Attention Sales Leaders... Take A Look At Your Sales Team, And Then Make A Change!
Larry Levine
In a world of empty suits, I’m leading a movement of authenticity, integrity, and trust inside the sales profession
“Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to be in business.”
Warren Buffet
The late great Michael Jackson, "If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change"
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the “sales” world a better place
Take a look at your sales team, and then make a change
Your clients and prospects are using digital content to make their purchasing decisions, and what are you doing about it? The ironic thing, you and your sales team use digital content to make purchasing decisions. An overwhelming majority (89%) of B2B researchers use the internet in their research process.
Selling in today’s ultra-connected, fast paced business environment is brutally tough. Your clients and prospects are drowning themselves online as they conduct their own research. They're becoming their own tour guides as they educate themselves to solve specific problems existing within their business environment.
My question to you...
What are you doing to help your sales team position themselves online to capture the attention of your clients and prospects?
YOUR SALES TEAM HAS A BRAND
We can all agree, your company's brand is one of the most important factors to its ongoing success. It's the crowning touch to corporate identity; prepared, packaged and presented in such a way to be aesthetically pleasing, recognizable and attractive to prospects along with your clients.
However, your company is not alone in the quest for solid branding. Personal branding, the art of building a one and only brand around each and every member of your team, is equally important. Personal branding necessitates that your sales team finds a signature image, their unique voice, a recognizable standard for their followers, prospects, and clients to rally around.
Some will agree, each and every member of your sales team is front and center, the face of the business. The development of their brand allows them to establish a reputation and an identity while still maintaining a personal level of trust and interaction.
"Being relevant and memorable is the new differentiator"
How is your sales team becoming recognizable in a crowded marketplace? How well are they building their authority? How well are they building upon becoming subject matter experts? How well are they creating their following?
I encourage you to help your sales team create their unique brand and rise above the noise!
Think about the following...
How does my sales team differentiate themselves enough that prospects want to talk to them and not feel like they're hearing the same story from every other sales rep?
5 BRANDING TIPS
A personal brand is mission critical and in sales it's vital! In a matter of seconds, a client or a prospect can form an opinion about one of your sales reps with a simple Google search.
"If you're your authentic self, you have no competition"
AUTHENTICITY
Authenticity requires self-knowledge and self-awareness. Authentic sales people accept their strengths and weaknesses. They are accountable to themselves. They are connected to their values and desires and act deliberately in ways consistent with those qualities.
Be a normal human being. Normal human conversation goes a long way. Have your sales team really get to know your clients and take the “sales” hat off.
"Humanize what many in sales have dehumanized"
REAL
Be genuine and not a fake. There are way too many sales facades and empty suits running around the sales world. Prospects can smell insincerity a mile away. Prospects will respond favorably and your clients will come back again and again when they see your salespeople as the real deal -- instead of just an all about me sales rep.
CONSISTENT
In sales, we over complicate the process. We fail to do the little things on a consistent basis. Instead of focusing on doing just one or two things exceptionally, we become obsessed with doing everything perfectly. The result is frustration and lackluster sales performance. The key to success in sales is to identify one or two small things we can do well and do them consistently.
"Sales reps are consistently inconsistent!"
PERSONABLE
People skills are a must to stay at the top in sales. Your sales team must learn how to get along with, enjoy meeting with and speaking with a wide variety of people. The way your sales team portrays themselves is exactly how they should be perceiving themselves.
People can smell B.S. from a mile away and if you’re sales team is pretending to be something they're not, I guarantee you people can tell and it’s most likely the reason your reps are being pigeon-holed.
HELPFUL
Are your sales reps truly being themselves, instead of being some kind of sales machine? Are they an interested individual who wants to HELP, unlike many who are looking for another commission check? The foundation of sales is around the art of the help.
How well are your sales reps helping their clients and prospects?
BRINGING THIS ALL TOGETHER
How your sales team cleverly captures, converses, collaborates and connects with your clients and prospects will determine their long term sales success.
Their personal brand is like a garden. Once they lay the groundwork, plant the seeds, fertilize and water; they'll be in a great position to eventually reap the benefits of their hard work.
- How authentic are your sales reps?
- How real are your sales reps?
- How consistent are your sales reps?
- How personable are your sales reps?
- How helpful are your sales reps?
“All of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.”
Tom Peters in Fast Company
I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way! It's about understanding value before visibility.
Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.
You can find more material inside Selling From The Heart.
In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
Client Aquisition Specialist @klamp
6yOne of the biggest hurdles for sales people is to gain the trust of his prospects as the general perception is that most of the sales people lie. This is where being authentic and genuine creates trust. This cannot be achieved over night and requires consistency on the long haul to gain customer trust which will eventually convert into sales.
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6y" While Sales Are Here ; And Supply Is Here ; And Demand Is Here On The Curve Here ; And We Are By Comparison Market Leader Due To These Figures Here, Here : We Will Now Drive Change As The Market Leader To Be That ; We Will Maintain Our Number One Position " Said The Specific Specialized Task Sales Leader " Because My Specific Specialized Sales Task Force Team ; We Will Do This Contingency Here And This Contingency Here " ( And Then The Specific Specialized Sales Leader Morning Meeting With His Specific Specialized Sales Force Team Very Well.... It Carried On )
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6yIt’s interesting that you used “authenticity” It’s a bit of a cliche on social. Almost to the point of losing meaning. Yet, that word does mean something and you illustrated it very clearly here. I also liked your use of helpful. It’s one of my favorite terms in business! I had a trainer one time say that your helpfulness is equivalent to your value! I like that a lot. But it’s deeper. When you’re helpful, you’re convenient. When you’re convenient, you are no longer a price commodity! Great article
Helping sales teams with customized insights and analysis for those who plan, buy, or sell media.
6yWhat about this one Larry in my mid 20's I had a mentor called dick Luby when i started at CA. This is what he told me " Kenny you will likely have many different business cards throughout your career. But one thing will never swearword change on it. Your Name". Wowwwwsseerrrr
Re-Engineering Sales & Marketing for Today’s Customer | Building teams that drive revenue
6yGreat salespeople have been working on their brands for years. But most do it through word-of-mouth or face-to-face. They build solid reputation based on the value they bring to their customers. The real challenge for today’s modern salesperson is how to do the same through social media. Great article Larry. Thanks for posting!