What are the top traits of a hugely successful salesperson?
You’ve seen them before: some people are just born great at sales.
Others? Not so much.
However, I think that sales is a skill that can be developed.
In Andrew Sobel’s new book, It Starts With Clients, he talks about the habits of a rainmaker — a highly successful salesperson.
Here are a few of those habits:
- Adopt the advisor mindset rather than the expert-for-hire mindset.
- Get comfortable talking about things outside of your area of expertise.
- Stop relying on presentations, and focus more on unscripted conversations.
- Ask “power questions”— questions that establish an immediate connection with your prospect.
- Focus less on building your credibility, and more on personal trust.
- Be “in the flow”— out and talking to people in your market.
- See abundance instead of scarcity.
You might not be great at sales. But you can follow these habits.
Turning these habits into daily, consistent actions will turn you into a successful salesperson.
If you’re interested in a further breakdown of the book, check out the full post here: Client Development for Consultants: How to Grow & Keep Clients.
What is the best way to market a small, one-person consulting business?
Longform, in-depth content.
Why?
- Scaleable. You can write something once and reach millions of people with it.
- Hones your craft. Writing is thinking — and when clients pay you for your thinking, you owe it to them to write.
- Aids your follow-up. Want to follow-up with a client without feeling spammy? Include an article you wrote that adds value. Better yet, write one to answer their questions.
- Builds your network. Right now, it’s tough to network in person. Write, and your content will network for you.
- Data-driven. You can research what your prospects are typing into Google (and how many of them are typing something in), rank for it, and get automatic traffic.
- Positions you as the expert. Unlike cold-calling or direct emailing, when you market yourself with content, clients come to you.
- Internet serendipity. You never really know what will happen by publishing content. It’s like playing the lottery — with far greater odds of winning.
For independent consultants, content isn’t the only marketing method…
…but it is the best marketing method.
What should I name my personal website if .com has been taken?
If you have a common name, there’s a good chance it’s already taken as a domain name.
So, what can you do?
Let’s say you’re name is Jane R. Smith. You’re a freelance UX designer in London, UK. JaneSmith.com is already taken.
You could go try…
Use a combination of your skills and location to modify your domain name.
That way, it still includes your name but also talks about what you do or where you’re located — which are important elements of your personal brand.
Just because your first choice domain name isn’t available doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start your personal website.
Do you need coding experience to properly create a website?
If you want to create a marketing website, you don’t need any coding experience.
It helps to know some HTML and CSS for styling purposes. However, many website-building tools make customizing your site easy without knowing HTML or CSS.
If you don’t have any coding experience, here are some great website-building tools:
- WordPress – What I use personally. A bit harder to create and customize, but excellent for managing your content.
- WebFlow – Very easy to create and customize.
- CoachLab – If you’re a coach or consultant, CoachLab is an excellent option— not only can you create your site, but the tool comes with everything you need to turn your website into a lead-generating machine.
That said, I do recommend you have some copywriting and design experience.
If you don’t know the basics of copywriting and design, people will be able to tell by looking at your website.
You can get away with not knowing code — but for a marketing website, you need to know marketing.