People judge the message by the messenger. It doesn’t matter if the service or product is the best on the market… if the person “selling” it doesn’t measure up…
Here are some tips to help you sell yourself successfully.
* Remain positive. Tell yourself you can do it and keep reminding yourself that you can until it becomes second nature. Your self-confidence shows itself in your bearing, your expressions, the words you say. People have more faith in confident salespeople – it reflects on the product or service they represent. Take deep breaths and just have faith that it will go well.
* Be yourself! Okay, not everyone is going to love you – that’s the way things are, but nobody likes a phony. People trust and respect honesty and integrity… regardless of the type of personality behind it. You don’t have to be Miss Popularity – you just have to be sincere.
* Dress the part. People DO judge you by your appearance. You don’t have to overdo and look like a Vogue model – if you try too hard, you risk being suspected as phony. You need to be clean, neat and professional – that’s all.
* Don’t hard sell – putting the hard sell on people often comes across as desperation, and to many people it’s annoying and off-putting. If the product/service is that good, it will sell itself, and it isn’t realistic to think that every person you meet is ready to buy when you want them to.
* Be careful with small talk – or avoid it. Busy people don’t have time for it and will find it annoying. Let your customer be the guide, and by all means, if they wish to exchange in some light banter, join in – but keep your opinions to yourself. Don’t make assumptions about your prospect’s tastes or beliefs and this way you’ll not say anything wrong or clash with them.
* Look and listen – what are your gut feelings about this client? Don’t be so busy talking that you miss all the important signals.
If you look the part and sound sincere and honest and you don’t overwhelm or intimidate your potential client, they can’t help but trust you and be willing to talk with you. Don’t be offended if they can’t “stop and chat” there and then – you could always suggest an appointment if they’d like to hear more about how you can help them… if they balk, just mention the magic words “no obligation”, and you’ll be heard. If they think they have nothing to lose and there is the potential that there may be something to gain by hearing you out, they will be happy to talk further.
