So I’m sitting there explaining to the guy about how to become more successful in his dojo and then out of nowhere he looks strait at me and says” but I don’t want to be a salesman!” He was quiet after that, just making a deep sigh and waiting on me to come back at him with the importance of becoming a salesman. I sat still just staring back at him until he felt he had to break the uncomfortable silence and explain what he meant in more detail. “Sir, it’s just that I love teaching the Martial Arts and I love what it represents and the culture of our company and the way we help others and the awesome dojos we have and all of the Masters and the great workouts and not to mention being a karate guy is just cool anyway and….He went on like that for about a minute and a half before I said” tell me than what it is about being a salesman you don’t like?
“ Well, I don’t like having to talk people into doing something, I figure if they want to enroll they will and I don’t want to feel like I am pressuring someone in to it.”I agree” I said. Then he just sat there even quieter. This time it was my turn to explain.
There is new term that is becoming more and more popular called PERSONAL BRANDING. It is the idea that we are always selling something to ourselves or someone else. That we have a clear choice to make when it comes to the way we are perceived by others, we can take an active role in this or we can just let others see what they see and hear what they hear about us. The problem is that if we don’t take personal ownership of the way we put ourselves out there than we may be perceived differently than we are or of less value. If we decide to take control over what we allow others to see and hear about us than we are creating our PERSONAL BRAND rather than accepting our personal brand for whatever it is.There are a lot of very large, very well established companies out there that spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars to help create and define their own personal brands. Companies like Rolex, Mercedes, Apple, Hilton, and BMW are just a few that we all know to represent quality and opulence at its best. Even universities like Harvard, Mit and Yale work very hard to enhance and protect their personal brand image. The fact is that a lot of other universities offer equal educations to these schools but have not been branded as successfully. Honda has branded itself to be the reliable car and Volvo the safe car, While Ford is built tough!
All of these examples are of companies selling a perception, and when we look at the example of the instructor who didn’t want to be a salesman above and then listen to his passionate explanation of what he does and what he believes is great about our company we quickly realize that it is just his perception of what a sales person is supposed to do that is the problem. It appears Sales has a Personal Brand problem…lol
The fact is that we can enhance our own personal brand and make selling a much easier process. If we understand that selling is simply taking the time to discover someone’s wants and needs and help to provide a solution then we can stop trying to convince others to buy, and focus on building and protecting our Personal Brand and increasing our student bases in the process. The prospective student will base a large part of their buying decision on how they perceive you, The Personal Brand of you that is. Everything from the way we communicate to the way we listen to teaching to how we keep our dojo clean or not, to whether or not we start the lessons on time or run them over all have an impact on our personal brand. The Great news is that we can re-shape the Perception and re-brand ourselves and the way people see us. Look at Jack in the box and others that have decided to take control and re-shape their image. You can too!
Remember, I agree, I don’t want to pressure someone in to joining either, But I would love to share a great product with them that will change their life, That product is quality and will definitely live up to its growing reputation, I know they will love it, because that brand is awesome and I know it personally, that Brand is ME!
I am uncomfortable with the "selling" as well. I like to do the fairs/booths, because people expect that we have something to share. But walking up to people on the street is not something I like to do. Yes, I am good at it, and can approach most people without a problem, but I do not like pushing to set an appt.
ReplyDeletewhile I agree with what you say Sir, it still does not make me more comfortable.
I think the questions I came to grips with about "selling" is that we're always selling something. Any time you've been really excited and enthusiastic about a product and shared it with your friends/relatives/whomever then you were "selling" them on the benefits...you just probably didn't make any money off of it. What's wrong with sharing a passion and making money? I think it's the best part about what we do is that we actually reflect the value of what we "sell" and we need to learn how to properly display it to others.
ReplyDeleteGoes back to Brian Tracy's correct assertion that sales is the oldest profession. I can picture a caveman trading an axe he just made for an antelope leg, or something.
ReplyDeletePeople sell themselves first before they sell whatever it is they're selling. If you're "that sales guy", all that means is people are comfortable transacting with YOU, regardless of the product. That's not so bad.
Hopefully, all this discussion will wear down the stigma surrounding sales.
Says a lot, thank you -
ReplyDeleteThank you, sir! Much of my struggle with selling has been my personal brand. Ive always been told that I am the "young/fun" instructor and have worked very hard to "rebrand" myself as someone with know-how and skill... I know that myself, but having someone totally new to myself or personality perceive me as such is a bit tough.
ReplyDeleteWorkin on it... :)
I like what you say here and it takes a certain level of comfort to really assert the idea. For myself, my vision is not clouded. I have a very clear idea of what martial arts is as a product and who I am as a representative which makes balancing business and dojo reasonably simple. Knowing what it has done for me as an adult and a female makes it easy for me to look someone in the eye and say, "Yes, you need this". And knowing how much time I spend into building a student base and what I have put into my own training over the years and the effort I make into retaining my clients makes it easy for me to say, "And yes, I'm worth every penny." And there in lies the yin and the yang. The dojo and what we do in it is the easy (or the soft, the yin) and our business is the yang (hard) and one cannot exist without the other.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I have seen accomplished in the past 5 years as a cheif instructor is the re-personal-branding of the karate teacher in Colorado. When I started (due mostly to specific competitors whose names I will not mention) people were scared to talk to a karate instructor because they would be strong armed, pushed, and humiliated into the dojo, and often forced to sign contracts they wanted nothing to do with. Five years later we have changed that image so people at events, on the streets, and in the dojo, have come to respect and look forward to talking with our instructors. Thank you master C!
ReplyDelete"Selling" is no more than a transferrence of energy and enthusaism. We are all pasionate individuals with a love for the arts and what it does for people. We have all seen it over the years of running a studio and the people/families we have the privilage of teaching. Use that! Educate those that do not understand, tell stories, involve them.
ReplyDeleteWhat we do is FANTASTIC and are all fortunaute to do it!
Mr. Dunlap
ReplyDeleteThis article is great. I have actually heard people tell me I'm a great salesperson. At first I was offended then after I read this article I realized that all I was doing was expressing a desire to find out how to help them and the only thing they could say instead of no (why I'm not sure) was "your a great salesman" I learned that what I can say is. Well so and so I am sure you feel I am a salesman and that's fine realize this, my purpose is to teach you health, fitness, and personal safety. The only way I can do that is to help you by understanding all of your concerns. Btw yesterday I called a Very successful studio and asked all the questions you advised. Thank you. Tim
I worked for Airtouch(before they were Verizon), Nextel and Sold perfume and cologne on the streets. Sales is tough when your focused on making money and not helping people enrich their lives. I haven't worked in the last 10 years and feel that when I present to a potential student, my excitement and attitude to what we do and what benefits we get from the martial arts sells its self.
ReplyDeleteBryan Buckhorn
Redmond, WA Dojo
This is such a great discussion. I think what Mr. Buckhorn said is spot-on: it's really tough if you're focused on the money rather than on the mission to help others succeed.
ReplyDeleteLV (Bellevue)
Sir - This is great information.
ReplyDelete