Personal branders know objections and resistance are a part of the personal branding process and there are many great resources that detail strategies for handling objections. Many of these strategies focus on how to handle objections verbally in either face to face encounters or over the phone. There is much less thought leadership on how to handle objections or resistance with content to grow your personal brand, and this post will dive into a few ways you can do just that.
As I have said many times before, personal branders need to see themselves in the business of creating content that sells and not just in the business of selling their stuff and ideas.
Content that grows your brand
This is especially true now because the ways we consume content are on the rise with technologies like wifi, smartphones, tablets, and social networking. Even email is getting more social as your status updates and profiles are being pulled into email clients. It is far more likely that you will be able to reach your prospect, customer, or niche on their mobile device and it is easier to constantly provide value with the technology at our finger tips.
In her new book SNAP Selling, Jill Konrath points out that you need to become invaluable to your prospects, customers, and niche to break through the noise, get in the door and move the sales process forward. This same strategy holds true for personal branders, even though you may not be in the sales profession because everyone is selling something.
Do you have your sales playbook?
One of the best ways to do that is to create your sales playbook that can help you sell and overcome your most common objections. You know the most common things that keep you from getting in the door or getting what you desire. The first thing you need to have is a solid understanding of your most common objections and from there you can begin creating content or leveraging content that is compelling, persuasive, and valuable to your prospects, customers and niche.
Those with the biggest advantage here are the personal branders that are consistently creating content and have built up a credible reputation. The great news for those with access to organized content is that we can leverage this content in our favor and use it to handle objections, lower resistance, and get further faster.
Here is a strategy I have found very successful
One of my major objections on the job is establishing a sense of urgency, and I’m constantly addressing this issue throughout my sales process. Many times, despite my best efforts at identifying gaps in a prospects business and the consequences of those gaps, prospects decide to delay or start showing the tell tale signs of delaying. That is when I will call them and send an email that has a very specific purpose. If I get their voicemail, I have a scripted voicemail that I use too. The email I send has a screenshot of some very compelling data from the demo and a link to a blog article from our company blog that highlights the top reasons not to delay. I usually include a link to a very relevant video case study too. If anything is going to get the prospect off their behind, it is this strategy. Many times, shortly after I do this, I notice someone from the prospects organization has looked at my Linkedin profile, which helps me build even more credibility.
The big takeaway here is that I’m providing value during the objection handling process at the same time I’m isolating and addressing the objection. The bigger takeaway is that I’m leveraging valuable content to help me sell, and the prospect does not have to just take my word for it. This approach fosters a sense of trust, experience, and value that helps differentiate yourself from your competition and win more deals. It can also help you lower resistance and build your personal brand.
You can take this one to the bank – everyone is selling something.
