If you were to meet someone new at a networking event and they asked you what kind of work you did, how would you respond? "I'm in sales," or "I own my own business," may be your response. You may talk about your product, its benefits and such. But you would not be describing the kind of work you do. If you are in sales, an entrepreneur, a business owner or otherwise self-employed, the product we sell is just a small part of the work we do.
I have previously mentioned my old sales manager who would say that "between 10-4 you should either be seeing a client or fighting to see a client." In other words, concentrate on the work, and that work is your business. In my business, prospecting for insurance clients can take up to 75% of an agent's time, and maybe more than that when they are just getting started in the business.
The insurance business isn't the only industry like that. Realtors, chiropractors, financial professionals and artisans are all professions that require a steady flow of new prospects.
In my book, I talk about how we have to sell ourselves before we sell anything else. The universal truth is that people will buy from those they like and trust. If you don't like the salesperson, you probably won't buy from them. And if you don't trust that person, you definitely won't be buying.
So we have a bit of a roadmap to follow. First, we must sell ourselves Secondly, we can promote our business or product. Just make sure you either do these two items in that order or at least, at the same time. Whatever you do, don't try to convince people what a great guy you are after you tried to sell the product. It never works.
In the movie, "The Godfather", Robert Duvall's portrayal of attorney Tom Hagen is impeccable. When he tells the movie producer that "I have a special practice. I handle one client," he's talking about the Godfather.
I feel the same way, except my special client is me. Before I can sell insurance or market Surf Financial Brokers, I have to market Chris Castanes. My name is my brand and I have to constantly let people know they can trust me, I'm active in the community (which is hard to do when there's a pandemic outside your door), and I am likeable and trustworthy.
My goal was to use my insurance business, my book and my speaking engagements together, cross-referencing each one to promote the others. I would spend a day working on selling my book, the next day I may spend time booking a talk to a local civic organization, and on the last day I would try to work up some insurance clients.
I quickly discovered that I needed to heed my own advice and promote myself as the guy who does all of the above. Instead of marketing my book, Surf Financial Brokers or my awesome speaking skills (thanks Toastmasters!), I needed to promote Chris Castanes. In a nutshell, I basically have run a public relations firm for that one client - me!
Luckily for me, there are not a lot of other Chris Castaneses out there. I know of one who is a distant cousin and I don't think he's going to be a competitor in my fields of expertise anytime soon.
If you have a common name, think of a way to set yourself apart. Bill Stone was an insurance agent in Chicago years ago. Someone told him that there were a lot of Bill Stones out there and he should figure out how to set himself apart from the others. He began going by W. Clement Stone and was soon an admired leader in the industry, founding Combined Insurance and positive thinking guru.
In Part 2 I'll give you a few pointers and share some of the new tools I've learned in this journey. In the meantime, stay healthy and successful selling to you!
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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