You are the product
We”re all in the selling business whether we like it or not.
It doesn”t matter whether you”re a lawyer or an accountant,
a manager or a politician, an engineer or a doctor. We all
spend a great deal of our time trying to persuade people to
buy our product or service, accept our proposals or merely
accept what we say.
Most of the time we”ll meet with resistance – “you”re too
expensive” or “we deal with someone else” or “I don”t agree
with you” or “your proposal isn”t good enough.”
There are many things that people will say when they resist
what you utter; however how many of these statements are
true?
Salespeople hear – “you”re too expensive” and they reduce
the price. Managers hear “I”m not doing that” and they
resort to threats. Politicians hear “I don”t agree with your
policy” and they try to rationalize.
It may just be that the people you”re trying to persuade
just don”t like – you.
Okay, so they don”t necessarily dislike you, it”s just that
they haven”t “bought” you. Before anyone will accept what
you say they”ve got to like you, believe you and trust you.
If you think about it, you are far more likely to believe
someone close to you than a person you”ve only known for
five minutes.
Just think for a moment about some of the people who come
into your life. They could be people you work with, people
on television, politicians or religious leaders. How much of
what they say is influenced by how you feel about them?
Before you can get better at persuading or influencing other
people – you need to get better at selling yourself.
There are so many occasions in day-to-day life that makes
this so important. You might be trying to buy something at a
better price. Perhaps you”re returning a product and know
you”ll face some resistance. Maybe you”re just trying to get
a member of your family to do something they”re not so keen
to do. The task gets harder if you haven”t sold yourself.
Every day of our lives we are selling ourselves, nothing
will happen until we are successful at doing that.
When we meet someone for the first time, be it a potential
customer, client or new colleague, they”ll make a quick
decision about us.
I read some research by psychologists who established that
we make around eleven decisions about other people within
the first two minutes of meeting them. We tend to stick with
these decisions until proved otherwise.
It”s therefore vitally important for us as
business people to get the other person to “buy” us as
quickly as possible.
Here are 10 steps to selling yourself:
# 1 – You must believe in the product
Selling yourself is pretty much like selling anything.
Firstly, you need to believe in what you”re selling. That
means believing in “you.” It”s about lots of positive self-
talk and the right attitude. I read somewhere that the first
thing people notice about you is your attitude. If you”re
like most people then you”ll suffer from lack of confidence
from time to time. It really all comes down to how you talk
to yourself. The majority of people are more likely to talk
to themselves negatively than positively. And this is what
holds them back in life. There are books you can buy and
courses you can go on and I suggest you do.
It isn”t just about a positive attitude; it”s about the
right attitude – the quality of your thinking.
Successful business people have a constructive and
optimistic way of looking at themselves and their work. They
have an attitude of calm, confident, positive self-
expectation. They feel good about themselves and believe
that everything they do will lead to their inevitable
success.
Successful business people also have an attitude of caring.
As well as caring for their own success they care about
other people. They care about their products and their
service and they really care about helping their customers
make beneficial buying decisions.
One of the first things that people notice about you is your
attitude and successful salespeople exude friendliness,
modesty and an air of self-confidence. They draw people
towards them.
If you are in a sales job or a business owner or a manager
then you need to continually work on your attitude. You need
to listen to that little voice inside your head. Is it
saying you”re on top, going for it and confident, or is it
holding you back.
If you”re hearing – “I can”t do this or that” or “They won”t
want to buy at the moment” or “We”re too expensive” then
you”d better change your self-talk or change your job.
Start to believe in yourself and don”t let things that are
out with your control effect your attitude.
Avoid criticising, condemning and complaining and start
spreading a little happiness.
Remember the saying of Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor
Company –
“If you believe you can do a thing, or if you believe you
can”t, in either case you”re probably right”.
# 2 – The packaging must grab attention
Like any other product we buy, the way the product is
packaged and presented will influence the customer”s
decision to buy. Everything about you needs to look good and
you must dress appropriately for the occasion. And don”t
think that just because your customer dresses casually, that
they expect you to dress the same way.
The style and colour of the clothes you wear, your
spectacles, shoes, briefcase, watch, the pen you use, all
make a statement about you.
Another little tip — when the person in reception at your
customer”s office says “have a seat” — DON”T! You don”t
want to be the crumpled heap in the corner reading the
newspaper when your potential customer comes to greet you.
You”ll be the one standing in reception looking smart,
sharp, poised, confident and ready to conduct business.
# 3 – Smile
No need to get carried away, you don”t need a big cheesy
grin, just a pleasant open face that doesn”t frighten people
away. I meet so many people at different business functions
and some of them look so unfriendly, they scare me to death.
# 4 – Use names
Use the customers name as soon as you can but don”t over do
it. Business is less formal nowadays however be careful of
using first names initially. It never fails to amaze me the
number of salespeople I meet or talk to on the phone, who
don”t tell me their name. Make sure your customer knows
yours and remembers it. You can do the old repeat trick –
“My name is Bond, James Bond” or “My name is James, James
Bond”
# 5 – Watch the other person
What does their body language tell you? Are they comfortable
with you or are they a bit nervous? Are they listening to
you or are their eyes darting around the room. If they”re
not comfortable and not listening then there”s no point
telling them something important about your business. Far
better to make some small talk and more importantly – get
then to talk about themselves. It”s best to go on the
assumption that in the first few minutes of meeting someone
new, they won”t take in much of what you say. They”re too
busy analysing all the visual data they”re taking in.
# 6 – Listen and look like you”re listening.
Many people, particularly men, listen but don”t show that
they”re listening. The other person can only go on what they
see, not what”s going on inside your head. If they see a
blank expression then they”ll assume you”re “out to lunch”.
The trick is to do all the active listening things such as
nodding your head, the occasional “UH-HUH” and the
occasional question.
# 7 – Be interested.
If you want to be INTERESTING then be INTERESTED. This
really is the most important thing you can do to be
successful at selling yourself. The majority of people are
very concerned about their self-image. If they
sense that you value them, that you feel that they”re
important and worth listening to, then you effectively raise
their self-image. If you can help people to like themselves
then they”ll LOVE you.
Don”t fall into the trap of flattering the customer, because
most people will see right through you and they won”t fall
for it. Just show some genuine interest in the customer and
their business and they”ll be much more receptive to what
you say.
# 8 – Talk positively.
Don”t say – “Isn”t it a horrible day” or “Business is pretty
tough at present” or any thing else that pulls the
conversation down. Say things like (and only the truth) – “I
like the design of this office” or “I”ve heard some good
reports about your new product”.
# 9 – Mirror the customer
This doesn”t mean mimicking the other person, it just means
you speaking and behaving in a manner that is similar to the
customer. For example, if your customer speaks slowly or
quietly, then you speak slowly or quietly. Remember people
like people who are like themselves.
# 10 – Warm and friendly
If you look or sound stressed or aggressive then don”t be
surprised if the other person gets defensive and less than
willing to co-operate. If you look and sound warm and
friendly, then you are more likely to get a more positive
response. This isn”t about being all nicey-nicey. It”s about
a pleasant open face or a warm tone over the telephone.
Before we can start to get down to the process of selling
our product, our service or our ideas then we need to be as
sure as we can be – that the customer has bought us and that
we have their full attention.
