We’ve talked about how your company can differentiate itself and stand apart from competitors. But here’s the thing. How do you stand apart from the competition? We can’t always hide behind our company. At the end of the day, your customer is choosing to do business with you.

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What do you bring to the table? How do you stand apart from other financial service agents out there? How do you stand apart from other realtors, other mortgage brokers, other IT technicians? What makes you different? Why should they work with you? It’s all going to come down to you as an individual.

Here are things you need to look at. How are you dressed? How do you present yourself? How do you speak? How articulate are you? Your communication skills, are they good? How effective are you at building rapport and connecting with customers? How good are you at chit chat? How good are you connecting?

You also need to take a look at your product knowledge. That’s one of the things that’s going to set you apart from not only competitor sales professionals but also other sales professionals in your company. From time to time, you may be competing with them as well. So how do you stand apart from other sales professionals in your own organization? It comes down to you as a person.

Customers want to know about your company. They also want to know about you. What’s your story? What do you bring to the table? What experience do you have? What are some case studies that you can share with them about how you have helped customers like them reach their goals? We call these similar situation stories. Case studies or testimonials – Have you got them? You need them. It’s all about you.

Another thing I know that’s quite often with sales professionals is speed, or lack of speed. In sales, speed kills. Speed is a differentiator. If you have two equally skilled sales professionals; one of them just sits and waits for the phone to ring, and takes their time hitting reply to emails, while the other is out there hustling, working, meeting with customers, answering the phone in the first ring. That second person is going to close more deals faster and easier than the first guy.

You really need to look at your personal effectiveness, your output, your energy. What do you bring to the table? Your fire, your fight, your persistence, your attitude, your people skills, your communication skills, your confidence, and the list goes on and on. But if you’re ever wondering why you’re struggling in sales, the first thing you need to check is your attitude.

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