Death by Dullness: A Small Business Epidemic

According to Dan Schawbel (World renowned branding expert and author of ME 2.0) the #1 competitor every business faces is – The Status Quo! Personal Branding is, I believe, the biggest lost opportunity for small businesses. Everyone is so focused on the ‘business’ persona (well, not all the time, but most of the time and even then not done so well) that they forget, in the world of SB, it is more important than ever to build your personal image, since, in most cases that’s WHO we are doing business with!

Cummon everyone, follow me!

Even if you have gone down the road of developing your brand, the question is ‘does it fit and does it really represent who you are what you stand for?’ – too many people trying to ‘conform’ to the corporate image versus being out there on the fringe!

I see this especially in my own industry whether business coaches, life coaches or whatever – they believe that they have to conform to this hyper professional image.  Now, I am not saying that we shouldn’t act in a professional manner, but if you have a wicked sense of humor then let it shine through!  If you have a radical side then show it and Zany people win almost every time!

In their book ‘Funky Business’ – Jonas Riderstral and Kjell Nordstrom are at pains to point out how the Surplus society has a surplus of ‘similar’ companies employing ‘similar’ people with a ‘similar’ education, ‘similar’ ideas, producing ‘similar’ things with ‘similar’ prices and ‘similar’ quality!

In a world of ‘hyper-competition’ and ‘over-communication’ the need to stand out has never been more important. Taking care of YOUR personal brand is the start.

Don’t be DULL, be FUN. Don’t be a CONFORMIST, be ZANY. Be who you are and attract the clients that share your passion, your ideals and your quirks…and most of all be yourself (unless you really are DULL!)

Increasing Your Sales Conversion Doesn’t Require A Sales Course!

Have you ever watched someone talk themselves out of a sale? You know what I mean….the pitch has been made and the prospect is ready to take that next step but the salesperson just keeps on talking, and talking, and talking…..until eventually the prospect decides that he ‘wants to think about it’….that little scenerio happens more often that you would think, in fact I would go so far as to say that it is possibly one of the top reason why a sales crash and burn on a regular basis.

Did you ever meet someone that you immediately didn’t take to or someone that you just didn’t get on with? At some point in our lives be it personal or business, we have found ourselves in that position of not being able to connect with the other person.

So, what’s happening? It comes down to the inability of the person making the sale to understand basic human behavior and then being able to adapt themselves to what is happening in front of them. Understanding this will dramatically improve our sales conversion.

According to the DISC methodology, we all exhibit 4 characteristics of behavior –Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. It is the level to which we exhibit each of these that dictates our particular behavior…..how we recognize our own behavior and then how we adapt to others can be the difference between success or failure whether in business or in life.

So how do you recognize what you are and what someone else is?

Here is a quick reference to help you..

Dominance – Typically direct and to the point. Start with the result for these people and then show them how it will be achieved..but stick to the point and don’t deviate or waste time.

How will you know that you aren’t adapting well…..They will keep looking at their watch, leaning back in the chair or challenging you (basically you are spending to much time getting to the point or the result)

Influencer – This individual will be emotional, enthusiastic and optimistic. Let them know how much better life will be with your solution, create a picture for them to visualize what can be achieved, and be ‘pumped’ up for them.

How will you know that you aren’t adapting well…..They will be looking around the office, they may seem negative or skeptical (You havn’t ‘bonded’ with them or given them a good visual of what they can achieve)

Steadiness – This person will be friendly and a good listner, however, they don’t like change (or at least change that happens to quickly) and they like predictability. You will have to assure them often of the value that you offer and ask frequently how they feel about what you are discussing.

How will you know that you aren’t adapting well…..They may try to gently end the meeting or keep asking you to repeat information (you may be going to fast for them to keep up or you may be scaring them that change will happen to fast)

Compliance – These people are very analytical, systematic and precise. Your discussion will have to reflect that in terms of bottom line numbers and the steps that will need to be taken, in order, to achieve the goal. Be prepared for many questions. They are the anchor of realty so painting a rosy picture of the ‘future’ won’t work for them.

How will you know that you aren’t adapting well…..They may be evasive or completely lack any verbal communication. They may even ask difficult questions just to force you to end the meeting (you havn’t supplied enough to them that you can help them in the way they want. They want empirical evidence that you can achieve what you say you can and your presentation may have lacked structure)

So, ok while this isn’t an exhaustive list of do’s and don’ts, I promise you that if you take time to study the person you are talking to and adapt to their behavior, your success rate will begin to improve.

Of course, understanding and adapting behavior doesn’t just work in the business world….think of your spouse or your kids. Are you adapting to their behavior profile or are you treating them based on YOUR behavior?

One more thing – if you are in any doubt about your prospects profile – treat them as ‘Steady’ – almost 40% of the population fits that profile!!