Dear Colleague,

I have a simple question for you. Would you buy from YOU?

I ask this question in my seminars almost every week and so far, I have not had one single person fess up and say, “No, I wouldn't buy from myself. In fact, Paul I would run as far away from me as possible.”

But the bigger question is…Do you know why your customer buys from you? And of equal importance, do you know why your customer does NOT buy from you?

What are you doing to manage their expectations and set yourself up for a sale?

What are you doing to minimize objections and instill confidence for your prospect to want to do business with you?

You say, “My Company is great and has a superb reputation. Of course I would buy from me.” Wait a minute bucko. I asked if you would buy from YOU, not your company.

You cannot depend on the company you work for to manage the expectations that your customer will have of you. Oh sure, your company will help, but the ultimate responsibility of any sales success you enjoy rest squarely on your shoulders.

Here are my top seven tips for managing the expectations your prospect has about YOU. Your company might already do some of these, but you need to build your personal brand. After all, customers buy from individuals much more often than they buy from a company.

1. Google yourself. Do a keyword search on your personal name. What comes up, nothing? Shame on you. Does that mean that you haven’t made the news? You haven’t won any awards? You don’t have any certifications or advanced education? You haven’t performed any community services or charitable activities? You should at least be mentioned on your company’s website. If you can’t find out anything about you, what makes you think your prospects and customers can make a personal connection with you? You are the brand, so make yourself newsworthy.

2. Make yourself the brand. Do something to give yourself “top of mind” recall with your customer. Make it yours and make it different. In one of my seminars last year, a participant told the story of his handlebar mustache. Though he was a front line salesman for a big company, he made himself memorable by creating a personal logo with his macho waxed mustache as the focal point of the logo. Ladies, don’t try this but here are examples. Donald Trump has is hair. David Letterman has a cigar in his mouth all the time. Sally Jesse Rafael has her red framed glasses. Jay Leno has his chin. Joe Namath pointed his finger in the air as a #1 sign. Another client of mine always wears a bow tie. You get the point. These are small ideas for big time memory recall.

3. Have a personal commercial. When you are asked what you do, how do you respond? The personal commercial of a man in one of my seminars is, “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy.” He is a private investigator for divorce cases. Depending on which side he represents, his personal commercial is very accurate. You just want the hearer to say, “What do you mean by that? Tell me more.” When I am asked what I do for a living, I frequently respond, “I get paid to do what I got punished for in elementary school.” Speaking.

4. Write articles for your local trade association or newspaper. Submit an article to your local business journal. Articles position you as an expert in your industry. You say that you do not have Pulitzer Prize writing abilities? Stop whining. Record your thoughts and have them transcribed by your teenager. Get a college journalism student to ghost write an article. Getting an article published is a very easy way to expand your personal brand.

5. Send out a personal newsletter. I know your Company has a newsletter, but do YOU? After all we are talking about YOU and your personal brand. A personal newsletter can be a valuable tool to let your prospects and customers know what you have been up to professionally and personally. Give value first with tips and how-to information, then talk about yourself. Feature your project of the month or any community service in which you are involved. Send out your newsletter at least once a quarter. The most cost effective way to send out a newsletter is via opt-in email.

6. Be the message. In the Kevin Spacey movie, Beyond the Sea, Spacey plays rock-n-roll legend Bobby Darin. In one scene of the movie Bobby Darin says, “The audience hears what they see.” What does your customer see and what do they hear? Do they see a polished professional that is impeccably dressed and prepared for success? You can enhance your presentation skills by attending Toastmasters in your local community. Public speaking education will help you polish your sales skills.

7. Do what you know you should. Most people know how to loose weight. The formula is simple…Eat less and Exercise more. How is that working out for you? You know what to do to make yourself more memorable to your customers. Now is the time to go out and do it. My parents raised me on a simple truth of life…the E’s and the R’s. Excuses and Results are all that matter.

When you set yourself up for success with your prospect well in advance of meeting them, you will have fewer objections and more sales. It is the simple truth.

Take care of yourself and your loved ones.

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