Sales Tip: How to Sell Yourself and Your Services

By Heather Green Your Paint Pal

 

While at the gym yesterday I was totally inspired to write this blog. I have been jotting down notes about selling and how to help those who struggle with selling their services. There are a lot of components that go into sales strategies, and truth be told there isn’t a secret formula. A good sales strategy requires research, effort, persistence and confidence.  But I have a few confidence builders and advice that can help you work towards being a kick butt sales and marketing machine. In business everything is based on sales, you can have the best product or services in the world but if you cant sell them, you are dead in the water.

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I remember when I was looking for office space, for Silly Farm I searched night and day for a nice space. I was 22 knocking on doors trying to find a spot to grow my future. In a moment of desperation I sat in my car in the parking lot of a plaza and started crying. I was  feeling so defeated and bummed and then a woman approached my window and asked me if I was ok. I said yes and she said by any chance are you looking for office space. It was like God heard my prayers. She invited me to see her offices and explained to me that she had spent a half of million dollars on her product line but just didn’t know how to sell. She thought that the products and their quality could and would sell its self. But that’s not reality. Sales approaches and marketing campaigns should match the quality of the product or service you are selling and they have to work simultaneously.

So here are my tips to help you start feeling more comfortable and successful in your sales approach.

Practice! With someone else’s product

Here’s where the gym inspired me. At the entrance of the gym there was a table set up with some free samples of energy drinks, energy pills and supplements. The lady running the table was more interested in taking selfies at  the table then speaking to anyone or even passing out samples. She never took off her jacket and spent the rest of the time texting and posting on snap chat. At least 25 people passed her table and didn’t even think twice to stop because

  1. She was not giving the impression she wanted to speak to anyone
  2. She wasn’t interested in selling

When you are ready and in the mind set to sell then you move and act with a purpose. I wasn’t sure if she was hired to stand there or if she was the owner of the company, but I can almost certainly tell you that she will be out of business soon with that type of business selling approach.

Shortly after I finished my  workout the girl had left and left everything on her table. I stood by the table and started reading the products. One of the energy drinks was supposedly all natural and the info sheet was interesting. I asked the gym attendants if they were free samples and said yes take what I wanted. Before I knew it I had three people standing around me asking about the products. I turned to them with a smile and started reciting what I had read on the flyer. I explained that the drink tasted like communion juice and that it was refreshing. I explained the benefits I had read and within in a matter of minutes I had 12 people taking samples. I started answering questions about supplements I take and what gym regimen I follow. 30 minutes later a buff man walked in and asked me where Tiffany was. I explained I didn’t know Tiffany and he asked me if I was hired to work his table. He pulled me over to the side and asked me my name and why I was working his table. I told him that I wasn’t working I was simply speaking to other gym members and telling them about what I read on his flyer. I apologized for misleading people and he quickly jumped to say thank you. I wasn’t expecting that. I thought he was going to be upset, but he was so grateful that someone was helping sell his product. We got to chatting and then he offered me a job selling his products at trade shows and gyms. LOL I explained to him that I had my hands quite full at the moment and he gave me his card and said to call him if I change my mind.

The purpose of this story is to show you how easy it is to sell for someone else. Especially when there’s no emotional attachment. When you are selling your own services you feel personally connected to every yes and every no. The no’s hurt like a bee sting and they leave you with a feeling of rejection. But when you are selling for a friend or for someone else you can put yourself out there without feeling nervous. So if you are in need of some sales training and practice, find a friend and help them out.

