In today’s business world, it’s not enough to tell people what you good at, why they should hire you, or that they should trust you. In fact, if you do tell them to trust you, they will probably doubt you. What you need to do today is prove it to your customers. That’s why, in today’s episode, I am speaking with Melanie Deziel, co-author of the new marketing book Prove It. In this conversation, Melanie and I discuss the growing sophistication and skepticism of consumers and our mutual belief that the onus is absolutely on the business – not the consumer – to build trust in a business/consumer relationship. We also touch on the importance of being truly committed to the claims you make about your business and how this is especially important to today’s consumer, as well as how to use Melanie’s process for performing a “claim audit” on the claims you’re making to your customers.   Melanie Deziel is a keynote speaker, author, award-winning branded content creator, and the author of the best-selling marketing and business communications book, “The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas.” Melanie is also the Co-Founder and VP of Marketing at The Convoy, a B2B marketplace that helps small and independent businesses save money on their everyday expenses so they can invest more in themselves and their communities.  Prior to co-founding The Convoy, Melanie was the founder of StoryFuel and spent her days giving keynotes and leading workshops that teach marketers, creators, and companies of all sizes how to create better content. Melanie was the first editor of branded content at The New York Times, a founding member of HuffPost’s brand storytelling team, and served as Director of Creative Strategy for Time Inc. And be sure to subscribe to The Self-Employed Life in Apple Podcasts or follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode. Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com.  Melanie Deziel, thank you so much for being here!   Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself. Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world.     Guest Contact – Melanie Deziel on LinkedIn (in/melaniedeziel/) Melanie Deziel on Twitter (@mdeziel) Melanie Deziel on Instagram (@meldeziel) StoryFuel.co Prove It by Melanie Deziel & Phil M. Jones (PeopleWhoProveIt.com) Contact Jeffrey –   JeffreyShaw.com Books by Jeffrey Shaw Business Coaching for Entrepreneurs The Self-Employed Summit Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share!     Valuable complimentary resources to help you –   The Self-Employed Business Institute — You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. Check it out! Take The Self-Employed Assessment! — Ever feel like you're all over the place? Or frustrated it seems like you have everything you need for your business success but it's somehow not coming together? Take this short quiz to discover the biggest hidden gap that’s keeping you from having a thriving Self-Employed Ecosystem. You’ll find out what part of your business needs attention and you'll also get a few laser-focused insights to help you start closing that gap. Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! — Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal cust