Sales Training and Sales Tips That Build Business
Not all entrepreneurs have the great fortune to have been part of a large corporation where they received expert sales training. And that, my friends, is unfortunate. Because without sales there is no business.
No Sales = No Business = No Money
That’s a very simple equation.
I had the good fortune to interview my friend Karen Graves of Your Sales Fix, an award winning sales person who got her training in the stomping grounds of Pfizer Inc. She helps service based business owners master that critical skill set through sales training that allows them to take control of their business.
On the Monday, November 12, 2012 broadcast of ACT LOCAL Marketing for Small Business [my weekly radio podcast on the Rockstar Radio Network *shameless plug*] I asked Karen some questions about sales training and she offered several sales tips that build business and make the sales process not so icky.
Though there are many reasons why sales may be unsuccessful, one of the most critical areas to work on is mindset. Many entrepreneurs who never had sales training of any kind, suddenly find themselves responsible for the work they love and the gathering of qualified clients. “Sales is the engine of your business.” said Graves.
It’s that realization for the entrepreneur that often causes that “deer in the headlights” moment and they panic. Once panic sets in, our brains tell us all kinds of things to help us cope and many of those conversations are not helpful to build business. Karen calls this “mental chitchat”, the internal dialogue that happens where you find yourself saying “I can’t do that” or “I’m not good enough” or you start to doubt that your services are actually valuable enough that anyone would want to pay you for them.
The key to ending that internal debate is becoming crystal clear on your message. What you offer, how you offer it and what you charge for it. Once you can quantify yourself in this way, being the sales person gets easier. It always seems to be easier to sell for someone else, even if you are just making a restaurant recommendation. When you become a business owner however, you usually start out selling YOU, not someone or something else.
That’s how all the self doubt and mental chitchat get started and you begin to wonder if that great idea to build business for yourself was really such a great idea after all.
Don’t despair, sales training can fix that.
Then before you know it, sales is no longer icky. And before you can say Chuck Norris, your business is growing, you are employing and enjoying! Get some sales training and make it happen.