I was told, along with many others, to succeed in business you need to set yourself apart for your competition. This was easy for me to do when I was in the non-profit world, my work including grant writing success, program development and networking helped me to rise to the top – even when I least expected it.
As I entered the world of Direct Sales, setting myself apart from other consultants from the same company was going to be a little tougher. We are all given the same tools to use – scripts for parties, amazing products, catalogs, scripts for recruiting and the list goes on. My biggest problem was (and sometimes still is) learning which of these tools best fit ME! Which party presentation was easy for me, especially since I have always disliked public speaking? Which follow-up was I going to use (okay, so I am still working on this and it is an ongoing struggle)?
According to Direct Selling Education Foundation, here are some things that can help you to stand out in your business:
- Deliver great value – Offer excellence for a great price.
- Offer more choices in your products/services than your competitors.
- Make the sales process more convenient, easier and quicker than your competitors.
- Make it easy to find and contact you – use memorable business cards, post information on how to reach you through social media networks, post your cell number and promote testimonials.
- Share your sense of passion and excellence for what you do – make sure you come across passionate, caring and willing to do what it takes to earn your customers’ loyalty.
- Follow up immediately after the sale and continue on-going follow up.
- Anticipate your customers’ needs and help them with solutions.
- Ask for feedback and act upon those suggestions.
- Continue to improve.
- Be a connector and networker – help your customers find solutions to their needs, even before they know what they are, and engage in becoming friends with everyone you meet.
- Stay current in your area of expertise – keep up with professional training, industry trends and share innovations with your customers.
- Be positive and approach everything with a can-do attitude.
- Strive for excellence every day.
- Be more personable, friendly and approachable.
- Become solution oriented.
- Be creative and innovative while also following through.
3 thoughts on “Standing Out in Business”