Believe in your products December 9, 2008

Trading Tuesday: Believe in your product or services

I always see people selling all sorts of err, craps. And by craps, I mean products of very poor quality and function. And I wonder, would they buy it themselves?

Another very important factor in business is your belief in your own product. Would you buy it yourself? Would you wear it? Would you use it? If not, perhaps you should think again why are you selling it on the first place.

When you believe in the benefit of your product, you would be happy to promote it. You would be proud to be associated with it. You would want people to experience the same benefit that you’ve experienced. And that’s why you sell it.

Short and sweet entry from Trading Tuesday!

Teach me to fish: Learn to Sell – My Story July 7, 2008

When I came back from the UK a few years ago, I asked myself ’Now, what?’. I have no idea at all of what I would do after graduation. I want to try something else besides accounting and finance so, job hunting I did.

I applied for many jobs since I was still in the UK. By the time I was back in Malaysia, I am practically a pro at looking for jobs. I went to many interviews, which served me well, because now I am also very good at interviews (I never got nervous, at all!)

Anyway, my first job was to do sales through the phone. Or in other words, telesales or telemarketing. I was required to do cold-calling (calling a person you have never met or spoke to, basically a stranger), prospecting (looking for potential client), closing (the act of securing the sale/deal)), following-up (to check on potential client’s readiness to buy)- all through the phones. Sadly, I was not properly-trained (one issue that I found very apparent in many companies in Malaysia). Thus, I need to do a lot of the learning on my own. I go online and read, I also buy a lot of books on selling. I enjoyed selling, but it’s the 9-5 office time that gets to me.

The scariest thing about selling (for the person who never sells anything), is the rejection. The first time people said ‘No, thanks’ to me. my face burned until I swear the person at the other line could feel the heat. It was very difficult to accept rejection. Even to pick up the phone to say hello was difficult after that. Somehow, by doing it more and more everyday - it gets easier and better.

However, I get the real selling lessons from one person that is until now, still hold a very special place in my heart. She is Elynn. 1 sister of the Millionaire Sisters. She opened a whole new vocabulary of ’selling’ to me. She trained me endlessly, encouraged me, challenged me, and really opened a whole new way of thinking for me. One thing that is also very special about her, she is also my friend way back during our A-level years.

Different from my first telesales job, I have to do face-to-face selling, or sometimes they call it ‘field sales’. I have to find my own prospect, I have to do my own presentation, my own closing, my own everything. It’s zero to close, all on your own. These experience really taught me that it’s a tough world out there – find your own way!

I first have no idea where on earth should I look for my client? I tried a few different ways, that lead to no success. I also get rejected many times. And if you think on the phone rejection is bad, tried face-to-face! You will feel like you are on an emotion roller-coaster. When there are good days, and you are able to make sales, you feel so happy and high. However, on bad days when you cannot find any prospects, get bad rejections, you will feel very sad and low.

Although I don’t make a career out of it, I gained tremendous valuable experience that is life-changing. My selling experience made me tougher. It made me ‘thick-skinned’, in a good way. It turned me into a more positive person. It gave an extra boost in my personality. It opened a way to an excellent way of living, that is – to constantly and consciously improve myself. From my selling days, that I first started the habit of going to seminars to learn from the best. It also strengthen the habit of reading great motivational books. I have a stack of them, and it is increasing every month!

That is why, I highly recommend ‘learning how to sell’. I am by no means ‘a success story’. However, if me myself, a mere ‘learning soul’ are already gaining the benefit, it is something that I found very remarkable for everybody’s personal development. Please do note that I am no longer affiliated in anyway with Elynn nor the unit trust industry (at this point of writing), and I am not getting any commissions for mentioning her name or her business. I am merely sharing my own experience when I was learning how to sell. So I wish that you can find your own experience, gained your very own selling skills that will help you in your businesss and your life!

Happy learning to sell!

Copyright © Naziehah 2008

Teach me to fish: Learn to Sell 2 June 24, 2008

How to sell like a pro? Now I am a no-pro, but then that’s exactly why I am writing this right? . After reading quite a few books, going to quite a few seminars, did quite a few selling – I think the best way I can summarise what any salespeople or anybody who attempts to sell anything to anyone should do is; to sell themselves first.

Now what does that mean? Selling myself? Hey, I am not up for sale you know!

Selling yourselves simply means, you have to make sure that before even looking at your product/your service, your customer already likes you. They are sold by your personality, your charisma, your honesty, your friendliness, and all the good qualities that you possess.

Don’t we love to buy from the people we like? Didn’t we prefer the smiling cashier rather than the scowling ones? The friendly rather than the obnoxious one? The helpful rather than the aloof ones?

Now I know there are many ‘tactics’ and strategy to win over customers, some are drenched with pretense and acting that requires a training from a performing art schools! And I don’t believe in this kind of tactics. Anything that of pretense, will not normally last. Cliche as it is, honesty IS  the best policy. Because you know why, there’s only so much lying, cheating, and pretending that you can do before all of it comes chasing after you. If you want to live a happy peaceful life – well, you know what NOT to do.

