In this section, we are going to look at five sales aspects and put them against five personal branding techniques and see how to merge them for closing sales.

Photo by Patrik Michalicka on Unsplash
1. Value proposition vs personal profile
When you put a product or service before a prospect, what needs will that product or service fill in that prospect’s life? Whatever gap that your proposition is filling in the prospects' life is the value of that proposition to them. When you sell anything to anyone, you must figure out what value you are offering in their life.
Once you have presented your value proposition, gently expose your personal profile so that the prospects can trust that the value proposed would be met by the merits of your profile and in consequence by the service or product you are selling.
2. Compelling product/service story vs communication
Storytelling is like seduction. The customer has to be wooed all the way until they buy the product or service. A compelling story is dependent on your communication skills as a salesperson. How do you modulate your tone? How do you look at the customer? What does your body language communicate? And if you're sending emails or you are making phone calls, what is your tone on the communication channel when the customer cannot see your face?
Working on your communication skills will help you deliver a compelling product or service story and thus close the sale faster.
3. Customer’s need vs empathy
What the customer needs will never be replaced by what you think the customer needs. If a customer needs toilet paper you cannot sell them a bath towel. Empathy is putting yourself in the position of the customer and experiencing their need from their point of view. When you have empathy for the customer you will easily get the customer’s needs and this should help you close sales faster.
4. Lead generation vs networks
How do you typically generate leads? To have a cheaper and more efficient leads generation method, begin thinking of the networks that you have. How can your networks contribute to your lead generation?
Ask for referrals.
Engage in communities and participate in as many online and offline communities as possible. Attend any events that you have been invited to and especially if they are free. Sometimes you may be required to pay a small fee to attend an event, if you can afford it, pay and attend the event. The networks you make will earn you trust because people who know you will refer business to you.
5. Product knowledge vs knowledge growth
Living in the automation age means that there are so many products that come out every single day. You can go to bed one night and wake up the following morning with a shift in the market. How do you demonstrate to your customers that you have the correct product knowledge that keeps up with the times?
Demonstrating a deeper product knowledge would require that you constantly learn about your field and about your product. If you have to pay some money to learn a course or a program or even to educate yourself about the deeper workings of your product or service, by all means, go ahead and do it. Even within basic products, there are new ones being launched every single day. To show the customer that you understand the competition and the new experiences the products deliver would put you ahead. Therefore, grow your knowledge and demonstrate that you understand your product.
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