Why Selling is so Important to Entrepreneurs and why Most Entrepreneurs Don’t embrace Selling.
Why Selling is so Important to Entrepreneurs and why Most Entrepreneurs Don’t embrace Selling.
Selling is one of the most important skills an Entrepreneur will ever develop. Being an entrepreneur myself I know this first hand. Even though selling is a critical skill most entrepreneurs avoid it like the plague. There is a very simple reason for this. Read on and you will discover why most people avoid sales and how to learn to love selling.
When you think of a salesperson what do you think of? When I ask this question of my seminar audiences here are some of the answers I get:
Manipulator, high pressure, are twisting, liar, in it for themselves, and no integrity.
No wonder most people resist selling. If I associated selling to the list above I would avoid it as well. To me selling doesn’t have to be those things above. I teach people how to sell from honesty, integrity, and compassion. It is not about a hard sell, it is about a heart sell. My definition of selling is selling equals service.
The reason why you MUST embrace selling skills is selling is about leading. Selling is about moving people to action. People need to be led. Not only do people need to be led, we want to be led. Think about it, when you make a purchase don’t you want the person you are speaking with to lead you to make the correct purchase?
Imagine you call up a travel agent to book a cruise. You want to go Alaska. You want to travel in November. The travel agent let’s you know that you will have a more enjoyable trip if you go after March 1 when the weather is better. You change your travel arrangements due to the recommendation of the travel agent. Notice the travel agent in this example didn’t use high pressure or manipulation. They simply led you to make a better decision. They moved you to action.
Now that you know that you can embrace selling without being high pressure or manipulative it is time to get to work developing your selling skills. Here are some great tips on how you can improve your selling skills.
1. Develop a script. Most entrepreneurs I meet resist using scripts. The reason is they don’t really know what a script is. Most people, when they think of a script, think of the telemarketer that calls them up during dinner offering the local newspaper. This is not what I mean. You are either using a script or you are speaking in glossolalia. Glossolalia is how schizophrenics speak. They say things like chair, computer, red, closet, car, etc. These words in sequence have no meaning. They speak in word salad. This is not how you speak therefore you are using a script. A script is simple a series of words that when spoken together have meaning. It is not a question of whether or not you are using a script. The question is how good are your scripts?
2. Reverse engineer your sales presentation. A sales presentation is anytime you are meeting with someone and attempting to influence them. When you reverse engineer your sales presentation it means you decide in advance what you are going to say, when you are going to say it, and how you are going to say it.
3. Set monthly goals for what you want to accomplish. Most entrepreneurs set goals only once per year. Take time out at the end of each month to set goals for the next month. If you have a team it is important that you set goals for what your team is to accomplish. Your job as the leader is to get EVERYONE paddling in the same direction towards the accomplishment of the team goals. It took me years to learn this lesson. This one idea is worth the investment you made in this book 100 times over.
4. Ask for the order. This is one of the simplest ideas yet I am constantly amazed at how many entrepreneurs don’t ask for the order when they are speaking to their prospects. If you are speaking to someone and you don’t ask for the order you didn’t give a presentation you had a conversation. It is not necessary to use high pressure when asking but you must ask. Here are some simple ways to ask for the order. 1. How do you feel about moving forward? 2. What do you say we give it a try? 3. I am open on Tuesday at 3:00 or Wednesday at 3:00 what would work best for you? After you ask for the order be silent. Selling has its own language. Part of the language of influence is silence. Silence is a simple technique yet very powerful. Consider the following scenario. Most of us have seen the girl scouts selling cookies in front of the grocery story. Usually what happens is they ask us if we would like to buy some girls scout cookies. After they ask have you ever noticed they are silent? The reason they are silent is because that is part of the sales presentation. Does this technique work? The girl scouts have sold millions of boxes of cookies through the years. Now imagine this scenario. Instead of being asked if you would like to buy some Girl Scout cookies, she gave you a business card. She then explained to you that if you go to the web site you can purchase as many boxes as you would like. If she handed you a business card would you go to the web site and buy some cookies? The answer is no. Unfortunately most entrepreneurs give out their business card and tell the prospect to call them when they are ready.
5. Ask for referrals. One of the easiest ways to grow your business is by referrals. Many entrepreneurs wait for their customers to provide them with referrals. If this is how you do business you are leaving a ton of business on the table. If you have done a good job for someone, in most cases, if you ask for referrals they will give them to you. You must lead them and you must move them to action. The way to do this is with a script. Here is a simple script that has brought me thousands of referrals. “As you probably know I work with referrals. A good referral for me is ______________ (tell the prospect what a good referral for you is). When you think of a good referral think of ____________ (share with them who to think of). Of everyone you know who would be the best referral for me?
I have helped many entrepreneurs grow their business. It all starts with mindset. Make a decision today to embrace selling skills instead of resisting them. This one decision could change your life. You will be more successful, make more money, and help more people. The purpose of my company, Eric Lofholm International, is to be a place where people can come from all over the world to learn the finest ideas on sales, influence and success. If you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more I encourage you to go to my web site www.ericlofholm.com and sign up for my newsletter. While you are there you can also sign up for a free conference call and a free coaching session. I also encourage you to go to www.mentorsmagazine.com. They wrote an 8 page article about me that has several other great selling and success tips in it.
Eric Lofholm is the President of Eric Lofholm International, a global sales training organization. To receive a free copy of Eric’s e-book, 21 Ways to Close More Sale Now go to www.ericlofholm.com.
Why Selling is so Important to Entrepreneurs and why Most Entrepreneurs Dont embrace Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Eric Lofholm's Website.
