| Dwelling
on what you don't have is dumb, as Business
by Design reports this month.
THIS MONTH:
+ Delete Your "Don't's"
+ Banish Your "But's"
+ Delete Your "Don't's"
Don't discuss your "don't's."
Don't tell me about the design experience you
don't have.
Or the professional affiliations you don't have.
Or the showroom floor space you don't have.
Or the product lines you don't carry.
I don't care. Neither should you.
Why speak the language of lack? Why not focus
your time, attention and words on the credentials
you have, rather than on those you don't?
Sharing your shortcomings kills your credibility.
Prospects tune out the rest of your comments when
you preface them with something like "I don't
have much experience designing cabinets like these,
but.. ."
Tell those you need to influence what you can
do rather than what you can't.
Tell them what you know, not what you don't.
Tell them of the skills you have instead of those
you lack.
Your critical marketing mission is to become
the world's foremost authority on the qualifications
you have, not on those you don't.
+ Banish Your "But's"
Accentuate your assets rather than discuss your
deficits.
How? For starters, get off your "but."
Eliminate all those phrases that end in "but,"
and then pick up from there. Examples:
Rather than saying: "We're not the largest
design firm here, but we're the only one that
specializes in vacation homes."
Say: "We're the only design firm here that
specializes in vacation homes."
Don't say: We don't carry as many carpet lines
as other showrooms, but we have the largest selection
of ceramic tile."
Say: "We have the largest selection of ceramic
tile."
Don't say: "I just graduated and don't have
work experience, but I've studied kitchen and
bath design."
Say: "I've studied kitchen and bath design."
Get the idea?
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