Professional Salespeople are in the business of imaging and positioning. So, why would I deal with you and consider your product or service? Every buyer asks that question. Finding a unique way to distinguish yourself sets you apart from the other Salespeople all claiming to offer the best value. Here is a simple way to do it – with personal branding.
We are referring to the term personal branding
The product or service you sell has a brand. It’s brand is not the logo. It’s the feeling people experience when they see the logo or hear the brand name. In marketing, this is your goal and end result. The brand sets the perceived value of the product, which is used to justify the price.
Companies spend exhaustive amounts of time, energy and money to establish the right brand. Advertising agency executives stay awake at night, constantly striving to evolve a client’s brand in their own bid to keep the business.
So, what do you stand for?
What is the one word you wish to stand for as a Professional Salesperson?
This is easiest way to ensure you have the purest form of personal branding. While you may have a general image of how you wish your clients to perceive you, condense the message to one singular word. That should be the basis of your relationship with all of your clients.
Imagine this
A group of your clients are meeting together at a company function. The conversation comes around to you and why you’re the Salesperson they prefer to deal with. As they all provide their opinion, one of them mentions a word to describe you. The group agrees that is exactly who you are. Above everything else, that’s the word that describes you.
Here are some examples…
Gary is a great Salesperson. He never brings me anything that’s junk and a waste of my time and money. I know that everything he suggests to me is in my best interests. It’s as if he was buying it with his own money. That’s what I like about him.
The word: Integrity
Michelle brings me ideas. Instead of just pitching me on something that makes her a quick sale, she takes the time to come up with some different ways of meeting my needs. She goes the extra mile to think about what would work well for me. I don’t always buy everything she suggests, yet her past few great ideas have really made a difference for us.
The word: Creative
Karen is lightening fast at responding to my messages. Whether it be an email or voice mail, she usually gets back to me within the hour. Even when she’s tied up, she sends me a quick email to tell me when she can call me back. No other Salesperson I deal with does that.
The word: Service
Here is the next step…
Once you have the word, go one-step further. Write the word down. Follow it with this question:
What specific actions will I carry out to ensure that my clients use this word to describe me?
Consider every behavior, every act of service or benefit that you offer your clients. Think of the relationship your company and your co-workers have with your clients. Review what can you do to ensure that every client perceives you with this word in mind.
The application
The word: Service
Always return phone calls and emails at the quickest opportunity, not convenience. Ask my clients consistently about my service and their perception of our company’s service levels. Ensure that I follow-up on a regular scheduled basis, not when the client wants service. Call or stop in with a box of muffins and the occasional coffee card to say thank you.
Ask my Sales Manager to call my best clients once every 3 months to make them feel valued. Tell my Managers when my client is in the building so they can shake hands and say thanks for the business. Make sure I’m building a relationship with my client’s staff to show value and get their input.
Send my clients great articles and industry information (theirs not yours) to keep them educated and well informed. Introduce some of my clients to each other so they can start to do business with each other. Send friends, family and staff members to my client when they are looking to buy their products and services.
Get the idea?
Once you make that one word your personal sales philosophy and create the list of actions required, your clients are going to get the message. You are different. You distinctly stand apart from the competition and are an expert at Personal Branding. You are a Professional Salesperson.
Should any Professional Salesperson or company be interested in discussing our training services, email me at dave@prosalesguy.ca.
Thanks!
Dave Warawa PROSALESGUY
PROSALESGUY TRAINING offers Group and Individual Sales Training, Sales Management Mentoring and Consultation, and Business Consulting Services in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto. Training can be done on site or via web conferencing.
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