Differentiate yourself to rise above the crowd

Success depends on the authentic you commonly known as "your personal brand".  Differentiating yourself by understanding how those in your field deliver similar services, and all that's associated, will make a big difference for your impending success.  This is true for business development and sales, as well as for success with interviews to be the one hired.

It's still difficult to get one very poor experience out of my mind, due to sales techniques that were both inappropriately used, and several that were obnoxious.  In particular, scare tactics don't cut it with me and hopefully not with you either.  

An example of a scare tactic is, ?If you choose to delay or ignore my service, the following will happen??   This could come across as a sincere threat.  In the case of the above, the threat proved to simply be untrue upon being passed by another person who is experienced in the field.

The good news is, I recognized how to turn that bad karma into a positive result:  Volunteer Help and work to the benefit of the prospective clientele

"Bill" has just begun in the field.  He is a super nice guy, a friend, highly talented, and I want to see him succeed.  Therefore, I made an offer to share my sales insights, free of charge, should he ever desire the help. At the same time, I let him know what went wrong with his "competitor" in order to help him avoid doing the same.   

Effective sales producers keep a sharp eye on their perceived competitors.  By so doing, they are able to verbalize the differences and similarities, and why their delivery is advantageous.  Doing so holds keen attention by the prospective clientele.  As long as what you convey is truthful, and includes the full picture of what you can and cannot offer, this becomes the competitive edge that wins more sales.

As you build your business and career, be of the mindset to take time to offer help to individuals and communities.  It's highly rewarding to help others succeed.  Several side benefits come about from helping others freely:

1. Service puts you in a leadership position and creates a stronger personal brand.    
2. ?New ideas come about by working with others due to determining further need.
3. With new products and services in the mix, you enjoy increased sales, clientele, and further opportunity presented to you.

My mantra has become, "when we all reach out to help others come up from behind, we may positively impact society".

This is key for the Smooth Sale!

Read Addtional Strategies and Techniques:

Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, Sourcebooks

HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews, Career Press

Be Sociable, Share!

•