Are you being stingy?

…by not letting others know what you have to offer?

…by not speaking up and sharing your opinion or ideas?

Sometimes we are so focused on our “own stuff” and our fears or discomfort talking about ourselves that we forget that what we have to offer helps others. That’s right! Think about it. What you have to offer, whether it’s a product, a service, an innovative idea or new approach to a problem or simply your opinion, helps other people and improves their lives and/or careers in an important way.

Re-framing this as an offer to help is a terrific way for you to move beyond your fear and discomfort and focus on what the other person needs. It gets you beyond the “stinginess” factor.

How would your next job interview go if you used this mindset, understood what you had to offer and focused on how it could help the company?

How would your next networking event go if you used this mindset when meeting new people, finding out what they need and offering your assistance?

How would your next senior management or department meeting go if you used this mindset and offered your ideas and opinion?

For the next few weeks, I am offering you the opportunity to write and tell me specifically ONE way you help your company or clients (what value you offer), and I will feature your “commercial” in a new section of my blog/newsletter.

Please include your name, position, company (company website or personal website) and email so that other women can contact you.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

How do you stay marketable in a down economy? Promote your personal brand.

When it comes to selling yourself, you should follow the same guidelines that you use when selling any product or service. Take an objective point of view, do an assessment of the product (you), create an effective pitch, and develop a sales plan.

1.  Know Your Product.

Do an assessment of yourself and get to know yourself as the “product”.

What are your strengths?

List 3-5 personality pluses and how these traits have helped you in your current and past positions.

List 3-5 recent accomplishments. What do these accomplishments say about you?

2. What is your sales pitch for your product?

Create your own personal pitch.

Answer these questions:

What is my story? my history?

What differentiates me? What special qualities do I have and why are they marketable?

How have these qualities helped me be successful in the past?

What are my features and benefits?

i.e. I am tenacious and what that means to my employer is that they can count on me to stay focused and complete my assigned projects.

3. Create Your Sales Plan

What is your career goal for the next 6-12 months?

Create action items to help you reach your goal.

Identify people you need to be in front of consistently. How will you accomplish that? Set timeframes and identify resources needed  if any.

What organizations should you join/attend? What committee should you volunteer for?

What special projects should you take on?

4.  Go out there and sell yourself.

Always be prepared 24/7 to talk about your accomplishments.

Consistently work your sales plan and stay in front of your “web of influence”, your important contacts.

Stay visible. Stay positive. Stay focused.

Approach selling yourself and your own personal brand with the enthusiasm and confidence your “product” deserves. You are the best possible “product”. Go out there and let everyone know what you’ve got!

Want to practice your positive self-talk?

NEW Group staring in April

Friday morning Breakfast Brag Club (TGIF)

Thank Goodness I’m Fabulous!!!

8-8:30 am EDT every Friday morning

check it out:  http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/services/group-coaching/

]]> http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/2009/03/how-to-stay-marketable-in-a-down-economy/feed/ 0 http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/2008/11/good-selling-is-good-service-good-service-is-good-selling/ http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/2008/11/good-selling-is-good-service-good-service-is-good-selling/#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:56:28 +0000 Bonnie Marcus http://www.ltdstaging.com/clientsite/uncategorized/2008/11/good-selling-is-good-service-good-service-is-good-selling/

What does good selling have in common with good customer service? EVERYTHING.

Exceptional selling and exceptional customer service require a focus on the customer. Focusing on the customer makes the customer feel important and valued and when they feel important and valued, they are more likely to become a customer and remain a customer.

How do you stay focused on the customer’s needs rather than your own agenda?

In both customer service and sales, using basic sales techniques helps you to build relationships which will help you win customers and keep them.

1. Active listening. Active listening means to be present to the conversation and to listen carefully to what your prospect or customer is saying. What they are REALLY saying? Look them in the eye and watch their body language and stay engaged with your body language. Nod your head. Be responsive. Demonstrate that you hear what they are saying and don’t wander off into your own head about what YOU want to say next. When you think about what you are going to say next, you are not really listening.
2. Use Open-Ended Questions. Open ended questions are meant to “open up” the discussion because these questions cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. These questions start with “how”, “when”, “where”, “why”, “what”. You will find out more information from your client or potential client by asking them questions, listening, and gathering information.
3. Don’t make assumptions. Don’t script out your conversation in your head ahead of time and assume you know what the customer needs and wants. You need to ask the right questions to  get accurate information. A lost sales opportunity can happen when you assume that someone needs something and you gear your whole conversation in that direction only to find out later that they were interested in another product or service you have. They might have bought from you, but you didn’t present the product due to your false assumptions. Or in customer service, you assume that the complaining customer is wrong and don’t really listen to them and, therefore, lose a customer and miss the opportunity to improve your business.
4. Clarify. Make sure that you truly understand what the customer is saying. “So what I hear you saying is..” That way there is no misunderstanding.
5. Acknowledge and Validate. You show respect and understanding when you acknowledge the customer and validate their position. You show appreciation for their point of view. You are building a relationship.
6. Focus on the Client’s Agenda. When you listen to your customer instead of what’s in your own head, you have a much better chance to resolve customer issues or find an opportunity to sell your product or services.
7. Detachment. This is really crucial in order to maintain your cool in a customer service situation especially if it is your own business. When we become defensive, we build a wall between ourselves and our customers making it more difficult to resolve issues because we cannot hear the customer’s point of view. In a sales situation, when we are too attached to the outcome, we are no longer focused on the customer and we are not listening to what the customer wants and needs.

How would you like to be treated as a customer?

How would you like someone to respond to you when you have an issue?

Are you more likely to purchase from someone who talks AT you and doesn’t listen to YOU or someone who engages you in a conversation and asks you questions about what you need?

Remember, the way you like to be treated is the best way to treat your customers.