Karen Keller
Selling anything is an art. Selling a product, a service, an idea or a process is one thing. But selling yourself is another. That’s where we separate the women from the girls! The most critical piece of EVERY sales conversation is how you present, relate and sell YOU.
Here are the top 5 mistakes you need to avoid to successfully sell yourself:
1. Talking too much about yourself
Many times we ask a question designed to solicit information only to respond with something about ourselves. We begin sharing our stories, our skills, our ideas – get the picture? It suddenly turns into "all about us."
All the while we assume the other person is interested. Umm … not really. We believe she cares about our talent, how good we are a softball, what’s going on with our kids, and what we had for lunch. Assumptions at this point are not good. What happens? The prospect loses interest and begins to consider what new wall paper she should pick out. We leave wondering, "What happened?" As if we really didn’t know!
The Fix: Be upfront talking about what the prospect’s problems are. Ask, what I call, Wisdom Access Questions, such as, "What’s getting in the way?" "What is most important to you right now?" "What’s working for you now?" and "What would you like to make different?" Give genuine importance to the prospect’s situation or need.
2. Trying to impress the "influencer" of the decision maker
Who is the "influencer" of the decision maker? Anyone or anything that influences the person who is making the final decision about whether to buy, hire, introduce, or listen to you. So, we set out to impress the influencer by asking them for "secret" information; such as, what does she like to eat? Who does she trust? When is the best time to approach her? And, finally, what should I day?
All this shows is that we didn’t do our homework. We didn’t read about the prospect. We didn’t take time to understand her business or better yet her personality. You might say, how can I know those things? Paying close attention to those things opens the door for you to see, hear and sense all the information is there. You can be exceptionally good at this if you educate yourself on the styles of personality. So what happens? The "influencer" blows us off. They probably not only laugh inside but are more determined than ever to never let us get close to the prospect.
The Fix: Do your "due diligence." Know what may make the influencer tick ... what gets 'em going. Be able to identify a reason the prospect could benefit by meeting or talking with you. Don’t waste their time or yours. It also doesn’t hurt to pay a compliment to the influencer. A little sugar goes a long way!
3. Leaving a totally lame impression
The most valuable thing you ever leave behind is your reputation. Your reputation is priceless. You wouldn’t think of letting someone soil it. So, why would you? Of course you wouldn’t … intentionally! For example, you babble on and on about yourself or nothing relevant which leaves the prospect wondering why you showed up or what your intentions were. She is thinking, "Wow, she was so boring just meeting her, I can only imagine what it would be like doing business with her."
What happens is the message, invitation or request you left gets ignored because you left a bad impression. Impressions are formed based on two things; the prospects experience and what you show them. Remember the old adage, "You only get one first impression?" Well, you do, so don’t waste it! If you come to a meeting looking disheveled, inappropriately dressed, food in your teeth you will be dismissed. Same goes for not making eye contact, shaking hands and showing proper interest in the prospect.
The Fix: Make a good impression. Create a checklist of the items that are necessary to make a good impression. Hair, clothes, shoes, briefcase, clean car (you may take her to lunch or she may look out the window). Your list should also include making good eye contact, shaking hands, showing interest, knowing the right questions, and knowing your prospect. Practice this in the mirror or on a friend to see how well you rate on leaving a good first impression.
Here’s the deal about first impressions; when we make them we become determined to make them right. For instance, if my first impression of someone is that they don’t care when in reality they do, I will go to the ends of the earth to look for anything that proves they don’t care. Why? Because we humans have a hard time being wrong. It’s that simple.
4. Failing to communicate
The three parts of communication are; non-verbal (55%), tonality (38%) and words (7%). Most of us spend our time on the smallest percentage of communication. No wonder we can’t get our foot in the door. So, you focus on what you are saying, what the prospect needs to hear and what your responses will be. This happens because we are uncomfortable with anything else but words, like silence, listening between the words, mirroring body language or being intentional with our tone. I’m not saying this is easy, but definitely worth the effort to learn.
When we place the most importance on the least percent of communication the prospect feels unheard. She may even become irritated or frustrated. We sound unemotional and detached from the conversation or what’s at stake.
The Fix: Focus totally on the prospect. Notice their gestures, their pauses, their emotional attachment to what they are saying. Forget about what you want. They don’t care what you want. They are only interested in how this will affect them … the WIIFM (what’s in it for me!). Before you approach the prospect practice your listening skills, your tone and your non-verbal body language. Hire a coach to help you recognize your blind-spots and take action.
5. Failing to differentiate yourself from every other Thomasine, Beatrice, or Harriet.
What reason do you give your prospect to use your product or services? Do you have a reason? What is it that makes you stand out from the crowd, the competition or the nearest distraction? Here’s the scenario; you are in front of the prospect, giving her all you’ve got and she asks you why she should go with you? I.e., buy you? And you stammered, said all the ‘right stuff’ but weren’t convincing enough. How can you be when you aren’t convinced yourself?
You know what happens next – the prospect is already onto the next seller even before you are closing the door behind you. Ugh.
The Fix: You need to know before you approach the prospect what makes you different, more special or distinctive. Notice I didn’t say your product or your service. Products and services can be changed or improved. But you are the key to what will make the relationship work and prosper. You are the key to how that particular prospect will get what she needs. You are the key to establishing a long term loyalty.
