Consult Carson 8/14: “How do I sell myself?”
From today’s mailbag: “I’ve been told I need to sell myself in a few instances, like attempting to get a job or being considered for other projects and roles. How do you suggest I do that?”
Carson: It’s been said that everything comes down to the psychology that lies behind selling; whether I’m trying to convince my daughter to get herself ready on time in the morning or I’m selling a dinner companion on where we’re going, I’m utilizing the same principles I use when I successfully negotiate a deal – large or small. The reality is that we are constantly utilizing a certain process to obtain desired results, for a variety of reasons. It is up to us to determine the goal we have in each individual situation, figure out how we will uniquely and exceptionally approach the scenario, what steps we will take to uncover any opportunities or challenges, and ultimately how we will persuade the recipient of our words and actions to choose our proposed course of action.
Look at all of the similarities to the sales cycle and sales food chain (my terminology for the ties that link leadership to sales professionals to customers). When you seek an additional project or new role for yourself, you have a clearly defined goal in mind. Similar to when you are selling a product or service, there is competition – other people are also being considered for these potential roles and projects. Similar to a sales process, it falls on you to show a potential customer/end user – in this case, an interviewer or person in charge of the project you seek – why you are the one and only. Similar to selling, you have to uniquely stand out, show that your relevant experience is superior to anything else out there, and you must present specific examples of times you successfully fulfilled tasks that will be required of you in the past. An interviewer wants to visualize you achieving these things for them; it’s far easier to do this if you have done these items before to great acclaim and have the numbers, numbers and more numbers to back up the success you’ve had.
1. What is your goal? Look at what you are attempting to achieve and contemplate fully why you are the perfect choice. It really comes down to you convincing the interviewer or manager that you are the right choice.
2. Forsee challenges and areas of opportunity, and be prepared to answer for them. Do you lack necessary experience that you can make up for with supreme excellence in another area? For example, you do not have any experience on a certain component they are looking for but you have adapted well in previous situations and have a plethora of experiences in a certain component of sales? Closely examine a job requisition or project description so you know exactly what is expected of you. Prepare your approach and how you plan to correlate your relevant experience to the task at hand.
3. Stand out! It’s so easy for anyone to have a resume, wear a suit, and show up. What did you do to make yourself memorable? Do you have a video resume, showcasing your speaking and presentation skills? Do you have a brag book compilation of awards and recognition and achievements from your career? Have you arrived at the conclusion of why you are a better candidate than anyone else out there? If 100 or even 5 people are up for the same role as you, it’s vital to stand out as the obvious choice. In most of these cases, unless you are seeking a role that is hiring a massive group at once, there are no points for second place.
4. Learn. No great salesperson was awesome their first time around. Like any situation, you follow a process and make a presentation and you make tweaks here and there as necessary as you learn what works and what does not. You may stumble through a job interview. You may not have a perfect answer to an out-of-left-field question. But the more you seek out and experience these scenarios and the more you put yourself in the situation to be in these discussions, the better you will be at them.
5. Seek feedback. Even if you are not qualified and the final decision is to go with someone else, ask for constructive feedback during and after the process. Find out who other people you should connect with might be. Figure out where your skill set may even be a better match in their department or organization. Following up with these people who took time to consider you for a role makes an imprint!
When in doubt, think about what the average candidate for any of these things would do, and often do just the opposite! Remember that when you are selling yourself, you are showing why you are the clear choice; you are rising above the pack of status quo and you are ensuring your target audience sees in you something that they want for their team. Lack of experience can actually be made up for with passion and enthusiasm. Lack of sales experience can be made up for with the right attitude and work ethic. Lack of knowledge of a certain component of their business can be made up with by a track record of adaptability and success.
Just like sales, you will not win every time out, so you want to prepare for that; you also want to take each experience and learn from it, expound upon it and master that process until it becomes second nature. You will take the losses as lessons and the wins will become more frequent.
Selling yourself is like selling a product, only when you sell yourself, you must believe you are selling the greatest service of all!
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Carson V. Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving. You will also be directly contributing to his third book, “A Salesman Forever.”
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail atcvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page:https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” that has a unique spin that shows you proven sales principles designed to birth in you the top producer you were born to be.
If you would like to strengthen your sales skills, go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICRVMI2/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_yGXKtb0G
