HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR BEST PRODUCT?

The first thing I need to ask you is, “What is the best product you sell?” Let me give you a hint, it is the same for everyone.


Do you have the answer? I have it for you if you are having trouble. The best product you sell is YOU! That’s right; you are the best item you have.

Now a little harder question, “How well do you know this product?” You should know it inside and out, but it always amazes me when you ask people to describe themselves they need to think just to give a very superficial and usually very poor answer.

So here is what you need to do next. Today’s blog is going to be different from all the rest. Today if you want to get the lesson of the blog you are going to need to participate. This is an exercise I did with many classes I have taught. If you will take the time to do it, you will be better at selling your best product, YOU, then you are now.

Everyone is selling a product or service. The best sales reps know their products and the services very well and can convey the information to a potential customer. We learn our product knowledge from the practical experience we had with the product, other customers who have used the product gives us feedback we learn from, we read the owner’s manual, or we read the label on the packaging the product comes in.

One day I thought to myself, what better way for a rep to understand themselves and be able to sell themselves to a customer then to turn them into a product and have them write the product label that would go on themselves if they were being sold.

To be done correctly, this exercise should take you a few hours.

First you need to see what information goes onto a product label. Look around your home, pick up products that you use every day and read the labels. Food products, cleaning products, entertainment products, ANYTHING it really doesn’t matter. Read quite a few labels and manuals so you have a good idea of what you will need to write about yourself.

Next, get out a piece of paper and start writing things about yourself that you think are important and should be known about the product called YOU. Think of a name for yourself that fits you. What is your primary use? What other uses do you have? How should you be handled? What cautions should appear on your label? The list of facts about you that a customer should know should be a long list. THINK, don’t just rush through it.

Once you have the list made, start to develop your label. Maybe you want to brand yourself. You may have a logo or color scheme you want to use. Remember the labels you looked at, the front of the label is marketing! It looks good and should stand out so people notice it. The back of the label are the instructions and specific information about the product.

Now that you have your label, or instruction manual, READ IT over and over until you know it and have worked it into your normal sales presentation. You may find yourself going back and changing things as you read it to better describe you. I have seen reps take their original label and start over because they focused on the wrong features and benefits. This is going to be a living document that you should look at every month and make sure you know this product well.

This exercise is a lot of fun, and a lot of work. When you are done, you should be able to explain a few things to your customers and prospects. You should be able to tell and show them your features and benefits. The customer should be able to differentiate you from all the other sales reps they talk to everyday. The customers should see your VALUE and what you bring to the table with you when they agree to do business with you. Isn’t this the same information they want and the same information you give them about your product or service?

Lorin