Are you self employed? Your number one job for your company is sales – creating revenue. Sales is a full time job and when you’re the owner, the buck always stops with you. Even if you have sales people, your number one goal and job is creating cash for your company.
I think the number one quality that make a small business owner successful at prospecting and sales is PERSISTENCE. You can’t take the first ‘no’ for an answer. You just say, “Golly gee, that’s more information than I had before and every no leads me closer to the yes.” Then, you move on to the next prospect and keep working your way through your list.
The next quality that is important is FOLLOW-THROUGH. That first prospect that said “No”? Make sure you contact them again in 6 weeks – not with a sales pitch necessarily, just with a simple message of “Hi, hello, here’s something I found interesting” and make that ‘interesting’ thing something they really would find interesting. If it’s a blog post, an industry magazine article or even a new product debut in a category you’re not in – just something that keeps you top of mind in their head AND gets them to identify you as helpful (not always pitching and wanting something).
The final quality for making sales as an entrepreneur is CURIOSITY. Why didn’t you get that sale? You genuinely want to know (and not in a salesy-sales way – you really really are curious). The phrase “Under what circumstances would you put my soap in your shop?” must become your friend. There is no way around it – you’ve got to ask the tough questions, “Why didn’t I get the sale? How can I improve? And, under what circumstances would you consider giving me the sale?”
What’s holding YOU back from creating the company of your dreams, with revenue flowing in from multiple stores and sources? Get honest with yourself and make a plan to overcome your fear of selling. Your company can’t succeed without YOU out there selling every single day.
What great advice. Making a negative into a positive, or at least constructive.
I sure missed reading your blog while I was vacation! It is always full of great info, and even when it’s not a topic I can use in my own life, I find that your upbeat personality and your can-do attitude really gives me a boost in my spirits and makes my day. Thanks, A-M, for being you!
This was a very timely post for me! Thanks for the confirmation!
Very timely post for me!
Love this point Ann-Marie..I’m printing it and pasting on my wall above my desk! Persistence is so important (not to be confused with annoying etc) but just sticking to what your goals are. It took me a few years to get into an account I have and just gently keeping in touch got me the account and helped build the relationship.
Great blog post, good information as always. Thank you.
Agree wholeheartedly. Thanks for stopping in Lisa! =)
It’s tough to say what your pricing should be without seeing your bars but doing $.50 to $.75 per ounce for handmade soap with good packaging is pretty par for the course (it’s a pretty big generalization but gives you someplace to start). Take their feedback, look at it, talk to other soapers and decide whether you should accept their feedback and change things OR if you’ll just chalk it up to a learning experience. Good luck!
I had to ask someone today why they had said no to one of our products and I phrased it as a ‘Can you help me understand so I can improve our product?’ and put the onus on them of helping me out with a favor. And, I got a super quick response! =)
But I agree, asking the hard questions right after the rejection is the hardest thing to do. But, every no gets you closer to that yes! =)
I like it; it’s such good advice. Either way, they’ve said ‘no.’ At least asking the question leaves you with something to work on.
“Why didn’t I get the sale? How can I improve? And, under what circumstances would you consider giving me the sale?”
That is always the hardest part for me – I need to start working on it, right away. It is hard for me to ask in part though because often, they just disappear. They don’t tell me no, I just never hear back. So frustrating!
I can’t remember where I heard this (maybe here)- but I liked the advice when someone said, “If someone says NO- ask if there is anything you could do to change their minds…” or something like that.
I have been reading it for years and absolutely love it! My advice, keep reading it!
I love this post and your last one, I recently lost a possible sale because my prices were not “anywhere near wholesale prices” and that really bummed me because some of my soaps were only a dollar and homemade soaps are not wholesale quality. So these posts have really been an encouragement to me. Thanks!
Absolutely get business insurance! If you need a recommendation, ask someone who is similarly self-emplyed. My business insurance cost about $500.00/year. Insurance companies will provide Certificates of Liability Insurance directly to your customer, if you request them to. This shows your customers you are a responsble person to deal with.
My fear comes from worrying that someone would have a reaction to my product. Are there certain bases I should cover for liability before I put my product in shops?
I think I’m going to love this site.
I needed to hear that bit of advise on overcoming the fear of selling. I have wanted to sell things I’ve made for years, and have stepped out to sell online and at farmer’s markets. Definitely, that fear is real; but I’m just going to go ahead and do it scared. Thanks for those timely words. Wendy M.
Great blog post – persistence, follow-through and curiosity are key qualities in so many fields!