In today’s world, we have more choice than ever before… customers, recruiters, investors, all of us have access to all sorts of options, from all over the world. Which is great…

…unless, of course, you are selling to them. After all, since they can choose anyone from anywhere, why should they select you?

People often seek to sell themselves by focusing on why they are best– “I’m the fastest, newest, keenest, most experienced …”

But, others don’t choose you because you say you’re best; they choose you because you can help them more than others can. So, to get ahead of your peers, try one/more of:-

1. Focusing on your value to others, not on yourself (“I help people pay less tax” is more compelling than “I am an accountant”)
2. Teach people something (your aim here: you want them to think “Well, I would never have thought of that”)
3. Facts tell, stories sell – a story about the success you brought to Project X differentiates you – after all, nobody else impacted Project X in the same way
4. If you do have something unique which brings extra value to others, say so. But tailor it to their need (“You said you want to improve your division’s reputation. I can help you do that because, unlike others you will meet, I…”)

Remember, it is more compelling to them to talk about them. So, replace “I am the only one who does X” with “I am the only one who can help you achieve Y”.

Action point

The next time you need to stand out amongst your peers, show the value you bring to others by using one or more of the above techniques.

After all, people will buy if you make them great, not because you say you’re great.

To receive Tuesday Tips, click here

My wife and I have been together for years and years, so I haven’t had a first date for some time…

But, I remember enough to know that, when I was asked “So, tell me about yourself”, I never said “I was born in 1969, I am unusually good at X, Y, Z and here’s a map of where I live”.

So, why on earth do some salespeople think that customers want to know “We were founded in 1922, we have unrivalled skills in X, Y, Z and here is a map of our offices”?

The whole purpose of a first date is for you to enjoy each other’s company, as equals, and for you both to identify whether you want to take things to the exciting next step.

It is the same when you are selling your ideas, your solutions and yourself: you will find more people say “yes” when they can tell you’re right for them, than because they know how old, clever or big you are.

Action point

For your next “sale”, identify what to say so both you and they enjoy the conversation…

… And give yourself the best chance of getting to Date Two.

To receive Tuesday Tips, click here

‘My mate fancies you’

The teenagers’ favourite chat-up line.

But as we all know, when looking for a date with that special someone, asking your friend to ask him out on your behalf is unlikely to work…

… He’ll wonder why you aren’t asking

… If you’re not there, you can’t react to what he says

… Chinese Whispers mean your/his messages won’t be received as planned

… Your chances of success depend on his relationship with your friend

Let’s face it – involve a middle-man and your chances plummet.

It’s the same in business. When you want to influence projects, you must speak with the main decision maker directly, not indirectly through a middle-man.

This involves two steps – finding who they are, and then saying the right things to them. We have dealt with the latter point in other Tuesday Tips. But the following questions help ensure success with the former – identifying the key person…

• Who’s the ultimate decision maker here?
• Whose project is this?
• Who’s responsible for ensuring this is a success?
• Who’s the key budget holder?
• What’s the approval process?
• Who else do we have to consult with, to get sign-off?
• If you and I deliver what we’ve just discussed, who will decide whether it is acceptable?

Asking a few of these – or similar – questions uncovers who the decision maker is.

And your best chance of a successful outcome for you – just as we found as teenagers – is to go to them directly.

Action point

Want to work on a new project, or become more strategically involved with an existing one?

Identify the key decision maker using the above questions. Then, approach them directly with ways you can bring them – and their project – new value.

To receive Tuesday Tips, click here

Does your organisation use brochures as one of their marketing tools?

Do they work?

Countless organisations spend countless £millions on brochures, even though they don’t always result in countless sales.

