On being irreplaceable. Just like Coco Chanel.

“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different” - Coco Chanel

There are many reasons why people choose to buy from us, but one factor stands out above all: your uniqueness.

Only you have lived your life. Only you possess the experiences that shape your ideas, perspective and outlook on the world. Your originality is your greatest gift.

This is something that the pioneer Coco Chanel always knew and never lost sight of. “She didn’t like how women were forced to be uncomfortable to look fashionable. She didn’t like corsets, so she replaced them with casual elegance and comfort. She was heavily attacked by the fashion press, but she was unrepentant. People laughed at the way she dressed, but that was the secret of her success: she didn’t look like anyone else.”*

When a customer is presented with two equally compelling propositions, they will choose the person they like and trust the most. The most reliable way to gain that trust and likability is through authenticity.

Authenticity is defined as being true to one’s own personality. We can sense when someone is being authentic; we feel it even more acutely when someone is not.

We live in a world primarily designed to make us conform to a set of ideals that, if we only stop to think about it, have nothing to do with who we truly are.

This is why being authentic requires courage and why authentic individuals stand out because people value originality.

In the context of selling, being authentic may lose you some business because, by being yourself, you won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But you will gain a deeper level of relationship with people who do like you. They’ll love you for being you and they will pay if forward by introducing you to others.

It sounds absurd to say one of the best things you can learn to be great at selling is to teach yourself to be yourself. But it’s true. And by being yourself, you will, in time, become irreplaceable.

As E.E. Cummings said, “Be nobody but yourself.”

I look forward to sharing how you do that next week.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week.

Benjamin

*This quote was taken from the brilliant book, The Art of Creative Thinking by Rod Judkins

Photo credit: https://www.lifestyleasia.com/kl/style/fashion/how-coco-chanel-revolutionised-womens-fashion-with-just-a-jacket/

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The first rule of sales: A lesson from my big brother, Greg