Sell YOU

What a great idea - BlitzTime.com !! This morning I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Executives in/around the Boston area, thru a great tool called BlitzTime. Our guest speaker covered the 3 C's of Social Marketing. She did a great job, but in her introduction, she mentioned hating salespeople. I thought, WHAT?? Aren't we all in sales???? The question is rhetorical, the answer is yes.

Two of my all-time favorites on "Selling YOU!" are:

You, Inc, by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford Beckwith, and
Selling for Dummies, by Tom Hopkins

We are always selling ourselves whether we know it...or not.

Recently I joined the Basho Community, what a great site providing poignant information directed to the sales professional. A blog covering CEO M. Jeffrey Hoffman's recent interview with SellingPower Magazine provided advice to the new sales manager. Hoffman is a sales sage and I appreciate what he's doing for our industry. I must, however, disagree in principle with the approach he recommends for new sales managers.

Instead, espouse the "Sell YOU!" mentality. Many sales managers find themselves in their managerial role due to a promotion received as a highly successful salesperson. Guess what - that doesn't mean they are qualified, YET.

Take ownership of your new role by focusing on your strengths, sell YOU to your new team, lift them up to your standards, and help ALL of them succeed.