Sound familiar? Here are some tips on getting a better return from your investment in brochures…

• Have clear contact details somewhere prominent, which includes a benefit of contacting you – ‘To discuss how we can help slash your operational costs, contact John Smith on XXX’
• Write a strong, benefits-rich title, with the benefit being the same as in the contact section – ‘How we help slash operational costs’
• Make it shorter. Remember, a brochure’s only aim is that it causes someone to get in contact. Its aim is not to explain everything you do (after all, you can do that when they ring you)
• Focus on proving the value you cause, not simply listing everything you do. And…
• … do so in interesting ways – mini case studies, customer quotes etc
• Use short paragraphs…
• … which contain the word ‘you’ more than the word ‘we’
• Ask your good contacts and customers what they like/don’t like about your brochures, and follow their advice

Most importantly of all, ask yourself… are brochures the absolute best way for us to trigger interest within our target market? If they aren’t, don’t waste money on them.

Action point

Two simple actions:

1. Ask yourself whether you need brochures at all. Ask what harm it would do if you stopped doing them

2. Review your brochures, by referring to the tips above. Identify how best to improve them

To receive Tuesday Tips, click here

A taxi driver recently told me he stayed in a Bed and Breakfast which had no cold water.

When he enquired about this, the owner replied “if you want cold water, run a bowl of hot, and wait for it to cool down”…

I guess this might be the only Bed and Breakfast in England without cold water. This makes it unique. And, according to many books, uniqueness is something to aspire to. As you can tell from this example, I don’t agree with this …

People don’t buy into/from you because you’re different. They buy because you can help them. So, focus first on…

• the value you bring – for instance, do you make things quicker, cheaper, calmer, easier, more profitable? Do you reduce costs, risk, wasted time, stress?

Action point

Answer these two questions about yourself …

1. Why are you different?
2. How do you enhance the future of others?

You will see the second answer is more compelling, interesting and valuable to others. So, don’t focus on what you are or what you do … focus on what you cause.

To receive Tuesday Tips, click here

If I say to you, “please recommend any DVD to me” you will probably take a while to answer, then either…

• recommend your favourite film (which I might, or might not, like) or
• say you can’t think of one

If I give more guidance – “it’s for my 10-year-old son; he’d love the Spiderman DVD” – your recommendation will be much quicker (and better!)

So, it’s easier for someone to recommend if they know exactly what you want…

• salespeople seeking referrals who say “recommend me to any company” get minimal (no?) good leads
• colleagues who ask someone to “put in a good word for me with any of your stakeholders” get a similarly poor result

If you want others to recommend you, they need to know exactly…

• Who to speak to (your target contact), and
• What you want them to say (your key message)

If either is missing, they’re unlikely to recommend you as you’d like.

Action point

Looking to develop your network by accessing your contacts’ contacts? Identify exactly who you want to speak to, and what you want them to know about you. Then, think who, out of all your contacts, is best placed to recommend you in this way.

To receive Tuesday Tips, click here

You have to be good at getting others to say ‘yes’.

These ‘yeses’ could be big (“please invest £millions in X”). They could be small (“please do Task Y”). But, the better you are at triggering them, the quicker you’ll succeed.

There is no proven way to get a ‘yes’ 100% of the time. But some techniques significantly increase your chances. One is to ‘BO‘ your stakeholder, where ‘BO‘ stands for…

• B – Benefits – explain why your proposition will help your stakeholder in ways they – not you – perceive to be valuable. This shows them a ‘yes’ is in their interest
• O – Options – give them 2-3 choices as to how they can accept, and ask which they’d prefer. This helps turn their thinking from “should I agree?” to “how should I agree?”

So, sentences like “you’ve heard our proposition. Would you like to invest £X?” contain no value to your stakeholder, making a ‘yes’ less likely. A more compelling script would be…

• B – “Our conversation has shown two things: (1) you want to achieve [insert your stakeholder's desired outcome] and (2) our proposition will definitely help you achieve this…”
• O – “…So how would you like to proceed? We could either [insert option X] or [insert option Y]. Which would you prefer?”

Action point

1. Identify your next key communication, where it’s important you get a ‘yes’
2. Script your BO: explain why a ‘yes’ will Benefit your stakeholder, and devise 2-3 Options that both you and they will feel comfortable with
3. Practise your BO-script, so it flows naturally on the day

And, remember the Golden Rule of Sales: when your stakeholder says ‘yes’ to one of your Options, stop talking!

To receive Tuesday Tips, click here.