"If you don't make yourself irreplaceable, somebody will replace you. Being different is being remembered. Being the same is being forgotten."

Holly Smale

The sales world is full of mediocrity as unfortunately many are swimming or should I say drowning in the sea of sameness.

Are you being remembered or are you being forgotten?

As we kick off our time together, I must ask... How hard would it be for one of your clients to replace you with an alternative provider?

Simmer on that question for a moment. Because it contains a massively powerful lesson.

Imagine being so utterly valuable to your clients that they send competitors away, uninterested in hearing about their lower prices, better deals or pearls of wisdom.

I must ask you...

What are you doing to become downright irreplaceable?

One makes themselves irreplaceable by building trust. They’ve earned that trust by doing phenomenal work over the long haul. They've earned trust by being extremely reliable, someone their clients can count on, and most of all, they are heart centered.

I believe you earn and re-earn being irreplaceable. Yes, you heard me correctly. You re-earn it. If you earn trust and then lackadaisically assume you’re permanently irreplaceable, you’ll soon be replaced by someone who out maneuvers you.

Taking a casual approach to your clients causes client casualties.

Therefore, every interaction with your clients should be viewed as an opportunity to increase your value and status.

IRREPLACEABLE

As we continue this journey together, you become irreplaceable by getting to the heart of what matters with your clients.

You become irreplaceable by getting crystal clear on your client's vision. You make this a commitment. You do this so you can get out in front of them and be ready when they get there.

This Coco Chanel quote is spot on,

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."

In today's sales world where there is more competition, more options, and even more distractions, the question for all of you... How do you continue to maintain your clients’ attention?

I believe you do this by building authentic relationships, bringing meaningful value, and becoming 100% irreplaceable.

WAYS TO BECOME IRREPLACEABLE

To become irreplaceable, you must understand how your clients' business makes money, and then figure out how you can connect the dots and deliver them results. 

This all starts with understanding them better.

The best way to understand your clients better is to ask them deep and meaningful questions, then close your mouth and let them talk. Intentionally listen to their responses.

What they share with you becomes your pot of gold.

This allows you to serve them better.

I believe when you create the mindset of serving your clients, then you’ll always have their best interests at heart.

Your client relationships aren’t about a mere transaction. It's about serving, helping, and creating business betterment for them.

To serve is to care, to care is to give a rip.

Giving a rip means you care enough about the relationship to become your client's library of knowledge.

You establish this by creating resources that your clients will value. You become their educator, their teacher, and their go-to when it comes to learning new things.

One huge way you can serve your clients is to stretch their thinking. Help them consider new opportunities that they haven't thought of before.

This means becoming their guide. This means supporting them. And this means serving them at the highest of levels, so they not only see your value, but also their own.

ARE YOU BECOMING IRREPLACEABLE?

The more you know about your clients, the more you grow with your clients.

Business author Roger Von Oech said,

“Things are changing quickly. What worked last week may not be the best way to solve today’s problems or the best way to take advantage of next week’s opportunities. The more we know, the more opportunities we can create."

Focus in on the last sentence for a moment, as I put a bit of a sales twist on it.

The more you know about your clients and their business, the more opportunities you can create for them. The more opportunities you create for them, the more you become irreplaceable.

To know your clients is to grow with your clients.

Helping your clients grow is mission critical to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.

When your clients trust that they can rely on you for business growth strategies, they are more likely to invest more with you, give you a larger piece of their business and refer other organizations to you.

Building your client’s business leads to building your business.

Sales professionals intimately know their clients' business. They understand the competitive environment they operate within. They develop powerful strategies along with solutions to help them look forward so they can anticipate and prepare for new business challenges and opportunities.

They are relationship connectors. They go the extra mile by making connections for their clients with other individuals or groups within their network that could be helpful to them.

They do all this because they care.

This is how sales professionals become irreplaceable.

BECOME ENTRENCHED IN YOUR CLIENT'S BUSINESS

How many of you right now are woven into the fabric of your client's business?

Please think about what I just asked you. Deeply stew on it. Curious as to what you're thinking about right now?

Sales professionals become entrenched in their client's business by opening up the business hood.

They gain a deep understanding of what their clients are talking about, and they share their perspectives.

They ask them thought provoking questions encouraging them to investigate the good, the bad and the ugly within their company.

• What is their unique corporate value statement?

• What kinds of headaches are their competitors dishing out?

• What are their client's coming to them to answer?

• What do you see as potential roadblocks to your growth over the next 6 months?

Sales professionals listen, learn and ask deep impactful questions to obtain institutional client knowledge.

Are you a proactive sales professional or a reactive sales rep?

Aristotle famously wrote,

"The more you know, the more you realize you don't know."

Now, think about this statement for a moment...

Who is gathering more internal information about your clients, you or one of your competitors? Would you even know? And worse, would someone even tell you?

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IN BECOMING IRREPLACEABLE

How can you apply institutional client knowledge to build, grow and enhance your client relationships?

How can you become an integral part of your client's business?

How can you become irreplaceable?

How can you not be viewed as a commodity?

In conclusion, are you willing to take massive action to avoid being viewed as a commodity and start being viewed as being irreplaceable?

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.