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Beating the “I can’t sell” syndrome

Generating new sales should be fun but I have found that it’s often the case that business owners are absolutely terrible at selling.  They do have great skills and passion for the product or service that they provide. However, they are not comfortable in selling with passion!

This mental hurdle has to be overcome as success depends on the business owner being a great sales person.

If you look at some of the most successful entrepreneurs, they have become successful sales people. This does not involve them being pushy or even having great communication skills.  What they have in common is that they recognise that selling is important to their success and they have developed the right mindset:

• As an entrepreneur, you are now a professional salesperson by default.
• It’s worth remembering that if you truly have a great product or service, then you owe it to your customers to sell it to them. 

(If your product or service will add value then you need to communicate that with confidence and in a strong and passionate way. That way they will gain the direct benefits and will thank you for them!).

Sell Added Value - ALWAYS!.
Too many businesses in competitive markets get completely hung up on the price they sell their products or services at. They fear that they will be undercut on price by their competitors and will lose business unless they react.

These fears play into the hands of really bad sales people who close deals at the price the client has severely negotiated down…even if it is below cost!

Clients will always try to give the impression that price is what they make their decision on.  But the truth is far more complex than this.  Good buyers will recognise the value in:

*Quality and reliability of product and service
*Continuity and scalability of supply
*The range of products and services offered
*Flexibility and responsiveness
*Trustworthiness and honesty

A good salesperson will listen to what the client is telling them in order to find out what is really important to a client … and then sell the added value that can be provided to them through the solutions offered.

Relationship building
We all believe that extraverts are good sales people because they are naturally outgoing and able to quickly interact with people.  We also tend to believe that introverts can’t communicate and must therefore be poor sales people.

Not true!!

Extraverts can also be insincere and appear untrustworthy whilst introverts build trust through their sincerity.

Equally not true!!

And that is the danger of preconceived ideas.  I have found that good salespeople use their personal characteristics to establish a relationship with a client.  This will occur by different routes and maybe over a different timeframe.  But we are all capable of building and maintaining positive relationships and if we can do this … we can all SELL!

It is not a disaster if a sale is not completed on the first face to face meeting.  In fact, there are probably at least 7 stages to be followed in converting a client from initial contact, telephone calls, emails, face to face meeting, follow up correspondence, further face to face meeting and so on.  On most occasions you should expect a sale will happen after two or three meetings…in fact as soon as a relationship has been established.  (The process can be speeded up by your ability to spot and close the deal).

Over time the relationship has to be nurtured and that means keeping in touch with clients on a regular basis.  This will ensure that future sales are secured and that you can offer other services or products by identifying client needs.

Closing the deal
Okay, you have the client on tenterhooks wanting to buy from you and…fear sets in, your palms start to sweat and your mouth dries up as you worry whether they will say no…and you wait and you wait and…suddenly the opportunity is lost.  This is not unusual and particularly so for new businesses where their anxiety about a sale can become too obvious.

Rejection is part of the selling process - it happens to everyone.  The key is to accept it and move on to the next opportunity (and try again on another occasion!).

However, there is no doubt that the high of completing a deal is amazing.  It is also remarkably easy to achieve, if you have followed a simple process with the client:

1. Identify the client’s need for your product or service.
2. Agree the need with client.
3. Ensure that you openly identify any objections the client may have, and then…
4. Agree with the client the solutions that you will put in place to resolve the objections.
5. This easily rolls onto closing the sale.

The final point, it makes no sense to believe you cannot sell.  All entrepreneurs need to embrace selling as a route to success. 

Don’t build barriers blocking off your future…embrace the challenge and discover what is possible. You will not regret it!

 

Author: Paul Robinson
www.business-solutions-wizard.com
Expert information and support to help you Grow your Sales & Increase your Profits

 

 

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 10:12 am and is filed under Management, Business Opportunities, Entrepreneurship, Start Up, Home Business, Medium Sized, Sales, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.