Zen Love Bliss Handcrafted Zen jewelry
Zen Love Bliss Handcrafted Zen jewelry

Here’s another example. If you have attended any event where I am speaking, teaching or selling you have probably met my best friend Lisa. Last year she started a zen jewelry line called Zen Love Bliss. Lisa has always been a motivating force in my world and because of her peaceful and positive energy I love to travel and work with her. She is a true Pisces, so she is sweet and gentle and her jewelry is a reflection of her. I started asking her to bring her bracelets on the road with us and sell them at our table. At first she was hesitant but I told her to use the resources available to her. Lisa would bring her bracelets and never tell a soul about them. So I started making announcements during my classes and telling people how amazing they are. How she reike’s each one and that her loving energy is gifted in each piece. And before you know it she was selling more bracelets than ever. Its easy for me to promote and sell her bracelets because I love them and I want to see her flourish. So if you want to practice selling, your approach, how to sell, what to say, then pay it forward and help someone you know and like to sell.

 

If you do not have any friends that have something to sell, you need to also think about changing your circle. In order to change your net worth you need to change your network. If you are not hanging around people that want to grow and increase then how do you plan on increasing in your own life? Surround yourself with people that have ideas, passion and missions. You can bounce ideas off one another, you can share trials and triumphs and you can use each other as a means to practice.

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Do your research! If you aren’t willing to invest time into knowing your product inside and out don’t try to sell it.

When I bought Silly Farm from Marcela 12 years ago I was trying to figure out my marketing and selling strategies. I wanted to sell Airbrush supplies but I didn’t know how to Airbrush. So before I ventured into the airbrush market I bought one gun from each brand and  paid my friends to teach me how to airbrush. There weren’t online classes like FABAtv  back then so I bought DVD’s watched them and learned the ins and outs. It took me a year to learn about products and differences before I started selling  airbrush supplies. The same principles should be applied to anything you want to sell.

If you want to start offering airbrush make up or airbrush favors as part of your services. Start doing your research. Look at what others are charging, look at their set ups, their packages, how they execute and how they sell their services. Learn before you expect to execute with a bang. I made this mistake once and that was enough to never do it again. I was asked to paint a photo backdrop. I figured its not so hard I can paint that in no time. It was a pretty simple backdrop but I didn’t realize I needed space, more paint, a ladder, the material suitable for my paint, a ventilator to suck out the over spray and the list went on. I ended up losing about $300 on that deal. ONLY because I didn’t even bother to do an ounce of research.

When you feel confident about a product, when you know every detail about a product you can speak with confidence. I have another friend that recently  found her passion in a natural cosmetic company. She feels very passionately about the brand and took lots of time to do research about harmful products that we are currently using daily. She took time to read articles, test products and because of that willingness to invest time in learning she is able to sell and convince women the importance of healthy beauty.

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One time our daily Fed Ex driver came into Silly Farm and looked me in the eyes and said do you want to loose weight? I was shocked, and a bit annoyed. I said “excuse me?” He said I have a great product to help you loose the belly fat and feel sexy for your man. So I told him thanks but no thanks I was a lesbian. Just because I wanted to throw him off his game. His first mistake he made was he didn’t do his research on how to speak to a woman. ALL women are sensitive about their bodies. Whether you are a size 2 or 22 we are always looking to make something higher, tighter, and better. But pointing it out to a women is a sure fire way to loose her attention. With a little research you can develop a confidence to speak on your services or products with swag.

Yeezy Boost Shoes

When you are uncertain about what you want to sell, or don’t feel comfortable talking about it, its going to be very tricky to sell it to others. Confidence sells more than quality. Kayne West is a very outspoken musician. He hasn’t sold as many albums as other artists, he isn’t as good looking as other artists, and he isn’t as musically talented as other artists but he has the confidence of 7 Donald Trumps and for that he will always be able to sell albums and shoes by the case load. His shoes are selling on Amazon for $2,000 .. why??? Because he sold people on the idea that his SNEAKERS are the best shoes on the planet and people believe it.

Its time to stop hiding behind your fear of selling. If you want to increase business, make more money or get your current business off the ground you have to invest time in learning to sell. Otherwise you will be holding your breathe or spending money on lotto tickets.

I hope these tips to learn to be a better sales person help you along your journey. Take it day by day and remember Rome wasn’t built overnight. Good luck and don’t forget to email me if you have questions. I am always here to help and want to see you do your best!

<3 Heather Your Paint Pal

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