Most professional sales people are familiar with the axiom, “Sell benefits not features”. This is a motto that anyone selling any type of wares will try to follow to the tee.
It’s not what the product can do, but rather how it benefits its buyers.
This concept is important to the average sales person because it’s much harder to compete when products have similar features. More often than not they have similar functions, similar looks, and often similar price points.
And this is why many sales people fail. They focus too much on their product. Why their product is better, why it’s better looking, why it’s less expensive, why their prospects should buy it.
Product, product, product.
I’d like to bring a different idea to the table because there is one thing that is 100% unique about your product offering. One thing that can make it stand out from the crowd. Any idea?
…it’s YOU!
That’s right, you are unique to your offering because there is no one like you.
You have your strengths, your knowledge, and your experience to showcase the product like no one else can.
No one else will use the words you use, they will not position the product the same way you would, and they surely would not be able to sell it like you.
So instead of spending all of your time selling your product, why not spend a little time focusing on selling yourself to the prospect.
After all it is another common sales motto that people buy from people they like. So there is absolutely no reason that you should ignore this and not spend at least a little time selling yourself.
Another Way To Stand Out From The Crowd
I recently visited with a client who was telling me how much they disliked their last account executive. They said he didn’t listen to them and was only interested in pushing his own agenda in order to get a higher commission check.
They thought he was in no way interested in helping them, rather only helping himself.
I don’t mean to talk bad about someone but if he treated his other clients that way, I am in no way surprised he is no longer selling property management software in Los Angeles.
Because of what the customer told me I knew that their trust had been betrayed. I felt it was important to spend some time letting them get to know me so that I could rebuild that trust.
Instead of talking about my product offering, we spent a lot more time talking about each other. My experience, what I’ve seen in the industry so far, what their experience with MRI Software was.
First Things First
Selling yourself more than your product is an important thing to do during the length of any client relationship. But like I did in the above situation, it is even more so during your first meeting.
When a prospect invites you in to meet, it is very likely they already have a good idea of what you have to offer. A simple Google search will steer them in the direction of your offers, reviews, competition, and partners.
Remember that they invited YOU in. They are interested in getting to know YOU in addition to what your product can do relative to others.
And I promise, if they don’t like you, there will not be a second meeting.
So the next time you are in a meeting, remember that you are selling yourself just as much, sometimes more, than you are selling your product.
~ Johnny Bravo
Image courtesy of artur84 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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