Who? Amy asked. Who are you talking about? Paul replied, “You know, the salesperson for ABC Company”. What salesperson? Asked, Amy. I never met a salesperson from ABC Company . . .
Have you ever been that salesperson? That salesperson that Amy and countless others cannot recall for the life of them. If you were, how would you even know? One of the biggest occupational hazards for a Salesperson – to not be memorable. Do not let it happen to you.
For those of us NOT in the Sales Game this may seem hard to fathom – (You mean to tell me there are salespeople out there that are not extroverts, are not comfortable talking to strangers, are not fun-loving & hilarious?). That is exactly what we mean!
There are some tremendous Salespeople out there (you are likely some of them). What makes a tremendous salesperson? Here are nine characteristics off the top of our head:
- Curiosity
- Listening skills
- Product knowledge (application)
- Competitor knowledge
- Questioning skills
- Setting expectations
- Market/industry knowledge
- Having the money conversation (comfortable talking money)
- Maneuvering the decision-making process
That’s a solid list, right there. Most would think . . . if a Salesperson has all of that she HAS to be memorable. What if she is not? And that happens every day. Those nine characteristics are NECESSARY in sales – but they do not make you memorable.
When we say Be Memorable and Have Charisma we are not suggesting that you be wild, loud and outlandish. Not at all. Wild, loud and outlandish does not work in sales today. It is often fake and that fakeness is spotted a mile away.
What we are talking about is being memorable and having the charisma to read the room and have the where-with-all to know when the time is right to ask a prospect about them and/or their family. Remember the two most favorite things for people to talk about – themselves and their family.
Understand when the time is right to talk about the game last night. When the time is right to tell an interesting story (key word . . . interesting). When the time is right to insert humor. Remember, humor plays well in business. Not “class clown” type humor. Good and tasteful humor.
It is a dance for sure. We as salespeople must have a tight grasp on the steps. Done wrong, it can be incredibly awkward. Done right, it can make you wealthy.
A question to ask yourself: Ever miss out on a deal because you had too much charisma? Doubt it. A better question would be, Ever miss out on one because you lacked charisma? Much more likely.
