Susan Estrich, the Dukakis campaign manager, said in an interview about that campaign, “Anything that puts you at risk – that makes you seem like a riskier choice for the voter – is going to hurt you badly.” It’s as true for job seekers and salespeople as it is for presidential candidates. And yet we persist in behaving as if superior knowledge and skill will win the day for us. In fact, if you seem like the riskier choice, your knowledge and skill almost always lose to your opponent’s ability to set the decision maker at ease.

How are you helping your clients – and yourself – appear to be the least risky choice?