Prior to becoming a full time beauty and fashion Blogger, I was a salesperson for Epson. I was placed in a store where competing brands also had sales people present and we were all cramped together in the same aisle of the store. They were seasoned sales professionals who were aware of my lack of sales knowledge and didn’t hide the fact that they believed they had an edge over me. The one thing I had in my arsenal that they did not was that I knew how to connect with people. Much to their dismay, they soon learned this as I began to outsell them week after week gaining new customers and retaining the ones I already had.
The thing is, they would approach potential customers in that typical “sales person” fashion, the kind where it is all about “making the sale.” I approached them differently by making the potential customer the focus, not the focus of my hourly sales quota or how many ways I could up sell, but their needs and how they could be met. By changing the way I approached them, this in turn had them do most of the talking and made me an active listener. This then changed the way they viewed me into a problem solver and not a salesperson.
Ari Galper, Founder of Unlock The Game, recently wrote an article on four lessons about connecting with others. The four key points he makes are the basic steps we should all consider taking when approaching potential public relations clients.
Ari’s four key ideas to consider are:
* How you view the person you’re calling to start a conversation with.
* Are you problem-centric or “make the sale” centric?
* The words you use must match your true intentions.
* Break your fear of rejection.
They may sound easy enough and many of us may go into a sales call or initial meeting with a potential client with these intentions in mind, but soon enough get caught up in the possibility of a sale or fear of losing it and quickly revert back on different tactics to try to get the potential client to see why they “need us.” However, isn’t it wholly true that we need them?
By changing your mindset from “selling” to “connecting,” the way you project yourself will be a professional yet personable one allowing the potential client to view you in a way that states that you are truly invested in them and in meeting their needs.
To read Ari Galper’s article “Four Lessons About Connecting With Others” you can visit his website at www.unlockthegame.com. I believe Ari Galper's Unlock The Game is a great tool for any public relations or sales professional to learn from.
Posted by Shannon Nelson on July 12, 2007 7:00 AM
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