Many sales reps focus almost exclusively upon selling their company and their company’s products, and give very little attention to selling themselves. That limits their ability to sell everything else, because when you sell something important, YOU are a big part of the package.
I recently received a note from a reader that illustrates this point:
I scored well on your questionnaire, but have a question. How do I use that information to my benefit? I’m a personal trainer and I’m very good at what I do. I am an independent contractor working out of a private studio. I can sell the owner and her studio, but I have a hard time selling myself. What is up with that?
In this case, the “sales rep” is responsible for delivering the services she’s selling, which isn’t traditional selling. However, todays’ sales reps (particularly in B2B selling environments) are increasingly being viewed as responsible for their customers’ results. In “consultative” selling, reps must position themselves in the customer’s mind as an “outsourcing manager” who can guarantee that a business function will take place on time and on budget.
And that means that they have to sell themselves — and not just their company and its products.
Our personal trainer is an exaggerated case of doing this poorly. After receiving her email, I went to the studio website and found her biography — the equivalent of an “elevator pitch” when it comes to selling yourself. Here it is, with my comments:
________ _______ is a Certified Instructor[1]. She came to ______ ______ in 2002 seeking to heal her back and avoid surgery [2]. The work, and subsequent training, allowed her to enjoy life without back pain [3] and even to ride a motorcycle again [4], not to mention spending time and energy with her five grown children and eight grandchildren [5]. She works with clients in several modalities [6]: (list of physical therapy methods). Her email address is ____________
- [1] Good, but provides no differentiation from any other personal trainer.
- [2] Sounds like she’s still recovering from a debilitating illness.
- [3] A great advertisement for the studio, but not for her services.
- [4] Irrelevant mention of hobby that many people consider a bit sketchy.
- [5] Congratulations! What does this have to do with my personal training?
- [6] Nice list, but what does it mean to me?
Ironically, there’s some great material here to position her in this business, particularly with older clients who might be getting their idea of what personal training is all about from watching reality television. However, the overall impression is from her bio is that she’s is a motorcycle-ridin’ grandma recovering from a serious illness. I’m intrigued, but the information she’s providing doesn’t scream “personal trainer” to me. No wonder she’s having trouble selling her services.
While her case is extreme, I know B2B sales reps who have an equally awkward “elevator pitch” when it comes to the all-important job of selling themselves.
One of my best friends, for example, consistently positions himself as “a guy who’s sold for about a hundred different companies.” Then, if pressed, he’ll explain why every sales manager he’s worked for was a jackass. While his stories are amusing, this “elevator pitch” does not help his credibility. He still makes sales because he’s one of the most personable guys on the planet, but his lack of an effective self-selling bio limits the degree to which customers will trust him with key business processes.
Similarly, there are probably millions of sales reps who (like our personal trainer) simply rely upon the credibility of their employer to create credibility for themselves. Unfortunately, today’s customers have an annoying habit of looking past the logo on your business card and want to know what YOU can offer — above and beyond what they’d get from another rep.
Anybody who sells for a living needs a bio — a personal “elevator pitch” — that helps them sell themselves. In a future post, I’ll explain exactly how to create a bio that will make it simple to sell yourself and (ultimately) anything else that you’re trying to sell.
UPDATE: This blog entry is continued in this post: “How To Sell Yourself…and Sell More.“
