Be Yourself & Sell Yourself

One way or another business is all about selling our self. You have to sell you to your customers, to your bank and other sources of funds, and even to people you are meeting for the first time in a social situation. ‘Selling’ really means just being yourself in a way that’s interesting to your audience.

That’s why, to make the right kind of impression on others when selling something, you can’t just commit a sales pitch to memory and deliver it – part of the process involves selling you to the prospect as well. You have to open up to people and let them see who you really are so they know they can trust you.

Think about a salesperson you’ve met whom you really liked - someone who left you with a positive impression, even if they did manage to part you from your money. Chances are pretty good that they didn’t just try to sell you something, but rather that they spent at least the first part of your time together getting to know you. And when you’d completed the transaction you walked away feeling you’d got to know them as well.

Subconsciously, what customers really want to do is to learn something about you and to feel that you want to learn something about them. They want to connect on a personal level and make the occasion one in which they’ve met a new acquaintance, even if the ultimate result is that they buy something from you. People don’t want to deal with strangers and will always prefer to purchase something from someone they feel they know.

How can you become this special kind of person when you’re trying to sell something? It’s not difficult and it will be something you enjoy doing. Here’s some tips.

Have all the answers

Remember that people come to you for knowledge and information they don’t possess. It’s up to you to prepare yourself for their questions by learning all you can about your products and how they relate to people’s needs. Anticipate what it is that customers will want to know and be ready with the answers. This will enable you to be a lot more helpful and reassuring.

Create an outline of the sale

This is not as hard as it sounds. Most selling situations go in a fairly similar, and therefore predictable, way. They always begin with a greeting and an introduction, then move on to questions and answers, finally ending with a close and hopefully a sale. Customers are on your territory and probably expect you to control the situation to some degree, so even before you greet a customer have in mind how you want the sale to go. It will make both of you more comfortable if there’s a structure to your conversation.

Get to know the other person first

Make the first part of every conversation about them, and not about you or what you’re selling. Make a point of finding out some personal details, starting with their names and what sort of work they do.

The most important thing to find out is just what they want from you. It may well be just advice at first, or possibly information about your product. Before you give an answer probe for a bit more information about their needs; if they ask a question it’s an indication that they are aware of a need and hope you’ll be able to satisfy it.

Relax and let things happen

You know your products and their benefits, you’ve prepared for this conversation, you’ve outlined how things will go, you’ve got to know the other person – now just relax and let the sale take place. Take the lead but don’t push, and be confident that you’ve got something this customer wants. If not, you’ll both recognize it as the discussion progresses and no harm done.
And most important of all, be yourself. Don’t try to become someone who’s the perfect salesperson or has ‘personality plus’. They want to meet someone who’s genuine and sincere – someone who’s just like them but with more knowledge about something they need. That’s you!