You Are the Brand

Credit: Bill Gillespie

You're looking at one of my favorite places. I'm fortunate that Mrs. Gillespie aka "Her Highness" likes it too. We find it easy to talk ourselves into lunch, breakfast or even dinner in one of their booths.

Having said that, we have fair expectations of each visit. We know that the service will be, entertaining. The food is what we're in the mood for so we make room for lots of interesting background staff conversation. We start "adjusting" to the environment the moment we park the car.

So here's a question. Do your customers do that before they call your number? Do they prepare for a debate or do they expect to have fun? Do they brace for tension or look to be inspired? How do you make people that give you business feel?

It's a dicey question but it's an important one. Look in the mirror. Are you fun? Do you make things easy or do you complicate every question?

I was a sales manager for a very long time. More than once I was called by a rep's client to address this very point. The customer would want to discuss how their rep (a rep they gave business to) made them feel. They were sold on the company but their rep was "in the way."

Sometimes the client would complain about being made to feel stupid but not often. These guys typically move on and use another printer. What I heard most were frustrations of manner. "He always has a personal problem to share" was a common one. Another was, "she interrupts every sentence and makes mistakes later because she wasn't listening." A favorite (the worst) was "I'm so depressed after he leaves, I don't call him as often as I might."

Reps, you want to make your prospect or client feel GREAT! You want them to expect inspiration and a very good time when they dial your number. You want them to look for reasons to call you...not to "adjust expectations."

If you have a depressing impact you're firing business.

If you have a neutral impact you're just bidding.

If you have an inspiring impact you're selling.

If you have an entertaining impact and you're inspiring you can dominate.

Do you know which one you are? Your clients do. So do your coworkers. So does your boss. You probably impact every meeting the same way you do clients.

Work on this. Polish this critical skill. Make yourself the highlight of your client's day. It will change everything about your sales volume and success.

BTW: I like mine scattered and smothered.