"ME", "MYSELF" and "I"

When you are talking to a prospect there should be a few things that happen and a few things that don’t happen.

You should always make sure you get their name and you should use the name during the presentation. You should position your product or service as a solution to the prospects “pain” and show the value that you have to offer. You should be positive and give the prospect the idea that they are dealing with a successful and knowledgeable sales rep.

You should NOT be talking about yourself. I could list other things you shouldn’t be doing but I don’t want to dilute this main idea.

If you find yourself saying the words “ME”, “MYSELF" or "I" more than a time or two during your entire presentation you are talking about yourself too much. The prospect doesn’t want to know about “YOU”. They may love you and at some point in the building of a relationship the two of you can truly get to know one another, in time this relationship can build into a long and lasting friendship. In past posts I have told you about some of my customers that have become close family friends. But during the presentation it is all about “THEM” not you.

This will take a lot of practice. We are used to talking about ourselves and it will be a hard habit to break. Let me give you an exercise to try. My first boss in the chemical industry, Bill Buchman, had me do this. Write a thank you letter without using the words “ME”, "MYSELF", or “I” even once. It was a long time ago but I can remember how frustrating it was writing this letter. Every time it was almost finished there was another dead end where the “I”, "MYSELF" or “ME” had to be typed.

If you think it is easy, give it a try. Let me know how it works out for you!

“ME”, "MYSELF" and "I" are great for certain speeches, but they have little room in a professional sales presentation.

Take it from "ME", "I" try to use other words whenever "I" can to not talk about "MYSELF"!

Lorin