I often take the same road home from recurring errands like the cleaners, the bank, or the market.  On one of those routes, I pass by a home improvement van parked in a driveway.  I always notice trucks wrapped with ads for the services they offer. Sometimes I snap a quick pic in case I need a service in the future.  Home improvement is a broad category and involves services I always seem to need. (I had a mechanical bypass in my early twenties)

When I saw this truck, I thought I would grab the phone number and do a little online research to see what kind of reputation this company had.

However, when I slowed down, in addition to the phone number on the truck, I saw a shutter hanging off the window of the house. I also noticed the soffits were peeling, and the porch gutter was askew.

No matter how bright the van wrapping was or how much it proclaimed they were PROFESSIONAL – RELIABLE – AFFORDABLE, I knew I wouldn't jot that number and ask for a FREE ESTIMATE.

The home belied what the van proclaimed.

Your reputation isn't what you tell people; it’s what they see in you. I once heard it put like this: “Your actions are speaking so loudly, I cannot hear what you’re saying.”

If you’re in professional sales, imagine what the prospect thinks when you dig out an old yellow pad, with 15 pages rolled over the top, and a Bic with a chewed-up cap to take notes. That’s like talking to a home organizer who is digging through her purse, exasperated, because she can’t find her business card.

This is an obvious example, but what about something subtler? Is your out-of-office message clear, with an option for a colleague to assist in your absence?

Is your voicemail greeting pleasant and consistent with who you are? Do you return calls within a few hours? Do you show up early and prepared for meetings?

These are the window shutters, soffits, and gutters of professional selling. Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer, builder, teacher, parent, or street sweeper (do we even have those anymore?), you are selling.  A recent survey found that non-sales employees spend 48% of their workweek selling.  That is – getting other people to part with resources like time, labor, and money to complete their projects.

You are what you do.

You can talk about it, post about it, and run ads about it, but in the end, your actions, nuanced body language, and obvious faux pas do the talking for you. When they meet and interact with you, folks read all that in bold, fifty-point font.

Pay attention and…

OWN YOUR SALES GENE