Here are the last three elements of sales communication that you need to consider when preparing your CV (for a list of all five, read the previous post):
Identify a Problem
Ok, so we’ve established a context for the communication, and demonstrated that you understand their professional reality. At this point, you’ve got their attention enough to start pushing buttons – that’s when you start discussing the problems that they are facing. This is where the profiling we did in the last course comes in handy – if you’ve done a good job of profiling the employer, then you should have a pretty good sense of what problems they might be facing.
Explain that You Have a Solution
Finally, you’re ready to do what you’ve wanted to do from the very beginning – tell them that you have a solution to their problem (which is why they should hire you). There are two things to keep in mind when you do this, though:
- Don’t go into a lot of detail about how you would solve the problem. They might already have an idea of how they think it should be solved, and if your idea is different (however valid), you might take yourself out of the running. All you need to do is tell them that you are capable of solving this problem.
- You have to establish credibility. It isn’t enough to say “I can solve this problem” – you have to give them a reason to believe it. You can do this by referencing similar problems that you solved in the past, or by referencing credentials.
Present a Call to Action
Finally, you’re ready for your call to action – you’ve got to actually tell them what you want them to do, which in this case usually means asking them to call you in for an interview. Something important to keep in mind is that any piece of sales communication can effectively communicate one message to one profile of audience. I mention this because if your goal with this piece of communications material is to be called in for an interview, then it isn’t to get the job. So don’t ask for the job – just ask for the interview.
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