Stop Selling Your Product, Sell YOU

Research suggests that up to 94% of B2B buyers research online before making a purchasing decision. They know what they want, they know what options are out there and they know how the process will work. If you were to now look at most sales processes that would probably represent the first few stages. Most sales people focus the initial contact around describing their product, their company and their processes.

Often the initial conversation either during prospecting or during a meeting goes along the lines of:

"Hi I'm John from X Solutions, we are the number one company for such and such reason, our products include X,Y and Z and blah blah blah"!

If your prospects already know all of this, why are we still spending so much time going through it with them? Why do we spend so long telling them about products they already know about, companies they're already aware about and processes they've already seen online?

Let's also reflect on an age old saying...

People buy from people they like and trust

That saying has never been "people buy products they like and trust". It highlights the importance that people buy from people. So again, if people buy from people, why do so many sales people focus on selling the product?

Stop selling the product, sell you!

It's time now to re engineer your sales process to put more focus on your personal brand and building relationships ahead of pitches and presentations. Now is the time to make more effort on how you are seen before you make contact and after.

Here's one way to look at it, if and when you go to a client meeting or you go to a networking event, chances are you will dress smart. You will wear a nice suit or dress, you will wear nice shoes, make an effort with your hair, wear a nice watch, the list goes on. Some people may literally take up to an hour or more getting ready (and that goes for both males and females!).

Do you spend the same amount of time and effort on your LinkedIn profile?

The answer for most is probably not, and yet more of your prospects are viewing your profile compared to seeing you in person. Make no mistake, your prospects and customers will be viewing your LinkedIn profile and maybe even other social profiles as well. What does yours say about you? Does your profile show you to be someone who can be liked and trusted, or not? What about the content you share?

This is where personal branding comes in, you are no longer just selling a product but also yourself. Your personal brand is your social media profiles, it's the content you share, the content you engage with and the content you create. All of it together paints the picture of brand you.

Here are my 5 top tips to help sell YOU:

1 - Build a profile that shows you a credible sales professional. It shouldn't look like a CV or something that brags about your sales conquests and achievements. Make it about how you serve and help your customers. Include recommendations and highlight your experience and expertise. Check out this blog for some great LinkedIn profile tips.

2 - Start sharing content consistently. This doesn't necessarily mean creating content but curate and share other great content. The key really is making sure it's done consistently. For the best possible results try to share at least one piece of content a day, it could be a news article, a blog, a quote, an image, something relevant to your customers that they would benefit from. Check out platforms such as Hootsuite that allow you to schedule content days, weeks, even months in advance meaning it doesn't have to interfere with your busy days selling.

3 - Grow your network. Just by improving your profile and starting to share regular content you will naturally already start to grow your network by becoming more visible. The next stage is to grow it yourself by connecting with people within your industry. This should include decision makers, industry bodies and people from all layers within your target companies. TIP: Include a link to your LinkedIn profile in your email signature so that everyone you email has the opportunity to connect with you.

4 - Start creating your own content. If this really isn't something you're comfortable with, talk to your marketing department, your colleagues or outsource it. To take the next stage you'll need to at some point start writing your own content though as this is what shows you as a brand. This could include writing a short blog (800-1000 words), creating quotes or images, writing status's or starting debates online.

5 - It's not about you, it's about them. The ultimate key is to remember none of this is about you. You don't want your profile, the content you share or the content you create to be about you, but to be for your customer. It should be industry news, industry insight, information that is relevant and benefits them.

After reading this blog if you take anything from it let that be to spend 15 minutes today on your LinkedIn profile. Have a look at your picture, background, title and summary. Invest in a little time to make it look professional and you'll start to see the impact it has.

Would you like to learn about personal branding and how sales professionals can use LinkedIn properly? Well myself and James Ski from LinkedIn are hosting The Daily Sales Success Workshop at the end of September and we would love to see you there! We will cover the best insight, advice and tips and the day will be packed full of sales, personal branding, social selling and success driving content.

Check out full details and book your place here:

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About the author: Daniel Disney is the Founder and Owner of The Daily Sales. With 15+ years successful sales and sales management experience, Daniel is the author of one of the most popular sales blogs in the world. With an overall social audience of over 150,000 followers and content reaching 7,000,000+ every month Daniel is one of the top influencers in the sales industry. Daniel is available for Keynote Speaking, Sales Training, Blog + Book Writing, Sales Coaching, Mentoring, Marketing Consulting and Influencer Advertising. Check out his profile for more information.

If you work in sales make sure you check out The Daily Sales, it's the number 1 place on social media for hilarious sales memes, inspiring sales quotes and informative sales blogs. Follow our pages on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook,Instagram and check out our website for the latest sales content!

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