We have a tendency to group the words marketing, advertising and promotion under the same umbrella. It’s not uncommon for sales and business people to think that all these activities are someone or some other department’s responsibility. In addition, some people think that they are too good to stoop so low to become involved in these types of activities. Especially shameless self-promotion! Small business owners cannot afford the luxury of such thoughts.
If you don’t tell people what you do, how will they ever know. This is difficult for people to understand who don’t work in sales. My wife often kids me about engaging in shameless self-promotion when I meet people in any setting at pretty much any time. Yes, I freely admit that I make certain I leave no stone unturned when it comes to promoting myself, my company and the services that I offer. I do my best to maneuver the conversation in a direction which forces people to eventually ask me what it is that I do. This is a science in itself and it takes practice to get good at it. Over the years, I have initiated many sales outside of regular work hours and outside the work environment simply by letting people know what I do for a living. Many of the people who subscribe to my newsletter and blog originated from just such a conversation.
The easiest way to tell people what you do is to get them to ask you. This statement shouldn’t be confusing. It isn’t meant to be a riddle. This is actually very easy to do. You don’t have to be loud, rude or obnoxious to accomplish this goal. All you have to do is get very good at meeting other people, introducing yourself, taking a sincere interest in them and ask what they do for a living. When you get good at doing this, you will find that people will naturally take an interest in you and ask what it is that you do for a living. You won’t have to attack people; you will be able to have a very casual conversation that will happen very spontaneously. This is a very non-threatening way for you to promote yourself, your products and your services.
For those who earn their income selling, having a desire to constantly tell people what you do for a living is part of self-preservation. I believe that when you works in sales you owe it to yourself to find every opportunity you can, to gently slide it into every conversation you have. It’s a must to let people know what line of work you are in. In retail sales this can be your best form of prospecting for new customers. Lets face it, most people prefer doing business with someone they know so why not make certain that person is you. If you earn a living selling in retail you owe it to yourself to tell as many people as you can what products you sell. I’ve done a great deal of work with real estate agents and found that many of them fly under the radar. I might ask them if people that they encounter on a regular basis know that they are in real estate sales. Ironically, it’s not uncommon that there are people like their next door neighbour who by their own admission don’t know what their occupation is. I will joking call them secret undercover agents. It would be awfully disappointing if someone you know made a purchase and you missed out on the opportunity just because you neglected to mention what line of work you were in. Would it be their fault if you didn’t even give them a chance to become your customer?
We all know that selling is a numbers game and you improve your odds of success by increasing your number of exposures. If you’re not accustomed to doing this, it just takes practice. There is no pressure, it’s just something that you do in the line of duty. All you have to do is make getting to know some new people each day part of your routine.
“Strangers are just friends that you haven’t met yet!”
If you don’t tell people what you do, how will they ever know. This is difficult for people to understand who don’t work in sales. My wife often kids me about engaging in shameless self-promotion when I meet people in any setting at pretty much any time. Yes, I freely admit that I make certain I leave no stone unturned when it comes to promoting myself, my company and the services that I offer. I do my best to maneuver the conversation in a direction which forces people to eventually ask me what it is that I do. This is a science in itself and it takes practice to get good at it. Over the years, I have initiated many sales outside of regular work hours and outside the work environment simply by letting people know what I do for a living. Many of the people who subscribe to my newsletter and blog originated from just such a conversation.
The easiest way to tell people what you do is to get them to ask you. This statement shouldn’t be confusing. It isn’t meant to be a riddle. This is actually very easy to do. You don’t have to be loud, rude or obnoxious to accomplish this goal. All you have to do is get very good at meeting other people, introducing yourself, taking a sincere interest in them and ask what they do for a living. When you get good at doing this, you will find that people will naturally take an interest in you and ask what it is that you do for a living. You won’t have to attack people; you will be able to have a very casual conversation that will happen very spontaneously. This is a very non-threatening way for you to promote yourself, your products and your services.
For those who earn their income selling, having a desire to constantly tell people what you do for a living is part of self-preservation. I believe that when you works in sales you owe it to yourself to find every opportunity you can, to gently slide it into every conversation you have. It’s a must to let people know what line of work you are in. In retail sales this can be your best form of prospecting for new customers. Lets face it, most people prefer doing business with someone they know so why not make certain that person is you. If you earn a living selling in retail you owe it to yourself to tell as many people as you can what products you sell. I’ve done a great deal of work with real estate agents and found that many of them fly under the radar. I might ask them if people that they encounter on a regular basis know that they are in real estate sales. Ironically, it’s not uncommon that there are people like their next door neighbour who by their own admission don’t know what their occupation is. I will joking call them secret undercover agents. It would be awfully disappointing if someone you know made a purchase and you missed out on the opportunity just because you neglected to mention what line of work you were in. Would it be their fault if you didn’t even give them a chance to become your customer?
We all know that selling is a numbers game and you improve your odds of success by increasing your number of exposures. If you’re not accustomed to doing this, it just takes practice. There is no pressure, it’s just something that you do in the line of duty. All you have to do is make getting to know some new people each day part of your routine.
“Strangers are just friends that you haven’t met yet!”
Marshall W. Northcott, Canada's Sales Expert
www.marshallnorthcott.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome your comments.