Everyone’s in a mad dash to sell online, right?
No matter what business you’re in, you want to be able to create sales virtually. What’s the problem with that? Everyone else is doing the same thing.
It’s easy to get lost in a sea of salespeople all selling almost the same thing.
But what is one thing that no one else has?
Your story! So, today, I’m going to show you how to show people who you are and how you can use that to stand out and sell more.
RELATED: How to Make a Sales Pitch that Stands Out and Gets Results (in 6 Steps)
Tell The World Who You Are
Here’s the very first tip I have for you: Google yourself.
Google yourself, and Google your business. What comes up when you Google your business or you Google yourself?
If you’re doing an okay job, here’s what probably comes up — what you do, right? Look at it.
I am a painter. I do this.
I am an IT professional. We do this.
Whatever it is, I bet it’s focused on your role.
That may not sound too bad, but here’s the missed opportunity in that. What you do does not differentiate you from anyone else. That will not differentiate you from your competition.
What will differentiate you is who you are. So, you have to change the narrative. Start changing the things you do online. We have to be able to tell the story of who we are, not just what we do. Because, again, what you do is not going to make you more money or help you stand out. Who you are will.
So here’s a couple of quick tips on how you can separate yourself from the competition and start telling that story of who you are.
Testimonials
This is old-school. Everyone knows about testimonials. But here’s the thing. A lot of folks are doing testimonials wrong.
We’re doing them like we were doing them 10, 15, 20 years ago. Now it has to be more engaging.
Make your client the star. Get out of that old, stale idea where you’re sitting across the table from your client. Get rid of that crap. Make them shorter, make them more engaging, and make your customer the star.
When I ask one of my clients for a testimonial, I advise them to shoot it selfie-style — like they’re face-timing a friend.
In a recent testimonial video, one of my clients was walking on the beach and literally jumped into the ocean after giving me an amazing endorsement. Think how impactful a video like that is.
The purpose of testimonials is to establish and imply credibility from people that your prospects can identify with and relate to. That is why I prefer a more relaxed, casual approach. I believe it makes a much bigger impact, and it doesn’t feel like BS.
Share How Great You Are
The second thing I need you to do is to start sharing your knowledge. I don’t want you to be focused on being a social media celebrity. That is not what it’s about. But that being said, we need to get some social proof out there.
Make a few videos where you’re just sharing your expertise. You’re giving away some of this gold, just like I’m doing right here. You’re giving away this stuff because what that does is it builds credibility for you. That’s going to help your social proof, and it’s going to build your credibility.
To do this well, you need to start by understanding who your audience is. What do they care about? What is relevant to them right now? Talk about what they care about, and offer free advice and solutions to their problems and concerns.
Do not approach this like a commercial for your products or services. The focus is to establish yourself as an authority and further create credibility.
Giving away superficial knowledge only makes them want the deeper stuff.
Post Pictures
Last thing. You need to be posting a ton of pictures. Post pictures on Instagram, post pictures on Facebook, on your company pages, and on LinkedIn. Make sure you’re posting a ton of pictures everywhere.
Why?
Because a picture is worth a thousand words, we know this. This is an old cliché, but it’s true.
We, humans, are very visual. So, the more pictures you can put out there of you, your team, your customers, and the great things you’re doing, the more it lends you credibility and likability.
You’re no longer just a name on a page. You become a real person in your customer’s eyes.
You’re Building a Brand
All of these things help build social proof.
All of these things help to kick those search engines into action for you so that you’re coming up higher in the rankings on social media search engines.
But also, this is creating and establishing a successful brand for you and or your business. These few simple tips will give you proof of who you are, not just what you do. And that is what is going to separate you from the crows.
The landscape is competitive, and few people are willing to put in the extra work and strategy needed to stand out. By bringing the focus onto the uniqueness of your personal and business brand, you’ll stand out and be able to carve out your piece of the global business pie.
