I hired Ed Tate to come and deliver presentations skills training for my live event in February and boy did he deliver. When talking about knowing our strengths, one of the terms he used was “superpower” and it got me wondering…..
What’s your sales superpower?
One of my clients, Generations Expert, Amanda Hammett, was busting her butt day after day reaching out to people from behind her computer. She was making the odd cold call but didn’t feel entirely comfortable in that zone.
A few months later, after returning from a networking event, she had four leads. We realized that networking live was Amanda’s superpower. And since recognizing this and using her skill more frequently, Amanda’s business has exploded.
For those of you who haven’t already identified your selling superpower, here are a few ideas that might help you clarify:
COLD CALL
Do you love getting on the phone and talking to people? Does it come easily to you? Do you have any “call resistance” meaning you will find any excuse, even emptying the dishwasher, to avoid picking up the phone?
Some people love cold calling and it is indeed, their superpower. Ryan Estis is a great example. When he first started his business he sat at his kitchen table in a suit and tie, for a year, and made cold call after cold call. Today, Ryan speaks at more than 70 engagements per year and commands an incredibly high fee.
Or maybe you get great results by email? You have crafted a short and sweet note that prompts the client to “lean in” to your email and take that next step. Our ultimate goal is a response, any response! Even a “no thank you, not now” is a win these days because they had the decency to write us back. And that opens the door for a, “if not now then when?” conversation.
You’ve heard me talk about how Kindra Hall decided to start her business by sending out 600 emails; 100 per week over 6 weeks. And her short and sweet note landed in the right In Boxes at the right time and 3 years later her calendar is full. I know that sounds too simplistic, but as I said in the last blog post, this business is a numbers game. Kindra planted 600 seeds and each event that she secured turned into multiple spin offs. (There’s a lesson there about being good from the platform as well).
LIVE NETWORKING
One could assume that as a speaker, that your superpower would be networking face to face. That when you walk into a room, you own it. You are able to easily glide from conversation to conversation and everyone loves you.
But that’s not always the case.
Many speakers are naturally shy or introverted. Some cannot stand the idea of walking into a room of strangers.
But if networking is your strong suit, you have to simply make more opportunity for yourself to get out and tell people about the work that you do. Remember our last post about the 30 Day Sales Sprint? It’s a numbers game. The more you use your superpower, the more you will flourish.
Remember Amanda Hammett earlier in this post? Her strength is getting out and meeting people face to face and when she added enough networking to her monthly routine, her business took flight.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media has been getting speakers booked for years and it’s now an integral part of our Sales Sprint. But Social media is less of a sprint and more of a marathon. We have to remember to nurture relationships. When you pick up the phone you are making a cold call. When you reach out to connect with someone on LinkedIn, you are in “nurture” mode…you need to be in it for the long haul.
Erin Gargan, author of Digital Persuasion reached out to an old neighborhood friend on LinkedIn, someone she hadn’t seen in 20 years. Erin saw in her profile that she was directly involved in corporate event planning. With the strategy of relationship building (not selling) in mind, Erin did her homework and found out that her friend was moving to a new town. Erin was familiar with the town and shared with her the 411 on the best dry bar in the area (guys, this is a place where women go just to get their long hair blown out and styled). Erin expected nothing in return. But, low and behold, a friendship was born and soon Erin was booking speeches with a virtual stranger.
Social Media is Erin Gargan’s superpower, no question. But maybe it’s yours too?
Think about how you connect with people, what is your comfort zone? Is it walking into a room, picking up the phone or reaching out to someone on email? Or maybe you have all three. If so, congratulations!
Won’t you share your Sales Superpower with us? Please comment below.
PS. If you missed our 30 Day Sales Sprint form, here’s the download again. And the post that explains best ways to use it.
