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Selling
Every sales person I talk to asks me the same thing, “How do I get buyers to listen to me? I can’t seem to get their attention, a call back or response.” My response is a question back to them . . . “What are you doing differently than the other 37 sales reps knocking on their door or blowing up their inbox every single day?” Chances are, you’re not getting responses or movement from your buyers if you’re stuck in the “sea of sameness” as are most sellers. Same approach, same emails, same phone calls, same networking events, same presentations . . . same, same, same . . . equals, Ignore, Ignore, Ignore. If you’re having difficulty producing leads or moving business forward, it could be because you’re working at the wrong end of the buyer journey, trying to influence their decision to buy you by interrupting or disrupting them after they’ve already done their research and formed their decision making criteria. As sellers, we tend to look everywhere or at everyone as a potential prospect however, not everyone needs you. Of those that do, buyers fall in to two categories: those looking for solutions or those looking for NEW solutions. This means as a seller, you have an uphill battle to either overthrow the status quo or upseat the incumbent vendor/provider. Your buyer will live with the status quo as long as possible and if they are thinking of making a change or investing in something new, they are starting their research and road to buying LONG before you know it. So, how do you overcome these obstacles and battle the status quo? You’ve got to stand out from the crowd by being BETTER than the crowd. Getting attention and response from time deprived buyers in a sea of competition requires Leveling Up your sales game by investing in your personal professional development. This isn’t about Marketing handing off more leads or creating better brochures or slick emails – this is about you amplifying your personal brand and projecting your professional value to buyers that DO need you. Your Keys to Standing Out From The Crowd: Authenticity – be you. When you come across first and foremost as “Jim” or “Sarah” instead of a fabricated professional sales persona, your genuine self is easier to relate to and helps build the foundation for trust. We all have an internal BS meter and can detect when someone isn’t being genuine or has an agenda. Be you, not a robotic sales version of you. Confidence – be confident. Be confident that you have value and that you CAN help your buyers. Confidence is attractive and paired with your authentic self, you have CHARISMA which is like creating your own gravitational pull. Buyers need professionals that sound, act and demonstrate confidence in their product and ability to provide answers and solutions. If you sound unsure and can’t demonstrate your belief in what you have to sell, it shows up in your voice, your body and all your communication. Your confidence helps your buyers feel more confident in you. Expertise – gain it. Read, read, read . . . learn, learn, learn and have your pulse on what’s happening in your industry, your customers’ industry and your market. Most sellers have done due diligence to know their own product and probably what their competitors offer, but how much do they know about their industry. Or how in depth are they versed in the industry and competitive drivers of their customers’ industry or how their customers compete in their markets? Demonstrating expertise that is deeper than your competitors is an excellent way to stand apart and put you in a category of one. Having this profound level of knowledge changes the conversation from only what you offer to what really MATTERS to your customers. Knowing you offer insights and context to their circumstances is a trust trigger that can get you calls back or responses from those busy buyers. Voice – use yours. In a sea of the same, a fresh, authentic and confident voice cuts through the crowd clearly. Most of your contemporaries are still grinding away at the sales with the same techniques and generic messages. Your voice has more value if you’re using it, not as the company mouthpiece, but to share what YOU know and why YOU believe. Plant your flag on your expertise and knowledge and wave it for everyone to see. Use key platforms to share your voice so your buyers understand who you are and why they should work with you. We’re not just talking about having a LinkedIn profile and I’m certainly not talking about promoting your product on social media channels. Using your voice is about bringing insights and opinions to your buyers’ journey so they can make the best decisions possible. Engage – your network. This is where you truly stand out from the crowd. Pull together your authentic personality and confident voice and start engaging in conversations with your buyers BEFORE they do all their research. You have the opportunity here to influence your buyers’ journey, instead of trying to reach them at the far end of their journey when they have already made most of their decision. Find where your buyers learn. Be where your buyers are engaged. Connect with them there and contribute to their professional network. Share your insights and opinions. Offer up resources and endorsements for those you work and collaborate with. Buyers are looking for connected and engaged resources to help them make their purchasing decisions. Having engaged with your buyer in their network before you call them makes for a warm conversation versus a cold call. If you could ask your customers or future buyers, they’d tell you that they’re pulling their hair out from having too many decisions to make, not enough time and they’re under ever increasing pressure to get more done on a daily basis with fewer resources. If you could step in to their shoes you’d understand why most of them are performing their own research on their own time frame and shutting out any seller that isn’t finding a way to add more value to their time or give them time back. Sharpen your skills and level up your sales game to be BETTER than your competition and better serve your customers. Until next time, stop hoping, start SELLING! PS – Here is an insightful “Letter from your customer” penned by sales guru, Jill Konrath. She nails what your customer is thinking! PPS – If you are struggling with how to get attention, have your calls answered or your emails read . . . you need a different strategy. Learn how to tap in to your best assets to be BETTER than the average seller who is still plugging away with the same tired tricks and tactics. Start your new year with new tools and the keys to Selling Yourself and standing out from the crowd. Stellar Sellars Workshop: January 8th, 9am – 12 noon
14
Dec

Are Buyers Ignoring You?

