Can You Explain Who You Are? [Academy]

Can You Explain Who You Are?

If you ask who I am and I tell you my name is Rod, Rod Osthus, you really wouldn’t know who I
am. You wouldn’t know why I exist. You would only know my name, what I call myself. You
wouldn’t know my true identity.

My true identity is much more than my name. It’s more than just the color of my hair, the color
of my eyes, my height, or my weight. My true identity is what you can’t see and that’s what’s
inside me. The invisible part of me that makes me the person I am is my true identity. It’s the
part that needs to be explained if you really want to know the real me. What you need to know
is what I think about most of the time, what drives me and how I treat people? You want to
know what real value comes from my existence and do I spend most of my time thinking about
myself or about to help other people?

Those are the things that make up my true identity and the only things anyone else cares about. When you asked me to identify myself you actually wanted to know, “Who I am and why do I exist?”

As a seed seller, how many times in a week do you tell someone who you work for? You say your company’s name but it doesn’t tell the person who your company really is. They may be familiar with your company, having seen your signs, recognize the colors of your company logo and so, but they have no idea who your company is or what it stands for. What prospects and customers really want to know is, who is _____________________________ put your company name in that blank?

For example, someone says, who is RC Thomas? The common reply would be The No.1 Seed Sales and Consulting firm in North America. But that wouldn’t tell them who RC Thomas is or give them our true identity, plus no one cares if we’re no.1 or no. 21. That’s not our true identity. Our true identity is why we exist.

So if I said, RC Thomas teaches sales reps how to double their seed sales in 3 years while helping their customers increase profitability by 10% the first year they work together, they would know who RC Thomas Company is and why the company exists. You need to know the invisible part of RC Thomas that you don’t see in a name,
a sign, or a logo. I call that creating a one-line bio that tells who you are and the value you bring.

What’s your company’s identity? What do you say when someone asks who you sell for and what they do? Why does your company exist? When developing your one-line bio here are a couple of things to think about.

One, what do you stand for?

How will you impact customers?

Are you the second largest seed company in the nation, well no one cares, or do you actually help farmers increase their yields by 10% the first year you work together which everyone cares about?

Two, is your company a hundred years old or a third-generation seed supplier, Well no one cares. Or do you help farmers lower the cost of every bushel they produce by 10% the first year by showing them how to raise yields to new levels?

Three, do you say you have the best service in the industry, which is what every other company claims, or do you guarantee to solve any problem a customer may have in 24 hours or they receive $1000 dollars?

What sets you apart from all other seed companies? What is your true identity. Figure it out so people know who you are and what you represent. Once you have your identity figured out, put it into one sentence and that will become the one-line bio about your company you will use every time someone asks who you sell for. That also tells everyone who YOU ARE.

After all, YOU ARE THE COMPANY YOU REPRESENT.

So, who are YOU? Figure that out too.

Happy Selling, 

Rod