There are a lot of people like you. Search for the term “print sales” on LinkedIn and you’ll find that there are more than 9,500 other people who use this term. If you are in the business of selling print, you have a lot of competition on social media.
So how do you stand out? The answer is simple: Stop selling print.
Visitors who visit your social media profile and see just another print sales person will ignore you. Instead, turn conventional social media thinking on its head. Stop talking about yourself. It is far better to make your profile all about the people you want to connect with.
Tell prospective connections why they should connect with you. What’s in it for them? How can you help them? Spend your time in your customers’ world.
Here are a few quick tips on how you can do this:
Have a job title that tells people the results that you achieve for them
It’s time to ignore whatever is written on your business card. It is not interesting to the average prospect. Instead, use the job title space to create something that will interest them. That means telling them the results that you create for your clients.
Remember, the results are not good quality print delivered on time. The results are increased prospects or revenues for your clients. They are better branding exposure or more footfall through the door. Or reduced costs from more efficient packaging solutions. Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes.
Say what sort of people you are looking to connect with and why
Few sales people want to sell print to everyone. If you’re happy to have anyone as a customer, you need to refine your sales approach—and fast. It is far better to focus on a specific target audience. And, if you are looking for a specific type of person, tell your audience on social media whom you want to connect with. It saves you from wasting time with inappropriate connections.
More importantly, it makes the right prospects more interested in you because you have said that you specifically want to connect with people like them. Remember, you can always change and reword your profile at a later date and focus on a different type of person that you want to connect with.
Create a story or a case study that focuses on this type of person
People like stories. They are memorable. Can you talk about an incident with a client, similar to the sort of prospect that you are looking to connect with, that you can turn into a story? Your prospects will gain a much better idea of what it is like to deal with you. They will enjoy finding out about you and will be more likely to connect.
If you’re looking to connect with people at a more senior level, you may be better off creating a case study. This is a more formal way of explaining what you do. Again, it focuses on results. Your prospects will learn how they might benefit from connecting with you and working with you. It can be a powerful advertisement for both you and your company.
The time spent creating it is very worthwhile because you can use it in so many other places. Feature case studies in brochures, on your website and as sales email and letter content.
Now you’re standing out from the crowd
These are the sorts of things that interest your potential prospects. When they see your social media profile, they’re more likely to stop and find out more. As a result, you’ll find it much easier to connect with them and eventually, sell them your products and services.
Best of all, you won’t have to compete with the other 9,500 people saying that they work in print sales.