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Why Selling is so Important to Entrepreneurs and why Most Entrepreneurs Don’t embrace Selling.
Selling is one of the most important skills an Entrepreneur will ever develop. Being an entrepreneur myself I know this first hand. Even though selling is a critical skill most entrepreneurs avoid it like the plague. There is a very simple reason for this. Read on and you will discover why most people avoid sales and how to learn to love selling.
When you think of a salesperson what do you think of? When I ask this question of my seminar audiences here are some of the answers I get:
Manipulator, high pressure, are twisting, liar, in it for themselves, and no integrity.
No wonder most people resist selling. If I associated selling to the list above I would avoid it as well. To me selling doesn’t have to be those things above. I teach people how to sell from honesty, integrity, and compassion. It is not about a hard sell, it is about a heart sell. My definition of selling is selling equals service.
The reason why you MUST embrace selling skills is selling is about leading. Selling is about moving people to action. People need to be led. Not only do people need to be led, we want to be led. Think about it, when you make a purchase don’t you want the person you are speaking with to lead you to make the correct purchase?
Imagine you call up a travel agent to book a cruise. You want to go Alaska. You want to travel in November. The travel agent let’s you know that you will have a more enjoyable trip if you go after March 1 when the weather is better. You change your travel arrangements due to the recommendation of the travel agent. Notice the travel agent in this example didn’t use high pressure or manipulation. They simply led you to make a better decision. They moved you to action.
Now that you know that you can embrace selling without being high pressure or manipulative it is time to get to work developing your selling skills. Here are some great tips on how you can improve your selling skills.
1. Develop a script. Most entrepreneurs I meet resist using scripts. The reason is they don’t really know what a script is. Most people, when they think of a script, think of the telemarketer that calls them up during dinner offering the local newspaper. This is not what I mean. You are either using a script or you are speaking in glossolalia. Glossolalia is how schizophrenics speak. They say things like chair, computer, red, closet, car, etc. These words in sequence have no meaning. They speak in word salad. This is not how you speak therefore you are using a script. A script is simple a series of words that when spoken together have meaning. It is not a question of whether or not you are using a script. The question is how good are your scripts?
2. Reverse engineer your sales presentation. A sales presentation is anytime you are meeting with someone and attempting to influence them. When you reverse engineer your sales presentation it means you decide in advance what you are going to say, when you are going to say it, and how you are going to say it.
3. Set monthly goals for what you want to accomplish. Most entrepreneurs set goals only once per year. Take time out at the end of each month to set goals for the next month. If you have a team it is important that you set goals for what your team is to accomplish. Your job as the leader is to get EVERYONE paddling in the same direction towards the accomplishment of the team goals. It took me years to learn this lesson. This one idea is worth the investment you made in this book 100 times over.
4. Ask for the order. This is one of the simplest ideas yet I am constantly amazed at how many entrepreneurs don’t ask for the order when they are speaking to their prospects. If you are speaking to someone and you don’t ask for the order you didn’t give a presentation you had a conversation. It is not necessary to use high pressure when asking but you must ask. Here are some simple ways to ask for the order. 1. How do you feel about moving forward? 2. What do you say we give it a try? 3. I am open on Tuesday at 3:00 or Wednesday at 3:00 what would work best for you? After you ask for the order be silent. Selling has its own language. Part of the language of influence is silence. Silence is a simple technique yet very powerful. Consider the following scenario. Most of us have seen the girl scouts selling cookies in front of the grocery story. Usually what happens is they ask us if we would like to buy some girls scout cookies. After they ask have you ever noticed they are silent? The reason they are silent is because that is part of the sales presentation. Does this technique work? The girl scouts have sold millions of boxes of cookies through the years. Now imagine this scenario. Instead of being asked if you would like to buy some Girl Scout cookies, she gave you a business card. She then explained to you that if you go to the web site you can purchase as many boxes as you would like. If she handed you a business card would you go to the web site and buy some cookies? The answer is no. Unfortunately most entrepreneurs give out their business card and tell the prospect to call them when they are ready.
5. Ask for referrals. One of the easiest ways to grow your business is by referrals. Many entrepreneurs wait for their customers to provide them with referrals. If this is how you do business you are leaving a ton of business on the table. If you have done a good job for someone, in most cases, if you ask for referrals they will give them to you. You must lead them and you must move them to action. The way to do this is with a script. Here is a simple script that has brought me thousands of referrals. “As you probably know I work with referrals. A good referral for me is ______________ (tell the prospect what a good referral for you is). When you think of a good referral think of ____________ (share with them who to think of). Of everyone you know who would be the best referral for me?
I have helped many entrepreneurs grow their business. It all starts with mindset. Make a decision today to embrace selling skills instead of resisting them. This one decision could change your life. You will be more successful, make more money, and help more people. The purpose of my company, Eric Lofholm International, is to be a place where people can come from all over the world to learn the finest ideas on sales, influence and success. If you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more I encourage you to go to my web site www.ericlofholm.com and sign up for my newsletter. While you are there you can also sign up for a free conference call and a free coaching session. I also encourage you to go to www.mentorsmagazine.com. They wrote an 8 page article about me that has several other great selling and success tips in it.
Eric Lofholm is the President of Eric Lofholm International, a global sales training organization. To receive a free copy of Eric’s e-book, 21 Ways to Close More Sale Now go to www.ericlofholm.com.
Why Selling is so Important to Entrepreneurs and why Most Entrepreneurs Dont embrace Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Eric Lofholm's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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