Accidental Salespeople
You don’t hear of many people saying, “Woo Hoo! I want to be a salesperson for the rest of my life”. Yet every time a person becomes a small business owner, they effectively become a salesperson (whether they like it or not). We are accidental salespeople.
Why are Sales important?
Without sales, the most brilliant small business idea just becomes wishful thinking. Sales people make business work – PERIOD. They are often referred to as the engine that drives the business.
The S-Word
What comes to your mind when you think of a professional sales person? What image do you conjure up?
They are slimy and pushy
“Can’t trust ‘em”
They use high pressure tactics
They are hustlers
They are dishonest
The list goes on and on, but these are stereotypes that you will need to break free from as they will mess with you. Even without these stereotypes, most people don’t like the S-Word. If you got the S-Word Syndrome and don’t like selling – we totally get it. How then, do you manage to do business without selling?
The first thing that we need to remember is that as small business owners, we’re in the service industry 99% of the time. If we simply look at it as helping the buyer get what they want, we don’t have to actually sell much – We only have to help them through the process. So, it’s a different way to look at it because most of us really don’t want to be salespeople.
If you find yourself saying, “I’d rather do most other things than sell” then choose to give great customer service instead and get clear about what the buyer needs. Great customer service will lead you to doing work with that individual.