6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion

discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion

discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

why you should read this?

The article is my adaptation of the selling process to personal selling.
If you read the article and practice the steps, you will be able to:
1. Create a personalized greeting for yourself
2. Begin to make inroads into meetings faster with a higher degree of
acceptance
3. Create solutions not products/services
4. Increase your success ratio from interviews/ presentations or
demonstrations

I was recently conducting training for a leading life-style retail chain and
happened to spend half a day on the 6 steps of selling.
These aren't mine of course. Either they are from a session I attended or
from the net, but that is not the point.

While I looked at the notes and recorded my post-session notes, I realized

the 6 steps of selling could infact be used very well for oneself. whether you
are interviewing for a job, asking for a promotion, selling your services or
products, these 6 steps of selling could give you the framework you need to
ensure your success.

what are the 6-steps-of-selling?

here:

Step 1 | Greeting
Essentials of a Greeting?
Be genuine
Smile from the heart, do not laugh
Friendly gestures (firm handshake, a wave, open hand gestures)
Smile, stand straight, make an eye contact

Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

Acknowledgment of the interviewer/ boss/ panel/ buyer/ customer

Nod your head while Greeting

e.g. ' Good Morning!'

'Hi!'
'Thank you for taking the time to see me'

Create Your Own

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Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

Step 2 | Find something in common

'windows of opportunity'
We like people like us.
This is actually easier done than said.

The common thing could be the place, the education, the jewellery peice,
the clother, the hobby, the interests, the artifact on the wall, the painting,
the colors used.

basically anything & everything around you, about you can be a topic of
commonality.

re-searching the link before your meeting/ interview would go a long way.
today the internet accords you loads of information and most networking
sites will list the interests of people pretty much in the public domain.

List some ideas/ topics you can use

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Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

Step 3 | Ask Broad questions to ascertain need, want, desire

The interview is not about you getting a job, its about the company/firm
getting someone qualified to THEIR job.
The promotion meeting is not for your benefit, it is for the benefit of the
company to ensure they have the right fit for their leadership team.
The customer is not in business to give you business, he meeting you to
understand if you can take away the pain he has.
Its not about YOU.

its about THEM!

ask them questions to understand them better.
there are two types of questions that management speak will tell you, you
can use:

Closed Ended Questions

Yes/No answers
Simple - Straight forward questions
Multiple Choice
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Open Ended Questions

Open-ended questions invite others to “tell their story” in their own words.

Open-ended questions should be used frequently.

When asking open-ended questions one must be ready and willing to listen
to the response.

Examples of open-ended questions:

• How can I be of help?

• Would you tell me more about ___?

• Could you help me understand ___?

• What are the good things and the less good things about ___?

Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

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Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

Step 4 | Narrow it down- Use Features & Benefits

I love this step.

It has influenced me in so many ways.
Everything I do, offer is now in thought of in the form of a solution, a
benefit.

if something does not have a benefit, I do not spend time creating it or

talking about it.
you customers (the company you want to work with, the people who will
promote you, the people who will hire your services) are looking at you to
tell them what it is that you/your services can do for them.

but here is the catch.

they want to know it in the language that they understand & that is 'What's
In It for me?'

if you look at the top of the article you will see I have mentioned clearly
what you will derive out of this article. It makes sure you know what you
are reading, what I want you to get from this and saves you the trouble of
reading it if you do not want to know those things.

Something that works for me, to get this going is, Always imaging the
customer asking you 'so what?'

e.g.

1. 'I am a hotel management graduate.'

that means nothing to the customer/ recruiter/ interviewer
'I spent 3 years learning how a hotel operates, across all departments, all
levels while doing my hotel management degree. I am aware of hospitality
principles and would only need to learn your company standards'
this is more like it! The interviewer is now looking at someone who half
ready to do the job.

2. 'I spent 3 years here as an assistant manager. I think I am due for a

promotion'
nope. that is your want. not the company's
'In the last 3 years I increased sales, trained people and filled in for my
manager. the team knows me, accepts me and is willing to work with me
for bigger goals. I believe it is time the company looked at injecting some
loyalty into the team by promoting someone from within'

Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

more like it! the boss knows the value add. the boss has just been told
what he will get from promoting you.

