Sales is a very difficult job. This is compounded if you do not have experience in sales and that you don’t particularly like it. There are a few different strategies that can be used to get sales experience before you start selling. The challenge is if you are an entrepreneur there isn’t a lot of time for practice. You need to get out there and talk to clients. For startups, sales and funding are often the 2 biggest challenges. It is often hard to get funding if you don’t have any sales traction.
Here are a few tips to help entrepreneurs that don’t like the act of selling.
Understand the steps in the sales process
One of the things in sales that can be a challenge for people, that are new to sales, is trying to push for the sale in early in the sales process. It is important to understand the steps that come before the customer signs off on a deal. It is easier to close for a scheduled time to talk rather than to buy your solution.
Set activity targets
It is great to have revenue and customer targets, but there are specific steps that need to occur first. Set targets for the activities that lead to revenue. Some great targets for B2B sales could include meetings, demos, or proposals. The other target that is helpful is setting aside time for the sales effort. This means setting aside an amount of time a month to work on your sales efforts. Block it off in your calendar just like you would for a meeting.
Remember you are helping someone
Sales has been viewed as a necessary evil or has a perception of a used car dealer. The best sales people and companies understand that their solution helps customers. Find the right prospects and present your solution as a way to solve a problem. A sale then becomes a win-win situation as both parties are benefiting. This should make sales easier for the entrepreneur.
Lead as a subject matter expert with content marketing
Content marketing is a salespersons best friend. It can help you stay top of mind and be seen as a subject matter expert. Create content on your site, share through social channels, and distribute with email. An entrepreneur can also use that content in outbound emails and as a follow-up from a meeting. This will help to nurture existing prospects and help you find new ones.
Leverage connections
Leverage your personal connections whenever you can. This means for opportunities directly with those individuals as well as their networks. The most effective tool to help with this is LinkedIn.
Practice with the tough things
There are many parts to sales that can be challenging, especially when dealing with the customer facing activities. Practice cold calls and meetings with coworkers, family members, or friends. It will feel awkward and you may feel a bit silly, but that practice will make your initial interactions go so much better.
If you are new to sales and are looking for some help for your team, please reach out. We can talk about some of your strategic and tactical sales challenges.
