Sales Isn’t a Dirty Word
Embrace your inner salesperson because running your own business means you are always looking to grow and expand.
by Patti Minglin
The truth is, being an entrepreneur automatically makes you a salesperson. As soon as you embrace this fact of entrepreneur life, you will be well on your way to grabbing more of your market share, increasing your revenue, and growing your business. Sales skills are not just for the extroverted or the aggressive—they are for all those who are passionate about what they are doing and can’t wait to share that with the world. Here’s what you need to do to become your company’s best advocate, brand ambassador, and Chief Sales Officer:
Listen Before You Talk Before you begin telling people how wonderful you are, listen to what they have to say—not only about your products and services but about their lives. What is their greatest challenge at the moment? What is something that has recently made them happy? No pressure on you to provide the right answers—you only to have ask the right questions.
Provide A Solution Now that you’ve heard their stories, you will be able to see how your brand is relevant to their lives. You are not selling a product or service; you are providing a solution—a solution that will help them be more productive, save money, be happier, be healthier, etc.
Be Honest One of my favorite client compliments: “You know what you know, and you know what you don’t know.” Be honest about who you are and what you can do and do not try to be something you are not. It won’t work, and you will end up damaging relationships and your brand reputation. There is real freedom in being able to say, “This is who I am, and this is who I am not.”
Follow Up The very best sales skill I have brought with me into the entrepreneur world? The art of the follow-up. Yes, that’s the secret ingredient—following up with people after you have had your initial introduction or
conversation. This doesn’t have to be anything
fancy, just a quick email letting them know how much you enjoyed meeting with them and maybe give them a link to an article you found that might be of interest to them (of course you will know what would be of interest because you did such a great job of listening).
Here’s to embracing your inner salesperson!
Patti Minglin is a passionate storyteller who started in the newspaper industry and now runs her own content marketing company, Go Girl Communications. Learn more about her at gogirlcommunications.com.