Your Image Gap

Have you ever heard of a concept called “Image Gap?” Image gap is simply the gap between where you think you are and where you really are.

Everybody has some degree of image gap. In a few people, it’s wide. Those are the people who talk a good game (talk the talk) but somehow don’t really deliver (walk the walk). Their feet aren’t really on the ground.

You might say they’re not truly grounded in reality. In other people, the image gap is pretty narrow; they know what they can do, they set out to do it and then they achieve it – most of the time.

What are we talking about here? Well, for starters, let’s talk about…

Guts in Sales. Your fears and scares. How wide is your image gap when it comes to your guts? Can you plant your feet, justify your product value or is your first line of negotiation to lower your price?

There are five levels of Selling Relationship – Vendor, Solution Provider, Consultant, Partner and Advisor. Which one are you? Really? Do you have the guts to ask the tough questions that may reveal that the person you are talking to is really not a prospect at all? Or do you hang in there only to get a slow no?

Using a Selling System. Do you use a system that works or do you wing it? Doing what comes naturally, using your people skills and being a nice person are all commendable but does it differentiate you from the competition? Do you look like you need the sale rather than want the sale? Does your system make you look like a businessperson in sales or a sales person in business? Do you prepare for each sales call? What do you prepare? What is your strategy to move the sale in the right direction? Do you evaluate how well you did on the call and what specific areas you need to improve on for your next call?

Knowing yourself. Image gap is you knowing who you are, and not just your sales role but your “I” – your self-identity (belief in yourself), as well. In the high-rejection business of selling, I believe, more than any other factor, it’s a salesperson’s “head trash” that kills effectiveness. Is your self-talk positive or, like many people in sales, negative?

If your self-esteem is low you will take rejection personally and that can stop you dead in your tracks. 

The first step for being able to work on and correct your “baggage” (and we all have baggage) is to recognize that you have it — and that’s why it’s important for you to really know your own image gap, the difference between where you see yourself and where you really are.

Once you have identified your gap, you need to put in a plan to work on each of the specific elements. One way to begin to correct this gap is to start and end each day by journaling.

Write out your goals each day, including both behavioral tasks such as how many prospecting calls you will make, as well as attitudinal goals such as “I believe in myself,” “I am confident” and “I don’t take sales rejection personally.”

At the end of each day, go back to your journal and write how well you performed against your goals for the day. By doing this each day, over time you will begin to close the gap and your performance will begin to improve.