How to stand out from the competition!

Customers don’t care unless you’re naked

P.S.: This is chapter one of my book "The Naked Salesman".

The intention of this book is to empower you with a unique, ethical and purposeful way of conducting business. Whether you’re in a large sales team or small business, this enables you to develop meaningful relationships with customers and to create greater buy-in, satisfaction and loyalty.

In essence, it’s about standing up for your customers and giving them more of the real and best you.

Why are these characteristics important?

Because you need to be passionate about the business you’re in or else you won’t stand a chance in today’s hyper-competitive markets. Moreover, you need to ground your business in solid ethical foundations, or you will never succeed in the long term.

In business there is so much damn competition, clutter and confusion that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get your customers to notice you. It’s even harder to have them listen, ‘believe’ and follow you.

Businesses and salespeople need help — today, more than ever — to stand out from the crowd. Being naked will help you to be seen and heard. It is a powerful way of being that enables you to bring more of yourself to your sales role, the companies you work for, and the lives of your customers.

The Naked Salesman is not a silver bullet to success or a get-rich-quick manual. The contents are based on real-life experiences, insights and valuable lessons learned the hard way.

Why should your customers care about you?

You’re not interesting until you demonstrate an interest in others.

If you’re not interested in your customers and their best interests you will simply appear as just another selfish salesman determined to sell them something they don’t need or want. You are fully clothed and appropriately dressed in the same attire as everyone else in your industry. ‘Hey, it’s what we all do!’

That may be true, but in business this formula kills you. There’s no differentiation, nothing unique about you, and nothing interesting. You’re a carbon copy of the salespeople in your space who are all saying, doing and selling the same things in the same way. Talk about choice, vanilla, vanilla or vanilla? What flavour are you, one scoop or two?

You have to stand out. You’ve got to be naked.

No one cares about you if you’re just a number. Salesperson No. 5679 from company ABC123. ‘Sorry, I’m not interested, we are happy with our current provider. Goodbye!’

Clunk goes the phone.

Does this sound familiar?

Well, try selling things differently and better than everyone else.

Do you communicate exactly the same way as your competitors?

What do they say and do?

I can tell you without hesitation that they’re just like you.

They have the same value proposition, the same people, the same customers and more than likely the same mission: survive and then profit. Do you take an interest in your customers? Or are you sailing to your own wind, hoping the winds of success miraculously pick you up and blow you away from the hazardous rocks and towards your ‘Big Break’?

The Break never comes, mind you, unless of course you get lucky — like through winning the Powerball.

Don’t bank on luck, ever!

I don’t trust it because it’s impossible to replicate; instead, I get back to basics and get buck naked!

Have you ever worked for a struggling company that hired a salesperson from a competitor and they slotted in seamlessly? Of course they did, because all they’ve done is changed companies — nothing else has changed. The same plan with the same result: mediocrity. A bit harsh, I know; the truth often is.

Most salespeople are below average.

Sure, many might not have the right support and leadership, but that’s not a good enough excuse. They all go to the ‘Mediocre Bar’ for Friday night drink o’clock. For those yet to frequent this bar, it’s on the corner of Frustration and Despair Streets and there’s a big flashing neon light out the front that says ‘Free Entry’.

Anyone can get in, but there is a dress code: ‘same’!

Here, the patrons exchange war stories about the big account that got away. Some complain about prospects vanishing into thin air after months of pre-sales. Others whine about having no leads and their sales mangers being on their backs. Many are looking for new jobs and some are just hanging around waiting for redundancy. This is not an inspiring place to be if you’re naked.

If you aspire to be the same, expect to be average.

If you were happy in that place, great; but I know you picked up this book because you want to be more and you desire to have more. Deep down we all do, but it takes courage. It takes getting undressed and being comfortable in your own skin. We resist change and embrace sameness because it is safe. Same feels right because deep in our psychology we fear being different will be detrimental. ‘Hey, all the other salespeople are doing it!’

What would your teammates say if you were different?

You’d be an outcast, a social and business misfit, a heretic burnt at the stake or banished from the tribe!

So you must fit in. You must be the same. Same is good, same is safe.

NO!

If you run with the herd, you will never be heard.

Will you offend some people by being naked?

Sure.

But will some people really embrace you and what you stand for?

You betcha!

And these loving souls are your real customers. These are the people you want to help and contribute to in your own unique and valuable way because you genuinely care about them and you’re not afraid of giving them more of the real you.