The ability to successfully sell yourself when promoting your product or service is significant to the success of your business. While it is paramount to create brands of desirable quality, it is important to build solid business relationships and win the long-term patronage of customers and potential partners. A friend once told me that the reason he loved his bank was because they sent him birthday messages. On the other hand, another colleague stopped going to a restaurant because the servers rarely acknowledged him or smiled while taking his orders. Here are 7 easy tips that can guide you in selling yourself and developing business relationships:
1. Be Confident: A businessperson must learn to talk, walk and act with confidence. If you are not assured of your products, who else will? Your confidence will aid in selling your product or service without appearing desperate. Your confidence will prove to the customer or potential partner that the value you are offering to them can be trusted.
2. Dress for success: A popular saying goes “dress how you want to be addressed.” As a businessperson, you must dress in a manner that will portray that you take yourself and your product rather seriously. Your dressing can give a first impression to your customer or potential partner before you speak. You must dress appropriately to suit the event and ensure that the focus is on what you are bringing to the table, not on your outfit.
3. Be well mannered: It is normal for people to negatively receive business pitches at the initial instance. Don’t fret. You must be calm in handling a negative feedback to keep your brand image and identity intact. You must also show your client that you care about his or her wellbeing, and your product or service can only be beneficial to them. Understand that that if your client is unimpressed with your airs, there is a slim chance that the person will buy into your business.
4. First impression counts: Ensure that your overall first impression is positive and lasting. It should be such that your client will be eager to follow-up and develop on what was discussed during the first meeting.
5. Be Articulate: You must effectively communicate the “selling-point” of your product or service within seconds of discussing your business. Use key terms when describing the product, be concise and use a language your client can easily understand. It may help to speak in “layman” terms to clearly pass your message across.
6. Be Assertive: It is necessary to be assertive in selling yourself. Being assertive is a good balance between being passive and aggressive. You must concisely communicate your desires to your target audience, while prioritizing their concerns. By doing this, it will help in pushing your offer to the client and the chances of getting the desired response are higher.
7. Follow Up: Ensure that you follow-up after the initial meeting with your target audience and keep in touch with them because you never know the future opportunities that might come your way. You can follow-up by sending a memorable email within 24 hours of meeting the person, connecting on social media or even by simply keeping in touch from time to time.
