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1. Before you categorize me as an idiot, please read on.

2. What is common practice in B2B sales? The sales person
meets with the prospect and before you know it he starts
throwing around brochures or he fires up good old
PowerPoint and let that do the 'talking'.

3. In other words, the salesperson forces the prospect to
focus on the least interesting part of the conversation, the
product. Products are not that interesting anymore. The
days that the entire office got excited because a new
computer got installed, are long gone. A very small
percentage of goods and services get people all excited
today, so we should shift our focus to something else.

4. So, if you should not focus on your product, what should
you focus on?

5. There is one simple but very powerful rule in marketing
that can help us answering this question: 'That what is
unique, you have to sell first.'

6. That does make sense, doesn't it? If something is really
one-of-a-kind and I want it, then my choice is limited to...
one. And what is really unique in your sales? Is it your
product? Probably not. The majority of products and
services have their alternatives. Is it the company you
work for? Probably neither. There might be slight
differences in approach, conditions, price etc. but by far
most companies have competitors who, in general can
deliver a resembling product or service.

7. And how about the salesperson? Bingo! He is unique! Or
at least, he should be. A salesperson can make himself
stand out from the competition. He can and should make
the difference. People buy from people. There is a good
reason that many employers want a new employee to sign
a non-compete clause. They know that when an employee
starts a new job at the competition, chances are big that
he will 'drag' customers along with him.

8. And how do I sell myself?

9. Forgive me for not giving away all my knowledge. I have
bills to pay too, you know. But I will list the most
important topics you should focus on:

10. Show a genuine interest in your conversation partner and
his company/business;

11. Don't talk so much. You only confirm the bad reputation of
a salesperson that way.

12. Start listening. And I mean really listening to what the
client has to say. Ask the right questions. If you have a
genuine interest in the client, the questions will pop up
automatically.

13. Don't let brochures and presentations take over. They are
a tool to help you and should never be leading. Why else
are you there? Quite an expensive delivery boy, right?

14. The whole list has to do with basic sales skills. The first
and main thing you should be selling is trust. Knowing
everything about your products is great but that
knowledge will not make you close the deal. Sales skills
do. Train them with the help of the professionals out
there.

15. Once you get used to 'selling' yourself first, you will notice
that selling your products and services will become a lot
easier.

16. Happy selling.

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