3. 'I am a hospitality trainer and recruiter'

ok.
'I work closely with your team to ensure your team is trained to run your
processes effectively and I also suggest improvements or innovations where
required. As a recruiter I take away the hassle of going through hundreds of
resumes, screening them, etc. you only get people ready to deliver from
day one'
more like it!
try it....

- this has _____________ & for you _______________ e.g.

This cream has Oxyrich Enzymes for a richer/faster cleansing experience, so

what?

This is a CRDi engine so you will not need to change oil till 10000 kms or so
you will save almost 20% on your fuel bill
list your own..

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Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

Step 5 | Overcoming Objections

the fifth step has a 4 smaller steps.

In any sales (selling) their will be objections.
I believe and tell people that objections mean the sales pitch has worked.

the buyer (interviewer, customer, boss) likes what he saw, heard and was
told.
the only reason he is raising an objection is either to negotiate better terms
to to understand the offer better.

An Objection is Good Thing!!

4 Steps to overcome objections/negativity

- show empathy, not sympathy
- try and uncover additional information
- remember - find a solution for the need
- introduce new solutions - remember you have the solutions!
Look at it as a sales within a sales approach.

Do all the things you did earlier.

repeat step 4. mention the features, mention the benefits and then do
something nicer. Give a little extra.

wait. some of you may want to ask, Prabhjot, how do we give a little extra in
an interview?

for e.g. if the interviewer says 'you are too expensive' then what should I
say.

here

- show empathy, not sympathy | 'Mr. Bedi, I can appreciate how you think
that my salary expectation is high'

- try and uncover additional information | 'May I ask what is it that your
company pays for this positon?' OR (& this like more) 'What skills and
experience/exposure do you think someone in this position would need to
ensure the company' success?' (we ask this to then use the answer to
demonstrate how you fit!)

Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

- remember - find a solution for the need | lets say Mr. Bedi decides to tell
you a figure that is 20% less than your expectation. 'Thank you for sharing
that with me'

- introduce new solutions - remember you have the solutions! | 'I do believe
I we can look at this differently. I bring with me expertise that will bring
additional revenue and I do have some ideas on reducing costs/wastage' OR
'the cost to your company in putting in someone with lesser experience
would be far more than the cost in bringing me in' OR 'Can we look at
variable pay possibilities. that way you pay me only for performance'

the idea is get talking. move in the direction of a YES!

try it....

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Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

Step 6 | Close the Sale

oh how I wish I had known this simple MEGA! step years ago.
Now that I think about it, most people just give out information - about
themselves, their services, their product, but rarely, very rarely do they ask
for a sale. Closing starts by asking.

you can do this in 3 ways:

a) Close by asking if the customer would like to make the purchase.

This is the most simple and straightforward way of closing.

e.g. ' Can I call you boss now?' OR 'When do I start?' Or 'Am I selected?'

b) Close by alternate choice.

Questions like, "Would you like it in blue or grey?"
put the customer in a situation where they are not given the option to refuse
the sale. If they answer with either of the options you've given them, then
you've made the sale.

e..g 'Should I start the coming monday or the 1st of the next month?'

c) Close the sale by attaching accessory products or services to enhance the

product / service.

e.g. 'I know some great people who I think you would really like having on
your team. when can I get them to meet you?' Or ' I was hoping I could
share with you some of the ideas I picked up while doing research on the
company. when can I show them to you?'

try your own...

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Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com
6 Steps to Selling Yourself | How to succeed at interviews, promotion
discussions or entrepreneurial presentations

There you have it!

I am sure the article has been able to make you think about:

1. Creating a personalized greeting for yourself

2. making inroads into meetings faster with a higher degree of acceptance

3. Creating solutions not products/services

4. Increasing your success ratio from interviews/ presentations or

demonstrations

As for me, let me try and close a sale here

'So are you going to hire me to become your personal coach, company
trainer or someone who helps you design brilliant training material?

Cheers!

Prabhjot Bedi
+91 98720 00604
p.bedi@eclathospitality.com

www.prabhjotbedi.com

Prabhjot Bedi | Personal Coach & Hospitality Trainer |

www.prabhjotbedi.com