I say, first build on your own personality. Your own character. Be a genuinely nice person. A person of integrity. And yes, surprise, surprise – these needs practise too! Even you think you are already a decent person, there’s always more than you can work on to make you an even better person!

At the same time, also work on soft skills like presentation skills and communication skills.

Do you know that the tone of voice can repel people? So if you want to make people more comfortable and open to you, use a lower tone/pitch in your voice. If you don’t understand – think of Janice in Friends (those Friend’s fans can relate to this very well), her shrieking high pitch voice drove everybody mad. The higher your voice is, the more chances are people be turned off by you. Also, that’s why the romantic dashing heroes in movies spoke with low whispering tone and girls go wild! Exactly, it works both ways – male and female. Also, lower voice pitch/tone also depitcs a more professional image.

 Hand gestures, dont flap your hands wildly when talking. (this is my weakness- I have very dramatic hand gestures). If you are like me, you need to control it. But this doesn’t mean hanging your hand limp by your side.

Eye contact. Since Malaysia is very much influenced with the Western business customs – please do look people in the eye when talking. If you don’t, some people might think you are hiding something. But, how to look in the eye without making them feel like they are in some kind of staring contest? Tricky business huh.

But these are only applicable if I am face-to-face salesperson. What if I am selling from my home, in my pyjamas, via laptop?

Now I am firm believer in blogging. And so I say, the trick is to blog. Even the biggest corporate companies and politicians are turning into blogs. Do you know why? Because people wants to know them. Why do they want to know them? To check out whether they like them enough or not to buy from them!

I see blogging as another aspect of ’selling yourself via the written words’. So, I always say this, if you want to start anything – start a blog first. It’s free, it’s easy, and it’s the closest thing to talking to that person itself.

For practical tips on how/where to learn to sell:

1. Join an MLM/Unit trust/Insurance company and do some selling. Good thing these companies are always looking for more people . But a word of warning, choose only good companies, with good agencies and good people. 3 keys – good company, good agency, good people. If not, you are just wasting your time. So do your research first. No, I don’t suggest you to change your career and be an MLM agent, the purpose is to learn selling from them. So do it part-time. If you like it so much, then maybe you can consider it seriously.  

2. If you are just so tired and busy and do not have the time and energy to join any, I will give you a short-cut. Go to their seminars/training and talk to the salespeople. Observe and learn what they are saying/doing. Observe and learn your own reaction to what they are saying. You might learn a valuable lesson or two. But nothing beats actually doing the real selling.

Now I know and I understand that it can be quite challenging to just simply join these companies, (especially if you have had bad experience with them before). But I say give them a second chance, not for them – but for you. You owe it to yourself these knowledge that all these people know and keep using against you! Don’t you want to know, even if to not to be a salespeople, but at least a better consumer?

Because there’s a saying – ‘that you can’t sell to a salesperson’. Salesperson knows all the tricks in the book to not get themselves tricked into buying things they don’t need.

I also understand the feeling of ‘malu’ or ’segan’, it’s normal to have these feelings. especially since it is so alien and far from our usual routines. So, to make yourself feel better at selling, treat it like a game. Like when you are a child and playing games. Instead of ‘main masak-masak’ or ‘gaduh-gaduh’, we play ‘jual-jual’.

Make it fun for you. Who knows it might be the best game you ever played .

Copyright © Naziehah 2008

***************

Image 1 from here
Image 2 from here

Teach me to fish: Learn to Sell June 19, 2008

Another skill that I feel is very important but is lacking in most people who wants to go after their dream, is selling skills.

Selling is definitely one of the profession that is frowned upon the most by society. Now who likes salespeople that always keep knocking on your door? Almost every office that I went to have this sticker that said ’salesperson not allowed’, or ‘we just shoot the last salesperson’. Kan, mesti penah jumpe kan?

It’s no wonder that most people avoid selling even if it’s the last job on earth.

However, most people didn’t realise that all day long, in all their life – they are selling. Tak percaya? Ok, when you go up to your boss, and you asked for a raise and when he/she said no, it only means that you are not selling yourself effectively. You boss didn’t buy the ‘idea of you getting a higher pay for your work’.

Or when you asked your husband to clean the house and he said no, it only means that you are not selling the benefit of clean homes clearer enough to him to make him wants to do that. He is not buying your ‘idea of a clean home’.

If you are not selling to people, you can be sure that every minute of every day there is somebody selling something to you. You just don’t realise it because you do not have the skills and knowledge of selling.

Selling in a broader sense means – getting what you want, in the least resistance way. That’s it. Therefore, even if you do not like the idea of selling a physical stuff, you can actually just sell your ideas.

In fact, that is the secret of all selling – you are always selling ideas!

In the next entry, I will write amore about selling ideas and about ways you can go about to learn how to sell like a pro!

Copyright © Naziehah 2008

************

Image 1 from here