When customers consider purchasing from a sales rep, there’s one calculation they always make besides the price of the item and how badly they want it.
It could boil down to a question which is in their mind, whether they’re consciously aware of it or not.
The question is: Am I willing to invest my time and trust with this person?
Whenever you make your first purchase as a customer, you’re starting a new relationship. Companies like to think of it as a relationship between the customer and their brand, but we all know how it works in real life.
People buy from people. And so the relationship, for better or for worse, is with the individual that sells to them.
If they invest their time, trust and money with the right sales rep, good things happen. They get the products they want at the best price, and good advice on other purchases they may need to make later.
Choose the wrong sales rep, on the other hand, and you may have to spend a lot of time hunting down help with the customer service department. You might be nagged by a rep who doesn’t truly understand your needs. You trusted someone and find not only your time but your budget has been wasted.
Looking at it this way — from the customer’s perspective — is a useful exercise in understanding the importance of selling yourself as a rep.
This isn’t always something that comes up when you get interviewed for a sales job with a new company. Employers look at your past track record, assess whether you’ll be a good fit with the internal culture and hope that you will present yourself well when you’re engaging with customers.
When reps don’t sell themselves effectively, it’s much like when companies do a poor job of marketing their products. Customers’ expectations go unmet, reputations are tarnished and money is lost.
Being able to sell yourself is arguably even more important today, given that many reps are now working remotely and increasingly interacting with customers through digital channels. You need to be particularly intentional about creating the right impression when you’re not physically in the same room with the customer.
If you haven’t tried some of these practices in selling yourself as a sales rep, now is the perfect time to start:
1. Build Up Your Personal Brand On Social Media
Companies don’t often publish full bios of all of their sales reps, but that doesn’t mean customers don’t do their research. Prior to the first phone call, videoconference or in-person meeting they may decide to do a little detective work. This could include a search on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram to learn a bit more about you.
The profiles you have on these platforms should not only be accurate and up to date. You should use them to demonstrate your expertise and approach in supporting customers.
On Twitter, for example, you should be sharing the latest articles, blog posts and YouTube videos that relate to your customers’ most common challenges.
LinkedIn can be a great place to develop more in-depth posts about your insights, or to amplify the posts about the success stories your customers share.
Think of social media as the most dynamic business card ever created. Instead of simply listing your name, title and contact details, these profiles can be almost like a warm-up act before you have a real-time conversation with your customer.
2. Expand Your Introduction With Some Personal Context-Setting
The first slide of most pitch decks will include the rep’s name and e-mail, and then goes straight into the company’s products and services.
Although there’s nothing technically wrong with that, think about how you could weave in more about who you are. This doesn’t have to be written on a slide. It’s almost like a mini-pitch itself.
Why did you first join the company, for instance? If you’ve been in the role for some time, what’s kept you loyal? Why do you personally believe in the value prop you’re describing? What do you enjoy most about serving your particular customer base, and what keeps you motivated?
This doesn’t have to take a long time, but customers will be attentive to details that remind them of themselves, or which reinforce the kind of qualities they look for in their most trusted partners.
3. Come Armed With Customer Stories
When customers research products and services online, they’re often drawn in by recommendations for similar items that other people enjoyed, or by reviews that come from their peers.
If you’re a sales rep you probably already use case studies and testimonials to some extent in your pitch. Go deeper, however, by mentioning the details that helped strengthen your relationship with other customers.
Talk about smart questions your customers have asked in the past. Describe a scenario where customers struggled to overcome a barrier to purchasing and how you helped them overcome it. Even if it doesn’t seem to drive home your pitch, share an important lesson you’ve learned from customers that others could apply.
Selling yourself is all about being credible, and the time you’ve spent with other customers is the most compelling proof you can offer.
What ‘Closing” Means When You’re Selling Yourself
We tend to think of a sale as finalized or closed once a customer has signed a contract and handed over their money. That may be true from the perspective of the company you work for, but it’s still an early stage in selling yourself.
Customers will be waiting for what happens next — will you follow up to see whether they’re satisfied, for example? If you come forward with another pitch, will it be relevant based on information they’ve shared with you? If something goes wrong, will you rectify problems or offer a make-good?
When you’re selling yourself as a sales rep, there’s no such thing as a final sale. The relationship is something you continue to work at, and when you make it a habit, your customers will know they can count on you as much as you count on them for success.
