Meet Our “Influencer of the Week,” Erin Hatzikostas!

Erin Hatzikostas, Founder and CEO of b Authentic inc

Nominated by: Brynne Tillman

Erin Hatzikostas is a former Corporate CEO turned Professional Pot-Stirrer. She is an internationally-recognized leader on the impact of authenticity in the workplace and the founder of b Authentic inc, where she’s leading a movement to eradicate the workplace of its BS and make it a fundamentally more authentic place. Erin is the best-selling author of You Do You(ish), a TEDx speaker, coach-sultant, and the co-host of an offbeat career and leadership podcast, b Cause Work Doesn’t Have to Suck. Her talks have reached hundreds of thousands of people and her thought leadership has been featured on ABC, CBS, and published in Business Insider, Fast Company, Well+Good, among several others.

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, or through her website.

Erin’s Insights

Authenticity can be your secret weapon for sales success. And I don’t mean this fluffy unicorn doo-doo definition of authenticity. Authenticity isn’t about simply being yourself, but instead about exposing who you are, when people least expect it in order to build immediate trust, connection, and a little bit of intrigue.

Still sound too fluffy? Here are a few tangible tips that’ll skyrocket your trust and connection with potential buyers and have you well on your way to sales success! Use humility purposefully within the first five minutes of meeting someone. It can be something as profound as working a major failure into your introduction of yourself to something as simple as exposing that you tripped and fell as you were sliding onto your Zoom call.

Replace snoozy facts with a doozy story. People remember stories 22 times more than facts and figures. Again, you can go simple here with a literal story that demonstrates what you’re talking about or you can go story hogwild and tell a metaphorical story that inspires and/or drives home your point. Change your Out of Office message from the robotic crud you’ve been saying since you were an intern to something more human, funny, and real. Out of Office (OOO) messages are a perfect place to surprise your prospects and clients with your authenticity and have them wanting to lean in on a relationship with you. Even when you’re not fully out of the office, infuse purposeful authenticity into your OOO. For example: “I’m sorry but I won’t be lighting fast in responding to your email. I’m taking a much needed long weekend away with my family. I’ll get back to you when I’m well-rested and a bit less cranky.”

Try it out, experiment, get curious, Here’s the best part about becoming more authentic: you don’t have to change who you are, you simply need to change your addiction. When you purposefully infuse authenticity and then notice someone smiles more, leans in, maybe even signs the contract…you’ll become addicted to authenticity. And you’ll never look back!