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Sales cure all problems, especially in the world of entrepreneurship. Every ukbusinessupdates.com has learned that selling is part of the job, and for most, it’s the most important part. However, many inexperienced entrepreneurs think they can get away with not selling. While they don’t necessarily say that out loud or admit it to themselves, they hope for it in the back of their mind. This hope comes in a number of ways, such as thinking that their idea is big enough, or that someone else will sell it for them. Inexperienced entrepreneurs think they can open a store just like that, and customers and salespeople come right through the door. That is not the case, especially now that there is so much competition for attention.
Now there are phenomenal salespeople and there are key techniques for selling different products and services. However, selling has also been romanticized and repackaged into a complex package that can cause analysis paralysis and leave the inexperienced unsure of where to start. That said, selling can really be broken down into three easy pieces and applied to any business.
Related: 3 unconventional sales tactics that close more deals
1. Sell yourself on the idea
The first part of selling is rarely discussed and usually forgotten. The first thing that needs to happen if you want to be able to sell correctly is that you have to sell yourself on the product. How can you expect to sell something you don’t really believe in? Selling yourself based on an idea takes a few things into consideration:
- Is the product great/worth selling?
- Do you think it’s okay to morally sell the product?
- Does the sale of the product fit within your financial framework?
- Does the product fit with the other principles in your framework?
So you can sell yourself on a product that is great. But even if the product is great, would you be morally right to sell it? Does the product fit your principles and framework? These concepts are not binary; they are all scaled and connected to each other. What that means is that you might be okay with selling a not-great product because it’s something you’re so morally in agreement with. Or maybe it’s a product you’re not morally behind, but the potential benefit is so great that you sell yourself on the idea of selling it.
The point is that in order to sell something, you must first justify why you are selling it. In the field of entrepreneurship, hopefully you know yourself well enough and can create a product or service that is aligned with your principles so that you don’t have to sacrifice too much in one area. In addition, the closer you align your business to your principles, the easier it will be to sell and grow. Once you’ve sold the idea and can fully justify why it’s worth selling, we can move on to the next step.
Related: 4 proven sales techniques for introverts
2. Sell the idea to the customer
When you hear the word “sale,” that’s usually what it’s referring to. As mentioned above, young entrepreneurs tend to overcomplicate and suffer from analysis paralysis in sales as they feel the need to close the deal and convince the buyer. Remember this: Selling is about helping you find the best solution, not convincing you to settle for a substandard standard.
As an ukbusinessupdates.com, your goal is to create a product/service that best suits a select niche of customers. That could look like a product that fits someone’s diet, a service needed in an area, or even just a way people spend their money. The point is this: Selling is about helping your potential customers find the best solution for their lives. If you find yourself selling and lacking in confidence, go back to the first point and figure out why you feel that way.
If you think your product is not the best, understand that selling is multifaceted and remember that the goal is to find the best solution for the customer. So if you think the product isn’t the best, maybe the product and customer support is. Or maybe it’s the previous points combined with the fact that you are a local supplier or a small business. These are all considerations when a buyer looks at your product. Your customer may recognize that this is not necessarily the best product, but your service and the fact that you are a small business leads them to believe that you are the best solution against your competitors. You don’t convince; you look for the best solution together.
Related: 7 Most Important Sales Habits All Sales Professionals Must Develop
3. Repeat
Sales is a numbers game. Not every customer will be your customer and not every potential customer has to be yours. However, sales is also a numbers game for my first point. There will be days when you have to repeatedly sell yourself on the idea. It will be on the bad days, the hard days, the days of difficulty, the day of a big bust or after a deal fell through – you have to find a way to sell yourself on the idea.
One of the things that makes the best salesperson is that they can move through these steps extremely quickly as they add sales techniques. Great sellers can sell themselves financially and morally on an idea across the spectrum, and through product defects.
The goal should be to sell yourself the idea, and if it’s an idea you can’t even sell to yourself, don’t do it. After selling yourself the idea, start selling it to others by realizing that you want to help them find the best solution, not sell them with a subpar experience. Finally, repeat, sell yourself on the idea over and over and help customers over and over again. And remember: if you can no longer sell yourself with the idea of what you’re selling, it may be time to pivot – but that’s for another article.
Related: 6 sales tips every business owner should follow today
