Pat Henneberry is vice president of global learning and development at Hearts On Fire. Reach her at pat@thejewelrycoach.com.
Here’s what I mean when I ask “Are you unmistakable?”
When something is unmistakable, it’s so distinctive that nobody else could have done it but you.
It’s immediately recognized as something that you did, or your look. It’s something about you that stands out. It has your stamp. It’s your own personal brand. As a sales professional you need to have your stamp, something unmistakable about you.
There are people in our own industry who do this very well. I remember years ago there was a very successful diamond sales rep who had bright green shoes. He stood out at all the trade shows, parties and events. You knew he was there. There was another rep who had the biggest handlebar mustache you’ve ever seen. You automatically knew who these guys were, what brand they represented and all about them--they had a stamp.
One of my favorite people in the jewelry industry is Terry Chandler, president and CEO of Diamond Council of America.
You can look at his photo and you know right away what his stamp is … the bow tie.
I’ve known Terry for 30 years; we even traveled to South Africa together and went down into diamond mines and I’ve never seen anything but a bow tie on Terry. I love this guy!
Then there’s my fellow National Jeweler columnist Peter Smith.
Besides being one of the coolest guys I know (my Irish brother), all you have to do is see the cover of his book Hiring Squirrels and you know it’s Peter Smith. Even without his name on it, the blue cover just says, “Peter Smith.” He uses it on Facebook and Twitter, and this cover has become his stamp.
If I say rock star on social media, who comes to mind? Graduate gemologist, artist and jewelry designer Hannah Becker, a/k/a Diamondoodles, who is recognizable by her bright blonde hair and her amazing and unique sketches that incorporate gemstones, which you can, and definitely should, look at on Instagram.
Then there’s the best smile in our industry--Mike Mojica (pictured below, third from left). Mike, in my opinion, is the best diamond sales professional our industry has. No matter where Mike is you can always find this amazing smile of his. That’s Mike’s stamp!
There’s also Andrea Hill, the current owner and CEO at Hill Management Group LLC (StrategyWerx, MentorWerx and SupportWerx) who spent years heading Rio Grande.
You can’t help knowing who Andrea Hill is; she always has the cool glasses that set her apart from the crowds at the trade shows and on social media.
Just a quick glance at these five individuals and you know exactly who they are. They are boldly unmistakable because they have a distinctive stamp. This is where you can clearly see the value of being “one of one.”
And you can be distinctive, too.
Oftentimes, though, what happens is that aspiring sales professionals worry far too much about what the competition is doing instead of just focusing on what makes them unique. That’s where the trouble begins.
In an effort to model the success of others, we end up mimicking. We need to stop looking at what everyone else is doing and figure out what is unique and creative about ourselves.
I actually picked up on that about 10 years ago and started running a photo of me with my hands in the air while speaking (because I do a lot of speaking).
Now at a trade shows people will yell, “Hi Pat!” in the halls and the mimic my hands in the air. (Look at the top of this column, or pretty much anything else I’ve written for National Jeweler, to see what I’m talking about.)
I take that as a good thing. It has become my stamp.
If you want to be successful in today’s oversaturated, results-driven society, it’s time to get your stamp on.
What’s yours? If you don’t have one, what will it look like?
See you soon, with your hands up!
Pat Henneberry is vice president of global learning and development at Hearts On Fire. She also is founder of The Jewelry Coach, a sales training community for jewelers. Reach her at pat@thejewelrycoach.com.
Pat Henneberryis a strategic consultant, speaker, and trainer.
