People Buy From People.
Customers deal with whom they have
the most confidence. If you do a good job of selling yourself they will be most
comfortable when considering dealing with you. When putting your information
together, it can be about you personally, about your company or a mix of both.
Some salespeople have little to talk about. Others have too much. Everyone has
something and it’s important to organize your credentials and use them to your
advantage.
Some sales experts think that if you do a good job of
assembling your credentials and presenting them early in a selling situation
you can put that behind you and get on with selling your products or services.
I believe that expertly presenting credentials in your interview is a powerful
tactic. I do it routinely.
My caution is that if you give them too much or if your
pitch comes off as cocky or as bragging it will backfire. When you put your
credentials together make the presentation short, powerful and as humble and
sincere as you can. Practice it on friends, colleagues, or family. Get their
honest feedback and fix problems. After working through the nuts and bolts you
will be ready.
Education
Your education is a great start for building a case that you
are a good person to do business with. If you have a degree in a field related
to your business focus, you will establish an advantage. Certifications are
also really good when building your profile.
Achievements
Speak about your business accomplishments. If you have
solved some major problems for customers, performed at a high level or have
done anything else of note, let people know. Results are what customers are
paying you for. If you have had successes they can be used as leverage for
getting your prospective customer to accept your proposal.
Awards
Achievements are great. Awards are better. Getting the word
out about your accomplishments is very good. When someone else, a third party,
recognizes you for your accomplishments it is much better and carries a lot
more weight than when coming from you. I
have received national and local awards over the years (Technology Pacesetter,
Top Partner, Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit Platinum Award finalist
and more). I have used the power of these awards to separate myself from my
competitors. The natural question to my prospect is “Why deal with them when
you can deal with someone the industry or third parties honor…me?”
References
Reference letters are a terrific sales tool. They are not as
powerful as awards, but very close. You don’t usually get these letters of reference
unless you solicit them. When you do get them, make sure you have the source’s
permission to use them. Also, check in with your happy campers once in a while
and make sure they are still happy.
Community Service
There are times when your community service doesn’t matter
to a customer. There are other times when your community service can be a difference
between making a sale and losing the deal. You don’t have to go overboard, but
a track record as a volunteer says a lot to a buyer about your character.
There you have it. Your credentials matter. Selling yourself
as a trusted advisor, a good person to deal with is an important part of the
sales process and should not be overlooked.
