Keep Your Personal Brand In Mind When Selling

Pretend you’re buying a car. Two dealerships have the make and model that you are looking for, and you have gone through the necessary motions of negotiating the price down at both locations. Both salesmen are offering you the same options at relatively the same price. Which dealership are you going to buy from? Naturally you’re going to pick the salesman that you liked better. Maybe you built a relationship with her/him, or maybe you just are fonder of their values and how they treated you.

 When you are selling a product or service, you need to remember that you are also selling yourself. “Each of us sells a certain set of attributes and intangibles that create meaning and value.” says Anthony Iannarino in a recent post from The Sales Blog. Just like the car salesmen, you cannot just assume that a slightly better product or a lower price will win over a prospect.

 It is critical to keep your personal brand aligned with the positioning of your product or service. Your customer wants the best product and one that fits in his/her organization. If there is something “off” about you, or if your personality doesn’t seem to fit your product or service, it will reflect on what you are selling. (Wouldn’t you feel uneasy if someone who sounds like a computer geek tried to sell you sports equipment?) 

While it’s essential to keep the professionalism in your approach, it’s also important to make sure you have your customer’s or prospect’s trust. On top of being personable, make the prospect think that you know what you are talking about and that your personality fits with the product. This will build your company brand and will reflect well on you in the future.