1) A few days ago, at the urging of a reader, I attempted to figure out why the comments section on this blog was a big cluster freak on the page instead of separated into paragraphs like you good readers intended. After a useless twenty-seven minutes of poking around my stylesheets, twenty-seven minutes that I will never get back, I got fed up.
And by “got fed up” I mean I emailed my friend Mic Funk, also known as “funk in your junk,” “funky hunk,” or “thebestwebdesignerintheworld.” It took him all of two seconds to find the problem. Easy, I guess, when you know where to look.
I turned to him because thebestwebdesignerintheworld makes hazy subjects clear. He humors me as I explore numerous side projects, and we have been working together on a website to raise philanthropy awareness that will be publicly launched this winter in my area.
When we meet, thebestwebdesignerintheworld patiently explains what RSS means and the difference between AJAX and scripting languages. Thebestwebdesignerintheworld makes apples into apple pie, and turns blueberry pie back into blueberries. He’s that good.
He un-complicates the complicated.
2) I have been working with my real estate agent for almost a year, and the condo I bought with him won’t even be finished until next May. Which gives me more time than the average homebuyer to ask an incessant number of questions. That’s why I like my real estate agent. I ask a lot of questions. He has a lot of answers.
My real estate agent was so good at answering my questions in the beginning that when the time came to finally sit down and sign papers, I was ready to blindly sign by the “x” without reading the papers.
Which was stupid. Really stupid.
And you know what he did? He made me sit for an extra thirty or so minutes, and painstakingly explained each page before allowing me to put pen to paper. So I would know. So I would be informed. TIME IS MONEY! I wanted to yell, but when he was finished, I understood. I understood it was good to know about the biggest financial decision of my life. His behavior allowed me to trust him. And it’s really good to trust the person who has the biggest financial decision of your life in their hands.
3) This Sunday, my little sister and I went to the grocery store that doesn’t take credit cards to buy ingredients for a homemade pizza. The grocery store that doesn’t take credit cards doesn’t remind you of this fact until you’re in line, because they assume you’re not a freaking idiot. I, however, did not know this; it was only once we had carefully chosen the mushrooms and the pepperoni that I stood in line, realizing I had no cash, no debit card, and no good sense. A lonely credit card sat useless in my purse.
The cashier dialed the customer service office to put our cart on hold, while the couple behind us let out one of those “I can’t believe you freaking idiots didn’t know this grocery store doesn’t take credit cards” kind of sighs. To which I darted my “I can’t believe you’re so lame that you’re buying pasta IN A CAN” kind of looks.
Simultaneously, our bagger walked over to the cashier and asked how much our grocery bill was. The cashier showed him our receipt for $29.93, and then the bagger walked over to the customer side of the check out, swiped his debit card, and paid for my groceries. He PAID for MY groceries. And he makes what? $5 an hour?
These vignettes each hold a lesson on how to sell yourself successfully:
Lesson #1 – Make complicated things uncomplicated.
Lesson #2 – Instill trust through action.
Lesson #3 – Go the extra mile.
… and a fourth lesson that they all have in common:
Lesson #4 – Make others feel smart. Or, at the very least, less stupid.
(And yes, later that afternoon, tucked inside a hand-written thank you card, I paid the grocery bagger back, plus tip.)
13 replies on “4 lessons in selling yourself”
Brava!, Rebecca – you have distilled the very essense of what makes some individuals and companies successful while others not so much. Get it right, and people will flock to your door, get it wrong, and getting ahead will always be a struggle.
Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers, yes? I believe that what goes around comes around – perform a random act of kindness for someone today, and someday when you are in need someone will be there for you. Sort of a non-denominational, quasi-religious thing. Believe in it and it will work.
Great post! It’s great when life speaks into you and reveals these lessons. And what a great take-home: Sell without the pitch. Love it. I need to write that down somewhere.
@ Trisha – thanks! Yes, thank goodness for strangers. I strongly agree with you on the whole karma thing. That’s another thing about referrals or doing something nice for another. Just because that person doesn’t specifically return the favor doesn’t mean that you won’t receive good things from another. The world works in mysterious ways…
@ Tiffany – Selling without the pitch is crucial if you want others to refer to you. You can be as loud as you want, and you should be, but at the end of the day, no one will give you business if all you’re doing is talking. You have to enact the four lessons above.
Nice post, Rebecca! I really enjoy reading about excellent customer experiences from the customer end.
I’m a pretty observant person, so I mostly just need to be exposed to good examples over and over again. Thanks!
Regarding the bagger vignette, I have to say that I am always on the lookout for a good deed to do. When I was in Philly recently to see the King Tut exhibit, my group ended up with an extra ticket. We had reserved five, but one of our friends had to cancel last minute, and when we picked up the tickets, we just took all of them instead of cancelling one out, forgetting we were only four instead of five. One of our friends wanted us to wait in line again and get our $30 back, but the rest of us argued in favor of giving the ticket away, and we did, to a pair of parents with their three kids who were waiting in line.
Was it worth it to give away $30 to a complete stranger? Absolutely. I don’t expect anything back from it, but it was nice to see a family out with their kids, going to museum, something my parents rarely did since they didn’t have much money. There are few feelings (in my opinion) better than unexpectedly making someone’s day with a random good deed.
Hi Rebecca,
As your real estate agent I appreciate the kudos. Today we had an all staff meeting for everyone at Stark Company Realtors and our leader Dave Stark has been professing to us as agents to be more relevant, differentiated, and value added. One way that we can do this is a commitment to mastery and excellence in our chosen profession, in my case real estate. These four lessons that you give I think strongly support the right direction for anyone in their career to take it to the next level. In fact there’s a great quote by Stewart Emery about mastery. Email me if you’d like a copy.
Thanks again,
Josh
@ Chuck – I agree that people watching is a great way to learn and acquire a lot of information about someone and good ways to perform. For instance, I’m always checking out your blog ;)
@ Kate – I love your story. One of my favorite things to do is to give unexpectedly. People think giving is about other people, and it is, but I think it’s quite selfish as well because it makes the giver feel so good. And there’s nothing wrong with that!
@ Josh – I think you do a good job in all of those areas of being relevant, differentiated and value added. Yes, of course, I want the mastery quote! I wonder how your CEO effectively motivates all of you agents since you make the money off of your commission? Is it different from another company and what keeps you at Stark as opposed to another company?
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