Any seasoned sales professional knows the old adage “fake it ’til you make it” is nothing more than a one-way ticket to the unemployment line. Sure, it comes in handy during those early years when product knowledge is a work-in-progress, but as Kelly Mallozzi explained, that simply means recognizing your own humility.
“It’s not really so much about faking as it is about admitting that you are learning, that you don’t know everything, but you will get the answer that the customer needs,” Mallozzi, principal of Chicago-based Success.In.Print, a sales and marketing consultancy to the print industry, said. Not helpful when clients need you to act larger, think bigger and feel more passionately than you’re letting on, right?
Over time, that nagging feeling of self-doubt has become the psychological hot-button of sales. Think about it. Every day you’re hustling—selling ideas, products and even your business. Why then do you struggle to sell yourself? It’s the million-dollar question with no clear-cut answer. It requires digging deep and reevaluating your process.
Before you tear down your “Hang in there, baby!” poster and call it quits, listen up. Print+Promo turned to some experts for advice on delivering confidence to clients and prospects. Below, Mallozzi and Cliff Quicksell, Jr., MAS, president and CEO of Cliff Quicksell Associates, Frederick, Md., and sales and marketing consultant for iPROMOTEu, Wayland, Mass., shared six of their best tips.
1. Choose Optimism
Tighter budgets and limited resources have become the new normal in business, with all fingers pointing to the economy. Before blaming everything on hard times and high prices, consider another underlying problem: the fear of putting yourself out there. Mallozzi believes optimism is a choice and, more importantly, non-negotiable in order to survive.
“Some might find it hard to adopt an optimistic look, but when you are in sales, it is vital. I view the whole concept of selling as a process, and as such, hearing ‘no’ is a necessary and realistic part of the process,” she said. “It is also important to be realistic. No matter how great you are, you will only be successful about 10 percent of the time.”
Quicksell described his unconventional approach to optimism. Several factors motivate him, though the order of importance may be surprising. “I have a weird rationale on how I stay positive. It’s very simple. I come first, my wife, children and family come second, my friends come third and my job/career comes last,” he noted. “My belief is that when I am whole spiritually, physically and mentally, everyone and everything else benefits immensely. When that order changes, things fall apart.”
2. Get Over Yourself
Rejection is a big part of the game, and clients aren’t interested in the self-pity you’re selling. Quicksell chooses to learn from his lost opportunities. “Most of the time when I get rejected, it is my fault. I either didn’t do my homework properly or I wasn’t thorough in my presentation or explanation, so I go back and see where I can improve,” he commented.
Mallozzi agreed, adding her own coping strategy. “We can’t win them all. So I just smile and store up the really bad ones, times when someone treated me very badly or was terribly rude, and I save them for cocktail parties,” she joked. “The one cardinal rule is you can never take it personally. And I really mean that.”
3. Go Big or Go Home
Even the most experienced salespeople get outsold. Mallozzi learned this the hard way and vowed to work her way up the food chain in future dealings.
“I once lost a very nice piece of business that was not only important to me for the revenue, but for the relationships that I built. Many people on my team got pretty attached to the client (and not only for the free coffee),” she recalled. “A huge competitor went in at the C level, and I did not even know about the move until after it was done.”
Quicksell’s primary obstacle didn’t stem from an outside source. The problem, he realized, came from within. In other words, could he sell Cliff Quicksell rather than just “stuff”? “The epiphany came when a dear friend of mine said, ‘If I wanted that brilliant, creative mind of yours and I wanted one hour of your consulting time, what would you charge me?’ I never thought about that, but it did change the game for me,” Quicksell said. “I started on the path (and I try and help others on that path now) that you can and should get paid for your time.”
4. Serve Others, Not Yourself
Selling confidence doesn’t mean unleashing an arsenal of shameless self-plugs. According to Mallozzi, that’s one of the worst mistakes a salesperson can make. “[Salespeople] talk too much about themselves, or their iron, and not enough about how they serve,” she remarked. “Prospects don’t want to know what kind of machines you have. They want to know what you can do for them, how you can make them look good and make their lives easier.”
5. Pay Your Dues
Mallozzi stressed the importance of hard work. “Experience builds confidence, and every time we help a client, that gives us another story to tell, which helps us help another client,” she mentioned.
If possible, block out personal distractions during work hours. Sign out of Facebook and send your friends to voice mail if they call. That eight to nine hours of “bone-crushing” hard work makes all the difference, Mallozzi said.
6. Preserve Your Integrity
Because success doesn’t happen overnight, it’s puzzling when people risk tarnishing their character for an easy sale. For Quicksell, true success is built on an unblemished reputation. He offered an example that proves his commitment to the craft.
“I had a client come to me once with $10,000 in cash, and ask me to produce something off-color,” he remembered. “I found it very immoral and distasteful. The thing is, no one would have been the wiser, but I just couldn’t do it.” As Quicksell pointed out, reputation is all anyone has in business. Take that away and any remaining confidence won’t be enough to charm the buying public—not even at a discount.