Power Tips
How do you respond when someone asks you, “What do you do?” If you’re like most people, when someone asks you that question you just wing it or improvise. Yet, a carefully worded and well-delivered personal description of exactly what you do for a living is an opportunity to move relationships forward.
Know Your Personal Commercial
Stephan Schiffman, in his book Make It Happen Before Lunch (Mcgraw-Hill, 2000), offers three helpful points to consider when developing your personal commercial.
1. Is your personal commercial short enough to deliver comfortably in a social setting in 30 secondsor less? (Be prepared to rewrite and revise your commercial until it sounds natural.)
2. Is your commercial casual enough to be delivered conversationally – not as a “hard sell” sales pitch? (Remember, you’re talking only about that which you do, not about what you feel you could do for the person you’re talking to.)
3. Does your commercial focus specifically on how you add value to other people’s days? (Think about the problems that would arise during the day if you didn’t do what you do, and ask yourself how people benefit from actions you undertake.)
Practice your personal commercial until you can recite it instantly upon being awakened from a deep sleep. It has to come across naturally, seem spontaneous, and above all, be true, explaining exactly what you do during the day without apology or hesitation.
Your biography must be brief, casual and conversational and focus on what you personally do to add value…and it must be delivered with a smile.
Stephan Schiffman is president of D.E.I. Management Group. For information, call 1-800-224-2140 or go to www.dei-sales.com.
Challenge Paperwork
The most precious asset we possess, not only in sales but also in life, is time. Few would argue with that. Or that one of the great squanderers of time is excessive or unnecessary paperwork. Top-earning pros agree that periodically challenging paperwork cannot help but boost sales volume. Here are key thoughts to take with you.
1. Letter, memo, report, whatever – if it’s delegable, palm it off.
2. If you’re not sure it’s worthwhile, eliminate it. At least try it and see if it makes a difference.
3. Block out specific times of the day or week to do paperwork. It gets done faster and more efficiently that way.
4. Be sure every chore you handle has a bottom-line goal.
5. Before composing a letter or memo, ask yourself, “Can it be done faster and cheaper by email?”
6. Assign a clerical person to screen incoming mail.
7. Separate routine from unusual correspondence. Try to avoid reading mail more than once.
Think Big
Successful people believe in themselves. They visualize themselves as being successful, and they never let failure or adversity stop them. If you can see yourself accomplishing something, you can accomplish it! Your actions, thoughts and even the way others perceive you is determined in large part by how you perceive yourself in your subconscious mind. So before every sale, visualize yourself…
1. Hitting it off with the person that you are meeting.
2. Coming across as being knowledgeable and informative, and
3. Getting the sale!
Remember, you will rarely ever exceed your own expectations of yourself, so it is important that you visualize yourself achieving success.