Turning Your Business Idea into Sales Results
Do you secretly fear selling your services and products?
© David Newton
July 6, 2009
The Ideas Avalanche
It seems that most new business people start with a wave of new ideas and spend a long time brainstorming their new business – writing notes, making detailed business plans, examining new offices, their products features and looking at all the gee wiz features of their business.
They may dream for many days or longer before the final day comes along. The day they have “rubber hitting the road” when they have to stand up and make sales to real people and get revenue for their new found business idea. That’s when fear sets in.
The Lack of Persistence
A lot of business owners don’t really fail, because they never really tried to market and sell their services in the first place. They simply give up at the first lack of results and don’t have the persistence to find a way to make their sales become a reality.
Then they move to new business idea on their list and repeat the process.
What’s more they simply jump to fast conclusions about the market based on flimsy perceptions about their own lack of marketing expertise. This only adds to their future losses in sales results and dims their outlook. All due to a major lack of sales and marketing experience.
Sales and Selling isn’t a Dirty Word
A friend of mine who works at a day job very earnestly has tried many times to leave the clutches of her work only to be gripped by fear about actually making sales of products and services. Yet, she mixes in circles of her potential peers whom are very successful in the same areas she desires to succeed. Only one thing, her would be peers have no fears about sales and marketing in their business world.
? Do you secretly fear starting a sales conversation?
? Do you think that “SALES” is a manipulative term?
? Do you run at the first rejection or sales objection?
? If an advert doesn’t bring in sales, do you blame the publication?
? Are you afraid to ask for the order and money for your product?
? Do you feel you have to offer huge discounts to friends because you don’t want to “exploit” them?
? When asked about your business, do you try to tone down the conversation about you being in business or seen as an entrepreneur?
? Do you run your business like it was a hobby and at 5PM simply go back to watching TV and minor domestic duties like your business was never really there?
? Do you find yourself in a lack of business understanding – having little interest in reading personal development books or books on sales and marketing?
? Does the thought of going to seminars about business sound like something only “big business people” would do except yourself?
If some of the questions touch a point with you – better self education is your key to success.
Business Owners Are Really Sales People …
A common problem with sales people is a psychosis about sales rejection – given the term; Call Reluctance as coined by sales experts. What it means is that the sales person fears rejection so much, that they switch off to seeing new sales opportunities.
They may even not wish to speak to prospects on the telephone, or schedule many seemingly “important” administrative activities to shield their time from selling. Others will say they are too important in their role as a manager to do sales grunt work. The list of elaborate excuses (or negative self talk) to run from the real person to person sales encounters is very long.
The most important thing is to recognize it and deal with it head on and to face it. In fact overcoming this reluctance is vital if you want your business to succeed.
Here’s A Few Ways To Deal With A Challenge Like This …
1. Attend a personal development seminar – maybe one of those weekend seminars where you directly face your fears and learn how to make breakthroughs on it
2. Find a mentor or coach who wont let you get away with your excuses about lack of results and being shy on success, mix with key people who will challenge you and persuade you to face your fears
3. Buy books and listen to CD’s from sales professionals to personal development experts. Daily listening to sales and motivational experts will help change your thoughts and actions to that of a winning game player.
4. Be willing to use your diary each day to monitor your sales calls and appointments and commit yourself to regular sales targets. Tell others about your goals and have pictures supporting your dreams and goals about your home and office. Keeping yourself busy and getting out of the office to see new people and potential sales opportunities could be a productive way to start. When starting a business you need to focus 20% of your time on admin duties and at least 80% of your time on generating sales.
5. Associate your social company with others who are achievers and go getters. This can be via a business club (i.e. www.EntrepreneursSydney.com ) by networking with the right circle of people and spending less time with friends who are not likely to change their lot in life, you’ll be inspired to lift your results.
6. By far and away – setting sales targets is a motivator for most business owners. For example your aim is to sell 5 widget products each week. Break it down to bite sized chunks. You know that you need to see at least 8 prospects a week, and to get those appointments each prospect takes you about 10 cold or warm calls from your list. Basically you know you need to set your day out and your week to achieve these results and the upside is that selling those 5 widgets gives you a super high income.
7. Have a bigger goal that is outside the realm of your business. What I’ve found with many successful business owners is that their focus is on projects which are in part financed by running their business. They are outwardly focused. If you want to be a success, you have to think beyond yourself and why you are doing this, rather than your temporary short comings.
What I’ve found is that business owners can genuinely breakthrough their fears and succeed at most of the businesses they desire to run. It’s often taking a second look and trying just one more time, even if you’ve thought it wasn’t possible and then success comes your way.
A mentor can often see what you can’t see and will know if you’re hiding behind a mask, this can help you get ahead faster than by trying to be hero doing everything on your own. Well you will be doing the work yourself mind you, but with a gentle push in the right direction.
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David Newton is an avid social networker. Discover some of his
business and social communities at these websites:
Entrepreneurs Sydney www.EntrepreneursSydney.com and
Panache Singles www.Panache-Singles.net plus read many
interesting articles on www.AusLifeCoaching.com
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