Tell your brain to meet you in the middle!
Having trained in the corporate sales world, I was very in tune with critiquing situations from an analytical framework. Many times over, I heard “Sales is a numbers game.”
Frequently I was asked the probability of closing a sale. Initially I wondered how on earth I could possibly know. Initially I predicted I would achieve the monthly quota to please the manager and worried the remainder of the month whether I would actually make it or not. As I became increasingly savvy, the numbers were easy to predict.
Is interviewing a numbers game?
Interviewing may also be viewed as a numbers game. It takes many resumes and screened calls for the job seeking candidate to be granted an interview. Building business and interviewing may be related to the sales funnel. You have to approach many prospects. The interested parties graphically fall into the top of the funnel.
As you qualify what you are after, only some proceed through. Further meetings take place with proposals, presentations, and meeting the management team. Negotiation applies to both selling and acquiring a better package for the job. It’s not until you hear “Sold!” or “HIRED!” that your prospect converts to a client or your next Manager.
The missing piece from strict analytics is recognizing upfront whether you will enjoy working with the people involved and if they are telling the truth. However, when you tap into your sensory perception and utilize all of your six senses, then you will have a good feel for whether this will be a good relationship.
Unearthing who you are
What does this have to do with branding? Everything. Before you accept a client or a job, you need to know who you are. What are your talents, passions, who are the people with whom you prefer to work? Where will you draw the line to say to yourself, “this is or they are unacceptable?” Remaining true to who you are and paying attention to your inner thoughts develops your brand. Living your truth also brings greater respect and serves to attract the right people into your life.
While a numbers game is involved in most everything you do, it is the relationships you form that most often make the sale. And to build successful relationships, you must pay attention to that feeling you get when you first meet someone. When you receive a negative vibe, it’s very difficult to build a sound relationship. In terms of working with a new boss or client, you may be sorry you took the job.
Your better game plan is to combine both techniques of using analytics as well as the sensory side of your brain to measure where you stand. You will be far more inclined to have an accurate picture at your disposal.
Upon implementing the two strategies, you will know what isn’t working and what to keep, and whether or not you want to accept the work. When everything measures up to your satisfaction your odds for being successful will increase dramatically.
Using sensory and analytical tracking will lead you to the Smooth Sale!
Author:
Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results” and “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”. Elinor provides team sales training, private coaching and highly acclaimed keynotes for conferences.