December 14, 2015, ,
Most every sales person I talk to asks me the same thing, “How do I get buyers to listen to me? I can’t seem to get their attention, a call back or response.” My response is a question back to them . . . “What are you doing differently than the other 37 sales reps...
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Presenting is not selling, salesfails, people earn business, sales pros
07
Dec

Are you Presenting, or are you SELLING (One of my personal #SalesFails)

December 7, 2015, , ,
Many times I have seen a sales person spend hours laboring over a presentation, packing it full of details, statistics, examples, graphs and graphics, pictures and hope. Yes, lots of hope, that the presentation will be so outstanding and cover every conceivable variable or objection that the customer will fall in love with the product...
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Hoping for customers-Selling-Competitive-Advantage-Differentiation
23
Nov

How to Make Selling Your Competitive Advantage

November 23, 2015, ,
There’s a certain comfort zone and preference most people have with the term “Marketing” versus “Selling”. Try telling someone “You’re going to start selling” and imagine what that reaction is versus telling a business owner or employee “You’re going to start marketing the business now.” Which one makes you a little sweaty or anxious? Selling...
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Don't Do Boring Business: Tell Stories To Reach Customers
19
Oct

Don’t DO Boring Business: Tell Stories To Reach Customers

October 19, 2015, , ,
“Just the facts, ma’am” – is the iconic line parodying detective Joe Friday from the old show Dragnet. Meant to demonstrate the character’s dry approach to interviewing witnesses, sometimes I feel like I’m meeting a live “Joe Friday” when I’m approached by someone trying to sell me a product. No context, no perspective or relevance...
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Sell to Real People
05
Oct

Sell to Real People. Not Robots.

October 5, 2015, ,
If you’re looking for great competitive advantage in your selling efforts, this practice will help you convert more prospects to customers and attract your ideal buyers: Sell to REAL PEOPLE, not ROBOTS. Seems kind of obvious, right? But in our zeal to mechanize the sale process so we can pave the road to riches ....
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Earn New Customers
28
Sep

3 Ways to Find New Customers

September 28, 2015, ,
This week marks the start of the last quarter of the year for most businesses. There are holidays, parties, vacations and lots of fun to be had between now and 2016 but don’t think that letting off the gas now and coasting is going to get set you up to grow and compete next year....
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Fear and Rejection: Overcome Business Rejection
21
Sep

Beat the Fear Factor: 3 Ways to Overcome Business Rejection

September 21, 2015, , , , ,
  When was your first or most impressive blow of rejection? Was it being picked last for kickball? Denied by your crush for a date to prom? Not getting in to your first choice college? Or losing a job to a more qualified candidate? Most of us have complicated and powerful associations with rejection that...
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Shame in your email game: 5 top email blunders of small busiiness
31
Aug

IS THERE SHAME IN YOUR EMAIL GAME? 5 Mistakes Small Businesses Make with Email

August 31, 2015, , , ,
“Opt In” or “Subscribe Here” . . . we have come to expect a certain level of value when we surrender our email address to a company and expect some unwritten {and also written} rules to be followed and a significant exchange of something worthwhile to us in response to handing over our email address....
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Featured-10-get-dirty-rules-for-sales-success
24
Aug

Getting Dirty: Business Success Is Rarely a Pristine Endeavor

August 24, 2015, , , ,
In getting to the business “promise land” – profit and growth, success isn’t always a perfectly pristine theory translated into a formula. Success is tough and dirty work, sometimes even ugly. This week, I had to share a fascinating series of books {and short but insightful blogs} by Roy Osing: BE DiFFERENT or be dead...
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prevent unhappy customers in your business
03
Aug

6 STRATEGIES TO BETTER PREPARE AND PREVENT UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS

August 3, 2015, ,
We spend a lot of time and energy writing and discussing how to attract and sell to customers. Our focus is primarily on the top of the funnel – generating “At Bats” for our customers and readers because if you bring the right product to the right people at the right time and demonstrate your...
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