Differentiation…its the goal for companies, products and sales pros alike. Yet, how do you stand out from all the other salespeople and products or services?
We don’t have to go to the extremes of celebrities (hint: if you watched the Grammy’s last night, Cee Lo Green with Forget You – really stood out – see picture). What we do need to do is be SMART in ALL our communication and contacts.
- Start with preparation. Your preparation leads to a more productive, focused and less stressful meeting for everyone.
- Make the effort to tie who you are and what you do relevant to THIS person.
- Ask intelligent questions that are different from what everyone else asks. (Yes, most sales people ask the “what are you using today” “what aren’t you happy with” and such questions)
- Relate what you can do for them back to their problems, opportunities, needs and wants.
- Think for them – what do they need to make a decision? What information, time, resources? Make it easy for them to say yes and move forward.
Thank goodness we don’t need crazy clothing, music or puppets (again, a reference to the Grammys) to stand out from the crowd in sales.
