My Secret When It Comes To Sales!

I hear so many women entrepreneurs telling me that they hate sales – they find it sleazy, distasteful and uncomfortable for them. They just want to ‘do their passion’ and fulfill their purpose.

Huh? What’s that all about? Why in the world do so many women entrepreneurs feel so very uncomfortable when it comes to sales? I don’t get it.

Here’s a little known ‘secret’ – sales is fun and it can be easy! Ok, now get back up off the floor, into your chair, and ‘listen up’ – sales is fun. You just don’t know what you don’t know. It all starts with the way you think – and, so, you need to shift your thinking about the whole concept of sales.

There are a few things you can do to shift your thinking when it comes to the action of closing the sale- and, quite frankly, without a sale – you’re not in business.

Remember the ‘why’ of your business. For many women entrepreneurs, you are spending so much time caught up in the adminis-trivia of running your business that you’ve forgotten ‘why’ you got into this in the first place. AND, you’re attempting to do it all yourself – you can’t – so stop that!

Many of you know my story – having left my marriage of 22 years, going through a period of losing many loved ones to cancer, etc., moving across the country to start a new life from scratch – and taking my business from zero to hero in 18 months. The ‘why’ of my business is to help women entrepreneurs start up and/or start over and become financially free. I want to eliminate the ‘bag lady’ experience for women around the world.

Identify your goals and objectives – Rather than existing day-to-day, doing the same things over and over again, you need to identify your goals – for the year, for the month, for the week and for the day. Yes, you must be that precise. Do you need some room for flexibility – of course you do – but you must have goals and you must write them down. Your written goals and objectives must include your revenue goals – for the year, for the month, for the week and for the day. Then you know what you are working towards. Your goals will also include who you serve! This brings clarity to the work you do each and every day.

Have a plan, and work the plan – Here’s where most women entrepreneurs fail! You don’t have a plan. You don’t have a strategy. Don’t know how? Then you must work with a coach – make that investment – and get clear on your plan. Once you have a plan in place, you will know exactly what you must do each day when it comes to sales.

My goals and objectives, when it comes to ‘number of people served’ and revenues to be generated are so clear that I know, each and every day, how many women I need to talk to in order to reach my goals. Do you?

Keep doing what works – and closing the sale is what works in order for business to survive and thrive. When you know your ‘why’ and who you serve, it becomes about service and that’s the shift in thinking that you require. Quit focusing on that 4-letter word: SALE – but, rather, focus on the number of people you have a passion to serve. Here’s what works:

1, First, identify whether you are a morning person or an afternoon person – for me, my energy is high in the morning and so that’s when I schedule my sales calls. I am at my best then.
2. Make a list of people you are going to contact (for me, actually, through my systems and processes, my team has helped to get these calls pre-scheduled and into my daily calendar – do you have systems for this?)
3. Be clear about the service you provide and listen for the ‘pain’ the prospect is sharing. Listen! Forget about the sales and revenues for a minute – and really pay attention to the pain/challenge/concern that is being expressed by the prospect on the phone. You don’t need a script – you need to improvise – listen, and provide a solution.
4. Close the sale! Where all things are aligned and this is, in fact, a situation where you absolutely can provide a service – close the sale. This person needs your product and/or service. Do not let someone hang up because they ‘have to think about it’ – that’s a cop-out on your part! Be of service.
5. Move on to the next call. Do the dance! Remember the ‘yes, and’ of improv – there’s always a ‘yes’ answer to be had.

Conclusion:

When it comes to surviving in business, and being of service in the world, it all goes back to the sales call. More often than not, you are getting in your own way at this point. The secret is to close the sale – when you don’t know what you don’t know about this fine skill, then get help – staying uneducated is not serving you well. Shift your thinking – focus on your energy – listen for the pain for which you have the solution.