Just Stand-Out

When it comes to sales, what happens when the product you sell has no real differentiation from the product of your competitors? Maybe it has but it is perceived as having no real difference!

Simply by going through all the product features and technical specifications is not enough to seal the deal. This is because the customer can simply tell you, “Hey, the other guy is selling me the same product at the same price.” ( Could be even worse, at a cheaper price!)

At this point, most sales people resort to giving discounts and/or added perks. However, this strategy only goes so far and it really blemishes the company’s bottom line.

Even more challenging for people today as margins are already thin, giving a discount may not be an acceptable practice to your company. Since there is no substantial price differential and little product differentiation in the offer, other forms of uniqueness needs to be evolved.

Staff who equip themselves with vast product knowledge and coupled with years of experience are ready to conquer the lucrative market. I will describe such staff as professionally ready. But then I ask again, “What is so unique about you are selling?” Most staff I have met have the basic people skill of being well mannered, attentive and presentable. But since most staff are such, how are you different from them?

You are probably already unique in many ways. If you are married, your spouse choose you out of the thousands of potential candidates to share a life and grow old together. What was that unique character of yours that made you so …em loved? Could it be that you were funny or confident or simply paid a good amount of attention to your spouse that made your spouse fall head over heels in love with you?

Accentuate these qualities and apply them appropriately to your business relationships. If your prospects fall in love you (not in romantic sense of course, that is a different discussion for another day!) your chances of being successful in sales have greatly increased.

If you have not discovered your uniqueness, I have over 50 great tips on “How to be a Magnet!” Why people will gravitate towards you and simply want to deal with you! Here are a few to help you get on.?

Be the bearer of good news.
Many people thrive by making others miserable. They love to break bad news to others or absorb with talking about this. They love to tell you when the war has broken up in a certain country. They would love to tell you when there is an increase in taxes or that the transport fare is going up. They would only be too eager to tell you that a bomb has gone off and innocent lives were lost.

Although it is not wrong to break news to people, but if you were the one that is constantly breaking bad news to people, soon you will be known as the bearer of bad news. In the biblical days, the messenger was only too afraid to bring bad news to the King. For if the King is unhappy with the news, the messenger would be executed. The messenger prefers to bring good news to the King. For when the King is pleased, the messenger could be rewarded.

In the same way, we are rewarded or punished in terms of the reputation we possess and attitude others have built up towards us. If we constantly bring good news to the people around us, people will look forward to meeting us each day. Everybody loves good news. Once they associate you as the one that brings good news, they will receive you with enthusiasm. Before you make your next call or meeting ask yourself, what good news can I share?

Make every first encounter a great memorable first impression
In many social encounters, most people forget your name moments after you have introduced yourself to them, this shows that you have not left behind an impression strong enough on them. If they do not remember you after the first encounter, you can expect no opportunities coming from these contacts.

If you simply introduce yourself as “Hi, I am Leslie”, your acquaintance does not have a strong enough anchoring point remembering you. It is better to introduce yourself as “Hi, Leslie Choudhury is my name, meeting your company’s needs is my aim!”. Think of being different right up front. Do not introduce yourself as everybody else would. What’s the point? Be unique, help people associate your name with simple visualization or anchor. Point is make sure they remember you positively.

Describe more of your passion and interest as in “Hi, Leslie Choudhury is my name, sky diving is my hobby!” This will create a huge opening to talk about your hobby with people or at the very least because it’s unusual they will not forget you. Makes you interesting, makes the approach indirect. This will create a softer approach towards your prospect. You will not be seen as looking at every prospect as your next commission sale.

Make simple moments into magical moments

Every encounter with friends or strangers can be one that is special and memorable. Be engaged with every moment of conversation, smile from your heart, talk with your eyes, create interesting topics for conversation. Feel for the people you talk to, share their joy and share their pain. Be a good listener. Create a powerful presence. Be different, stand-out !!! Sorry got to go, I feel the force, Got to be Different!!!