.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;}
Here is a question I’ve received more than a hundred times in one form or another: How do I make a (better) name for myself?

Here is the answer: In sales, it’s not whom you know; in sales, it’s who knows you.

The challenge is not just making a name for yourself or building your brand; it’s building the components that generate that name. How do you achieve more recognition and a better reputation in your market and your community? Those are the elements that lead to a better name.

GOOD NEWS: Most salespeople are not willing to do the hard work it takes to make selling easy. So if you’re willing, you automatically move to the top 10 percent. If you execute, you’re in the top 5 percent.

BETTER NEWS: When the economy is in transition (that’s a nice way to put it, isn’t it?), it’s the easiest time for you to make a change and begin to execute new ideas.

Below are the actions that lead to long-term name building that must be implemented and built upon. NONE of these elements are “do now and forget about”; rather they are “do now, do tomorrow and do forever.”

• Create your own weekly e-zine that features valuable information and highlights your customers. Look at my weekly e-mail magazine Sales Caffeine at www.salescaffeine.com. Emulate the process in your e-zine.

• Register www.(yourname).com today. It’s only 10 bucks. If it’s taken, put “The Great” or “the one and only” in front of it. Get your Web address, your URL, registered TODAY. The Internet is the growth and the future of commerce. Be on it or be gone.

• Invest in a small but powerful Web site that looks like something people would read, admire, tell others about and maybe even buy from. Start with a one-page Web site that talks about “how I treat my customers.” Make a list of the 10 most valuable things you are dedicated to. Later you can add more pages, pictures, graphics and pizzazz.

• Be 1,000 percent more proactive. This means hitting both the phone and the send button. Make 10 calls a day that have value and send 25 e-mails that have meaning to the recipient.

• Write something that puts you in front of customers and prospects. Put an article in your trade publication or your chamber magazine. Writing positions you as an expert and an authority.

• Give a speech or three at civic organizations. Speaking leads to perceived leadership. Especially if the speech was good. (Afraid of speaking? Join Toastmasters and register for a Dale Carnegie course.)

• YouTube. Video your value proposition. Video your testimonials. Video your philosophy of sales and service. Post your videos on YouTube. Your prospects will find them and find you more attractive than your (lazy) competitors.

• Get involved in your community. Pick one charity or one civic organization to get involved with and assert leadership in.

• Get Google-able. Your customer is Googling you, just like you are Googling them. Your one-page Web site, your e-zine, your article, your speech and your community involvement will bring your name and your company’s name to the top of the Google pile.

• Be a value provider, not a beggar, a solicitor or a salesman. People will BUY if they perceive your value. And they will spread the word and your name.

TIME IS YOUR FRIEND: Use it to your best advantage. Building a name for yourself takes time. Lots of it.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2009 Jeffrey H. Gitomer