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How are Your Sales Skills?

Guest post by: Stephen Feswick

Article Overview: Selling may be the most under rated skill every small town small business owner needs. Without sales there is no business. Failure is certain. Learn to sell with integrity and watch your business grow!

How are Your Sales Skills?

I still smile when I recall the plaque on my fathers’ work desk that read:

“Two months ago I couldn’t even spel salsman…now I are one.”

When I asked my dad why I should consider becoming a professional sales person he said, “The pay’s good if you deliver; the skills you acquire can never be taken away and that means if you’re good, you can literally work anywhere in the world because great sales people are rare and always in demand.”

That was good advice and I’ve earned a great living following it.

But let’s turn our attention to you and your small business. I contend that as a small business owner, your greatest skill and one you must acquire to succeed, is the ability to sell.

And yet, I can’t count the number of times small business owners have told me, “I’m not a salesman. In fact, I don’t like sales at all! I may be an artist (contractor, doctor, chiropractor, restaurateur, printer, designer, web developer) but I’m NOT a sales person.”

A word of advice. Before you lease your workspace, design you logo, have your business cards printed and raise the sign on the front of your building you better make a sale.

A sale creates cash flow and cash flow pays for everything else. Start first by selling something and all else naturally follows.

Selling is the process of exchanging value. Your customer gives you compensation (most often money) in exchange for your product and/or service. It’s not a dirty or unethical process, but one you must become adept at in order to grow your business.

What is dirty and unethical are some of the tactics a small minority of salespeople have used in the past to part a customer for his or her hard earned money for a product or service that does not provide true value.

Some customers instantly see the value of your products and services and are willing to pay whatever price you set. That’s nice business if you can get it!

The vast majority however need to be persuaded, and persuasion is a skill every business owner needs to acquire. Selling is a skill set that can be learned. And like any other skill set it requires practice and practical application in order for it to provide a real benefit for your business.

The greatest sales skill is the ability to ask compelling questions and then to listen to the answers before offering any advice or suggestions. As customers answer your questions they will tell you what you need to know. They will feel as though your response is directly related to them personally and that the solution you offer them is tailored to their specific needs. This is true even if you are offering the same solution to many different customers with a similar need.

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Article Tags: sales skills, small business, small business marketing



Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
niche forum categories - I think Kevin just touched on the point that I was going make... and that is developing 'categories' that stick. Sales and Marketing may be too broad for example. However I can almost guarantee you that you would see many more sign-ups if you tailored a category to 'internet marketing' for newbies. I've seen this work on other forums, however, [i:1i903wkn]it can get a little frantic[/i:1i903wkn]... Fine tuning the categories, or expanding the scope should be effective. I think a lot of IM folks are surfing right on by because they're not finding what they're looking for here... Just a few thoughts: Better Blogging Developing Info Products Internet Marketing Presentation Skills More How to's Another point is... a lot of people don't know that they can benefit from participating in forums. The signature links to their site - if they have one - can / should be motivation enough to get more involved. The more internet savvy members that have signatures seem to stick around more... Don't you think?
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners - 1. Focus 2. Ability to Adapt 3. Hard Work 4. Good planning 5. People Skills
Re: Books for Business Owners - Hi DougSchadle, Thanks for sharing your favorite business book with us! A good book I'm reading now is "Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed" by Brian Tracy as it was a birthday gift from a friend. Tracy's book is helpful in identifying what's important in your life and then setting an action plan to achieve it.


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