You should always do more than you’re asked to do if you want to sell yourself successfully. Put forth a little extra effort. Go out of your way to help someone. If anyone asks you to go one mile, go with him or her two miles. On top of that, do it even if you aren’t asked. Selling yourself again and again becomes far easier when others see how willing you are to go out of your way for them
You’ll be stretching yourself in a way that’s good for you when you walk that extra mile, when you put out that extra effort, when you hang in there just a little longer. The more you reach out by extending yourself, the more people you’ll influence for good. And that, basically, is what selling yourself successfully is all about: Influencing others; getting rid of walls.
The willingness to walk two miles with a customer instead of the one that was required is what helped to bring the customer back again and again. No wonder my repeat business was 65 percent. It’s what made me number one. Being a second-miler is what gets and keeps a sale. That’s the way it works with a product or service. Repeat business is what adds up to success. That’s why being a second-miler is to have the most rewarding philosophy of life that can be found-a philosophy which has paid dividends to me all my selling life. You see, each time we reach out to do more than what is expected, we add just a little more positive goodness to the world.
Here are Ten Second-Mile Rules for Success. If you stick to these rules you’ll soon see how much better things will go for you, how much better you’ll be at selling yourself.
*If you’re a salesperson, make one extra prospecting call each day. Or two.
*Work a little longer at the office or the shop than you need to. Or, come in an hour earlier.
*Do something useful around the office, or house, or apartment without being asked.
*Give a little gift to someone special even though there’s no occasion for it.
*Give a little gift to someone not-so-special; it may make them feel special for the first time.
*Go out of your way to help someone; just be there when he or she needs you the most.
*Pay a compliment to someone each day.
*Take a load off someone’s back instead of being on someone’s back.
*If you’re a student, put in a little more time with the books. You might learn something.
*Do something for someone, or some cause, without expecting any pay for it.
