You Are The Face Of Your Product

Salespeople are the face of their products and services as well as the voice of their company.  You are possibly the first thing that the customer sees and the last thing they hear regarding your company and products.  Ask yourself this question, “Do my words and actions represent my products and company in a true and honest manner?”  Here are five ideas that will help you convey the right message.

1.     Dress Appropriately – Long before you ever open your mouth, the prospect is evaluating you.  They are making judgments concerning your product based on your personal appearance.  You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Fortunately or unfortunately, that first impression is often based on appearance.  Since you are the face of your products, spend the necessary time to package yourself in an appealing manner.  People judge a book by its cover and products by their packaging.  Wrap yourself appropriately to represent both product and company.

2.     Be Honest – Integrity in both your words and actions is far more important than you may imagine.  People are generally trusting in nature, but once scorned, you may never earn back the trust.  You bear the burden of truth and trust regarding your products, services and the company.  In a sense, you are an outward expression of every employee, of every product, of every asset and every image one might have relating to your company.  The buck stops here – with you – you are it!  Whatever you say or do or act is the company.  You can’t minimize your influence and neither will the customer.  Be true, factual and honest in all your dealings with your customers and prospects.  Every employee and family that depends on the sale of the products and services of the company would want you to represent them with honesty and integrity.

3.     Under Promise and Over Deliver – You have all heard someone talk about a great movie they have seen or a fabulous restaurant where they have eaten.  They talked it up to the point that you felt compelled to go and then based on all they said, you were under impressed with the result.  In the sales process you can create a similar over inflated expectation with an under inflated experience.  Leave some of the excitement for an unexpected surprise.  Allow the customer the opportunity to discover unexpected features and benefits.  When you deliver what the customer expects you are only doing your job.  When you provide something beyond their expectation you are a hero.  The world of sales needs more heroes.

4. Focus On Their Needs – Selling really isn’t about you, it is all about the customer.  People need to feel important and you can provide that opportunity through your words and actions.  When the customer feels good about you, they are subconsciously feeling positive about your company and products.  The very best way to create a favorable attitude with a customer is to focus your attention on them by helping them solve their problems.  After all, in their mind, they are the most important person in the entire world.  Treat them that way and they will reciprocate by accepting your product and company as the very best. 

5.  Become A Boy Scout Of Sales – The Boy Scout Law states that a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.  I can’t think of any of those characteristics that wouldn’t apply to a salesperson.  You are the face and the voice of your company.  If you personally personified all of those traits, in the mind of your customers and contacts, you would represent the greatest company in the world, while providing the very best products and services available in the market place.  Work diligently to incorporate the twelve principles of the scout law into your sales culture and you will experience greater sales success through a loyal customer base.  I can’t think of a company that wouldn’t want to be represented by the face and voice of a boy scout.

Reciprocity, The Most Powerful Principle of Selling

The principle of reciprocity is basic to the foundation of sales relationships.  It is basic to all human relationships. This principle defines the human desire to want to give something back when something is received. This compelling need is strongest when something is given without the expectation of receiving something in return.  The strongest and longest lasting inter-personal relationships are based on the principle of reciprocity.

The “Golden Rule”, a basic principle of Christian theology and practiced by other religions and cultures throughout the world says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  This principle suggests doing something for someone else, something that you would like, regardless of what their actions may be.  Leonard T. Hobhouse, a liberal politician and professor at Oxford and London Universities in the late eighteenth century said, “Reciprocity is the vital principle of society”.  Richard Thurnwald, one of the most renowned social anthropologists of the modern era taught, “The principle of reciprocity is the basis on which the entire social and ethical life of civilization rests.”  The French sociologist, Marcel Mauss, in his short book entitled The Gift, stated, “Reciprocity is the human rock on which societies are built.”

What are you doing to incorporate this basic and powerful principle into your sales process?  Salespeople should always be looking for specific ways to incorporate this principle in their sales activities.  Doing something for someone else has a universal acceptance and will become one of the most powerful actions you will ever employ in your sales career.  One of my sales training and coaching clients, Jamie Earl with Holland Equipment, shared this experience with me. 

“I recently spoke with Tim, my Business Performance Group Sales Coach in our training session, about doing things for our customers that helps them out; in other words, giving something that benefits them.  I’m not just talking about taking them to lunch to benefit them by making their bellies full.  I mean doing something that honestly either makes their day easier or helps them with their business.  I recently had the opportunity to do this with one of my customers.” 

