has become a lighting rod, I do not think the phrase that is it's topic is all that important. And much of this thread has become a discussion of Semantics, unfortunately, because that can go on forever without a resolution.

Let me end by saying there are a lot of good people hanging out here. And, though "fake it till you make it" may offend one person to another it is not about deception at all. Everyone is right, as we are all entitled to our perception of what this means. And attitude is, most definitely a part of success and professionalism.

This would make a good poll question.

When people don't know the definitions of common words and problems arise from the misunderstandings no one benefits.

In a reply deleted by the moderator of this forum, I used the word amoral in an older sense of the word to classify something that has no grounding in a moral or defined sense but rather is deemed relative to one's perspective. My error was in assuming the definition would be understood as one meaning neutral in morality or definition - one of relative "anything you want it to mean" rather then meaning dishonest or unmoral. I didn't equate amoral with unmoral or immoral.

So it was a definition misunderstanding. I should have used another word - what I don't know at the moment. Whatever you want to call something that has no definite right or wrong or good or bad or base definition other than relative or neutral.

One definition you find online is: 1 a: being neither moral nor immoral; specifically : lying outside the sphere to which moral judgments apply <science as such is completely amoral — W. S. Thompson> b: lacking moral sensibility <infants are amoral>2: being outside or beyond the moral order or a particular code of morals <amoral customs>

I used amoral to mean that - also relative, with no defined grounding which I still read in the last paragraph of the reply I'm replying to - I don't mean it to be a flame or negative comment - just as I see a factual statement.

It's too bad my reply was deleted as the rest of it could have been discussed if anyone cared to discuss it.

MitchM

Here is a factual statement;

In no way am I unprincipled, unethical, dishonorable, unscrupulous, immoral or anything between having high business and personal morals and not having them. If immoral is left, amoral is in between and moral is right I am on the far right, about as far as you can get in fact. And I say that because in addition to perceptions in this thread that are fascinating, clearly, some are or were misunderstandings.

I also agree with the deletion of the last two posts in the thread (the ones removed), which many would not have seen (because they are or were out selling instead of hanging out here) and that is a good thing. Because of some negative points that could cause others not to post for fear of ridicule.

When I used the term semantics what I meant was that the interpretation of the words, which are symbols, widely varied. And a poll question could be asked in regards to what people perceived of the phrase that started this thread (though we have beaten the horse pretty good already). And, while that would be interesting would it forward our knowledge as a community on sales skills? And, as an answer, I suspect only in that it proves that words are interpreted quite differently. If we as like-minded, experienced sales people that have disagreed on what was being shared imagine the affect or our words and actions on prospects and clients!

"Fake it till you make it", in terms of the perception of success, to me, applies to MLM and to DIRECT MARKETING, definitely. But not to SALES - this is my impression. And, while I liked the posts and thread started by MitchM, would entertain a discussion about the specialties that this phrase do apply to, I note again that this thread seemed to sway back and forth with different perceptions of the phrase coming from opposing sides.

The reference to Earl Nightingale was inspirational indeed. A great story. That was worth reading this site for the last 2 days!

I beleive a forum like this one can be an amazing for inspiration and information. But forums can also be unruly too, which I have experienced through discussion sites that are not policed. It is up to us all to respect each other, be polite and make this community a place where it is fun to check in, then and only then is it possible this forum will grow into what it could be. If that is the direction this forum should take then I would be proud to contribute.