It’s no secret that salespeople are normally not very trusted. The Gallup poll has been doing a consumer report and publishing stats for years, evaluating which professions are the most trusted among Americans and which are the least trusted.
At the very top for 2019 is the nursing profession, followed closely by medical doctors, pharmacists, and high school teachers. Meanwhile, at the bottom are car salespeople and members of congress.
How can you change the way people view you so you make more sales? Well, if you think about it for a minute, celebrities are never viewed as salespeople, even though they sell stuff all the time. So why is that? Celebrities definitely endorse products and services. Think of a golfer or a basketball player or your favorite sports athlete. Most likely he's sponsoring or endorsing something, and really, he's selling it.But although that athlete is promoting that product, and, in effect, selling it, people don't see it that way.
Now think about a doctor. Doctors sell drugs and push products or different things all the time. But doctors aren't viewed as salespeople. Why is that? It's because doctors prescribe. Doctors don't sell. When is the last time you you heard somebody say, yeah, the doctor sold me these drugs? No, they don't say that. They say, the doctor prescribed me this. Medicine changes your thinking. The doctor is viewed as an expert.
So as a salesperson, how can you change your positioning and be an expert? How can you change how people view you?
Think of somebody that you consider an expert at social media or finance or maybe personal development.
For me, somebody different comes to mind in all those different industries. When I think of personal development, I think of Tony Robbins. When I think of personal finance, I think of Dave Ramsey. When I think of a social media expert, I think of Gary Vaynerchuk. If you watch Youtube videos or you're on Instagram, chances are you've seen some of his content. So what is the difference between these experts and you? They educate people; they give out advice; they give out content. They deliver value. What can you, as a salesperson, do differently? Well, the biggest thing is educate. You can educate your leads, your prospects and all the people who want your product or service on why they should and what's the value of it.
So what are the different options on how to educate so you become an expert? You can answer questions in videos and on social media or in a blog post or in a book, and you can go out there and educate your prospects and be positioned as an expert rather than a salesperson. Again, going back to Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins and Dave Ramsey, if you're familiar with these three people, you probably didn't think of them as being salespeople, but all of these experts sell. They sell daily. They sell to you. They sell to me. When we watch them, we see them differently, because of how they're delivering value.
Here’s an example.
If somebody records a video of someone trying to sell a car and posts it to YouTube, chances are, it's not going to get any traction unless people are laughing at it. Right? But let’s say you post five tips for buying a car or the five biggest mistakes people make when buying a car and how to avoid them. Chances are, when somebody is buying a car, they’re going to say, “Oh man, I hate the car buying experience” and then Google or search YouTube for advice. Then, they’ll find the tips you’re sharing, and they’ll get value. At that point, you're viewed completely differently. Chances are, if you're in their area and you're a car salesperson, they may come to you and buy a car because you're now a trusted expert.
That’s one of the best pieces of advice that I could give to any fellow salesperson: change the way people see you by changing your message to education, to providing value, to answering questions, and not just to selling. Obviously selling is how you make money, but that part becomes easy when you have a relationship with someone and you're seen as an expert. Essentially, how people see you is really important.
If you write a book about your product or service, that's a great way to be viewed as an expert. It's known as your best work and the best answers to problems that you're helping people solve. However, it’s normally difficult writing a book. It’s a lot of work, and if you hire ghost writers, editors and designers, it can be really expensive. But this day and age, there are many ways to get a book done faster and cheaper.
One of those solutions is Authorify. We create books quickly for you. Check out Authorify.com where we license a book to you that's already done.