“I grew up in a farming and ranching community.   Well, as it turns out, I have a customer that runs a few cattle on the side.  He is the one that orders their “wear parts” and up to that point, he was cordial with me but was buying his edges elsewhere.  As it turned out, I happened to call him on the day he was going to do some branding and tagging, but he needed some help.  He couldn’t do it by himself and I offered to help him.  I spent about half a day with him out on the ranch with some of the other guys he works with and we had a lot of fun.  It was amazing what that little act of kindness turned into.  He has since been extremely happy to see me whenever I come into the shop and is willing to send any business he can my direction.  It hasn’t been a lot of business yet, but we have forged a friendship that I feel will last a lifetime.”  

Jamie
Holland Equipment 

This example is the perfect embodiment of the principle of reciprocity.  It doesn’t matter what you do to help someone, what matters is that you do it.  And when you do, they will reciprocate in some form or fashion.  At the heart of selling is the principle of helping others to achieve what they need.  When you succeed in helping them, they will respond by helping you achieve your objective, which is to earn an income.  When you apply this principle two things will happen.  First, you will experience greater personal satisfaction in your profession and second, you will be more financially successful.

Ten Things You Can Do To Sell Yourself

People buy from people they Believe, Like and Trust.  Even in a challenging economy, all things being equal, you would choose to purchase from the person with whom you had the best relationship.  Quite frankly, people buy based on relationships even when others are offering a lower price.  When you develop trust between yourself and the buyer and they know that they can count on you delivering the value they expect, they will buy from you.  It is truly amazing, the number of sales made as the result of social interaction.  A day on the golf course is worth days of prospecting.  Building relationships is the most effective method of creating long-term sales opportunities.  Now, if all these statements are true, and I honestly believe they are, you should be selling yourself long before you open your mouth to sell your products or services.

Here are ten things you can do to sell yourself, thus creating the most successful environment for sales.

1. Focus your attention on the other person.  Selling is all about the buyer and yet salespeople attempt to put the focus on themselves.  The buyer believes they are the most important person in the world and in the world of sales, they are.  Talk about them and their interests.  Listen intently and ask for their perspective.  Put them on stage and let them perform.  Give them the opportunity to shine.  As a salesperson, your time to shine will come with the closing of the sales.  This is their time to be in the limelight.
2. Make the other person feel important.  The best method of allowing someone to feel important is to provide for them an opportunity to talk about themselves.  Encourage them to talk about those things that are of interest to them.  Don’t upstage their performance.  There are many things you could say to put yourself in focus, don’t.  Listen, encourage and enjoy the excitement they have discovered in talking about themselves.
3. Learn something about the other person that you can sincerely relate to.  The key work here is sincere.  People have the ability to sense sincerity.  Don’t sabotage your success by coming across as phony.  When you have discovered something you can relate to, share your feelings without over shadowing the other person.
4. Be relaxed and have a sense of humor.  The inclusion of humor in personal interaction is a natural and extremely effective method of breaking down barriers.  Be yourself, natural, open and friendly.  There is a time to be more serious, but humor draws souls together.
5. Smile – Never underestimate the power of a smile.  Smiling is a human emotion that can break down even the most formidable social barriers.  In his book, How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling, Frank Bettger encouraged his readers to smile for thirty days to prove the powerful effect of a smile on sales performance.  It works!  Do it!
6. Be honest and genuine.  Honesty is the foundation of trust and people buy from those people they trust.  The world has too many salespeople who have abused the trust of others.  There is no long-term sales success without honesty.  If you can’t be honest, do yourself and the rest of us a favor and favor and get out of the sales profession.
7. Call people buy their first name.  The majority of all people prefer to be addressed on a first name basis.  If you are uneasy calling someone by their first name, ask for their permission.  You will be amazed at the positive responses you will receive.  Your first name is the most important sound in the whole world.  Use first names and feel the warmth and acceptance of others.
8. Create an atmosphere of caring.  This principle has been demonstrated in the advertising of a major greeting card company:  “When you care enough to send the very best.”  People are drawn to those who demonstrate a sense of caring.  When you truly care about a prospect and their situation as much as they do, you have raised your level of relationship.  Caring is felt and appreciated by everyone.
9. Never talk down to people.  This behavior is unacceptable and demeaning.  Accept people for who and what they are.  Treat them with respect as a person and for the title and responsibilities they bear.  Talking down to people is an attempt to elevate you at the expense of someone else.  In the process of building relationships, you should always strive to elevate others.
10. Look for ways to help others.  There is no stronger bond in the world than that created through helping others.  When we help someone, that act or deed does not just become a memory; its effect is burned into the soul.  As salespeople, your motto should be to find ways to help others achieve their objectives through the sales of your products and services.  If your products are not the solution, look for other ways to help them.

