You have finally done it. You have come up with a product or service that you can be proud of. You are ready to bring it to market and realize your dream as an entrepreneur.
“Unique Selling Proposition by Photosteve101, on Flickr
But there’s one problem: you don’t know how to sell it. It’s a problem that plagues many an entrepreneur. If you’re going to be successful, you need to know how to sell.
This series of blog postings is designed to help entrepreneurs sell better.
Throughout this series I will be giving you practical and actionable techniques that you can use in your everyday life. If you put them into action, these techniques will make you better at persuading people to buy. In this particular post, I’m going to address a few reasons why you need to learn how to sell, and some of the myths that prevent entrepreneurs from becoming salespreneurs.
Why Do You Need To Know How To Sell?
You might think that you don’t need to know how to sell. Your product will sell itself, right? WRONG! Every entrepreneur needs to have at least a rudimentary grasp of the art of selling.
Why?
Because if you don’t know how to sell, nobody will buy your product. Nobody will buy into your brand. Nobody will buy your ideas. You won’t be able to lead your team. Don’t believe me? Think of one successful entrepreneur who hasn’t needed persuade others. Go ahead. I dare you.
That’s right, you can’t. Because being an entrepreneur means being able to move others to action. Selling isn’t only about moving product. It also applies to everything else.
Without knowing how to sell, you will never be able to doing the following:
- Win over investors.
- Get your team to buy into your vision.
- Convince customers to buy your product.
- Negotiate successfully.
Good luck trying to grow your business when you can’t gain funding, motivate your staff, sell product, and win at negotiations. If you’re not the salesy type, don’t worry. You too can learn how to influence others. The first step is to alleviate your fears by refusing to believe the myths.
Ridiculous Myths About Sales
Let’s be honest here. You have probably shied away from selling because you believe certain myths. There are several myths about sales that need to be debunked and by golly, I’m going to do it for you (yes, I did just say “by golly”). This is going to make you feel better about learning to sell. It will also remove your excuses. You have been warned.
Ridiculous Myth #1 Selling Is Too Scary
Many people are afraid of sales. They find the idea of trying to persuade someone to do something to be intimidating. One of the most common fears when it comes to selling is the fear of rejection. Unfortunately, rejection cannot be avoided. It’s going to happen. You may as well come to peace with it.
Want some good news? Of course you do.
Here it is: being rejected is not the end of the world.
It really isn’t that bad. If you’re afraid of being rejected, one of the best things you can do is realize that your business is not going to fail if someone tells you “no.”
You are not going to go under just because some people don’t see the value in your product. There are plenty who hate the iPhone, but you don’t see Apple going out of business, right?
If your product or service is rejected, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure. Stop thinking that. Now.
Rejection means one or more of the following:
- You might need to re-think what you’re selling. Maybe you need to change it to match what the consumer wants.
- You need to determine whether or not you’re marketing to the right audience.
- You need to get better at selling!
Fortunately, all of these things are within your control, which means you don’t have to worry about it. Get feedback from people that you trust. Be willing to take the criticism. Get better and get back out there!
The more you get shot down, the easier it gets. Over time, you will become tougher as long as you keep moving forward.
Ridiculous Myth #2 Sales Is A Natural Gift
No, it’s not.
Sales ability is learned. Through practice, study, and grit, you can become a master salesman if you’re willing to put in the work. Most of the great salespeople weren’t so great when they first started out. Like everyone else, they had to learn.
If you take a snapshot of the life of the late, great Zig Ziglar, you can see that sales greatness isn’t an inborn trait. It is learned. You have to work for it.
Ridiculous Myth #3 You Have To Be Dishonest To Be Good At Sales
The last and most pernicious myth I will address is the myth of the sneaky, conniving, salesperson who wants to con you out of your hard-earned money. Sure, some salespeople have given the art of sales a bad name, but sales is not the cutthroat game most people believe it to be.
Contrary to popular belief, sales is an honorable undertaking. It helps people like you and I understand how a particular product or service can improve their quality of life. When it comes to your company, selling with integrity means that your customers will be better off after doing business with you. If used correctly, sales makes people’s lives better.
If you choose to sell in a way that is honest and helpful, you can give your customer a great experience while winning a lifelong client for your business. This is how it’s supposed to be.
The Truth: You Can Do It!
One of the hardest lessons that many entrepreneurs need to learn is that everything is sales. If you are an entrepreneur, you’re in sales whether you like it or not. Hopefully this posting showed you that there is nothing to be afraid of. You can do this. You came this far, right?
It is my hope that this series of postings will help you become more confident in your ability to persuade and lead others. It will make you a much more successful entrepreneur.
Keep moving forward.
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