One interesting outcome of returning to “normal” after Covid is that a lot of people are changing jobs. Pehaps one of the biggest professional sales you ever make is how you sell yourself in a job interview. When prospective employers say tell me about yourself, are your responses as credible as they can be, or, are you inadvertently shooting yourself in the foot? Here are several things you should not say!
Who doesn’t love a compliment! Being called a great pro in your field is always appreciated, but being called the “LeBron James of your field” puts an even bigger smile on your face. Mitch Jackson, leading lawyer and legal consultant, for whom I developed the metaphor that helped tip a jury in his favor to win a million dollar negligence case, was thrilled as punch when he was called the “Elon Musk” of lawyers. In fact, he took it one step further and used that metaphor label as part of his business promotion. What he did you could do as well to intrigue prospects to call for more information and potential business.
Want to avoid customer churn? Need tips on building a team? Want to write stronger winning proposals? If you answered yes to any of these, be sure to check out the June issue of Top Sales World. (Sign up here.) As you know from previous posts, I am a huge fan of TSW for its consistently rewarding value to anyone whose success depends on growing a bottom line. This particular issue is devoted to women in sales where you will find advice on the issues above and more from some of the sharpest sales pros in the business. (In the spirit of transparency, my article “Hooked: Why Metaphors Should be Part of Every Socia Media Strategy” is included)
Everyone is very busy, but subscribing to, and reading, TSW each month is one of the best investments of time that you can make (and it’s free). Enjoy!
Many people ask me where to find metaphors that will work for them in business. One excellent source: political writers and commentators, liberal or conservative. Because they write for the general public, they must be masters at creating metaphors that anyone can understand. John Dickerson, author of “The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency,” is one of the best. Here are some examples from his new book. Notice how easy they are to instantly understand and how they then illuminate his point.
What numbers do you use in your sales conversations? Do they make your listeners yawn or say, ‘Wow!”? Look at this powerful technique for turning Ho-Hum numbers into OMG! reactions.
We know about new Covid variants deadly to our health. I just noticed a new speaking variant that can be just as deadly to your sales. Vax yourself against this at the first sign of use!
How do you answer, “Why should I work with you?” in a way that distinguishes you or your company in a market where you likely have a number of similar competitors? Unless you have the cure for cancer, you can’t credibly say that you are the only business that offers X. However, you can move into a more competitively advantaged position when you respond with a unique combination of descriptive metaphors.
In an earlier post, I offered seven suggestions for running a winning webinar. Today, courtesy of Karen Kaplowitz, The New Ellis Group, I would like to pass along these really practical seven tips for running an engaging Zoom meeting: http://newellis.com/Monday.html
When a client decides not to use your service or to cancel business, how far do you go to save it? I hope you don’t do what just happened to me!
“Want to be my friend? My business partner? Better yet, how about being my new client? No? I can’t imagine why not!” Yet those requests are what many approaches to us by email and on LinkedIn boil down to: boring, self-serving outreaches for new business. Senders of messages like those may get an “A” for being gung-ho, but an “F” for effectiveness. Here are four better ways to arouse curiosity and entice prospects you don’t know to take your call, reply to your email, or connect with you online.
Metaphors are the perfect tool for explaining complexity to people who have only superficial knowledge of your subject. Just ask Ryan W, Chiropractor and Exercise Research Scientist from West Australia, who uses metaphors regularly in a variety of client situations. Here are two.