Effective Salespeople Speak FOUR Languages

Selling encompasses the art of communication.  The better you communicate, the more successful you will be in your sales career.  Communications is comprised of actions, words, appearance, sounds, moods, attitudes, voice, expressions and listening.  Another major aspect of communications involves personality.  There are thirty-two major personality traits that are simplified into four personality types.  To better understand and learn their significance to communications, they are typically categorized as red, yellow, white and blue.  Each of these colors represents a group of traits referred to as a personality type.  Each personality type communicates in its own unique language.  It is the understanding of and speaking the language of personality types that will significantly improve the success of a salesperson.

To simplify these four languages and to help develop your ability to speak them fluently, I’m going to refer to them by different names and suggest some recognition factors so you will know which language to speak.  For each personality type I will also give you some key points for communicating with them.

1.  Lion – Driver – Red: Recognition Factors

• Entrepreneurial Spirit, Sense of Urgency
• Independent & Decisive, Motivated & Persistent
• Concerned with Results, Takes Action
• Enjoys Challenges, Willing to take Risks
• Does not get bogged down with Details
• Very Demanding, Dominating, Controlling
• Lacks Diplomacy and Tact, Stubborn
• Keeps feelings and Emotions Private

How to Communicate with the Lion:

• Be Professional, Be on Time, Be Formal and Businesslike
• Be Direct, To the Point, Bottom Line, Don’t waste time
• Don’t sell relationships, Don’t be emotional
• Don’t tell them, make it their idea, don’t argue
• Be efficient and disciplined, Focus on time, money and results
• Don’t pressure them, Results are the only thing that matters

2.  Monkey – Expressive – Yellow: Recognition Factors

• Creative, Artistic, High Energy, Outgoing, Innovative
• Stimulating and Motivating, fun to work with
• Excellent communication skills, Personable
• Flexible on Rules and Regulations, disorganized
• Unrealistic, Impractical, Needs Direction
• Easily side tracked, Relies on hunches
• Opinionated without facts, Emotional

How to Communicate with the Monkey

• Be informal and personal, Focus on relationships
• Be entertaining and fast moving
• Get them to talk about themselves
• Use stories, examples and personal anecdotes
• Sell the sizzle not the steak, Use pictures
• Avoid criticism or high pressure
• They are impulsive, Keep it simple
• They buy when it feels right

3.  Owl – Analytical – White: Recognition Factors

• Hard Worker, Organized and Systematic
• Good at Follow through, planning and research
• Follows all the rules, Serious, Detail oriented
• Lacks enthusiasm, Overly Cautious, Lacks Urgency
• Poor communications and humor, Needs structure
• Greets you formally without enthusiasm
• Shows little emotion, Analyzes before speaking
• Takes lots of notes, Wants facts and figures
• Not programmed to make decisions

How To Communicate With The Owl

• Be formal and well organized, Be Prepared
• Place emphasis on actions not words, Be deliberate
• Don’t Rush, Allow them to ask questions
• Give detailed answers, Maintain arm’s length distance
• Keep humor to a minimum, Avoid idle conversation
• Avoid Physical Touch, Trust comes from respect
• Provide solid tangible factual evidence, No opinions
• Facts and figures are king, Don’t rush decisions

4.  Dog – Amiable – Blue: Recognition Factors

• Low-keyed, Likable and Caring, Good Team Member
• Loves Structure, Cooperative, Good Listener
• Makes Friends Easily, Mediator, Dependable
• Diplomatic, Tactful, Patient, Organized
• Excellent at creating processes and procedures
• Greets you warmly, Interested in you as a person
• Not a risk taker, Avoids conflict, Does not like change
• Easy going, Want to please, People oriented

How to communicate with the dog

• Will decide quickly whether to trust you
• Be casual and down to earth, Be sincere and honest
• Focus on them not your achievements
• Speak softly and slowly, Maintain good eye contact
• Ask question about them and family, Listen actively
• Give emotional support, Establish a personal relationship
• They will readily accept your opinion
• Don’t debate facts, figures or details
• They need personal assurances

Speaking the language of personality types could very easily become the most significant reason for your increased sales performance.  People like to deal with and associate with people like themselves.  As you communicate with others in their native personality language, you will discover greater insights, develop more relationships, uncover and solve more needs and sell more of your products and services than you ever imagined possible.  By the way, if our paths should ever cross, my native language is DOG.