If You Own a Business You're a Salesperson

[KristineS]

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "well I'm a business owner, not a salesperson". The truth is this, if you own a business, you're responsible for selling your services. You may not like selling, you may not be particularly good at selling, but making a profit depends on knowing how to sell.

I know selling and promoting myself is not always one of my strongest skills. I'm perfectly comfortable promoting the companies for which I work, or the ventures of others. I'm not as comfortable promoting myself. I'd really love to hear how the rest of you got comfortable with selling, and what you would recommend those who are new to business and selling themselves should do to feel more comfortable with selling themselves.

[degadar]

I think every business needs salesmen or women facing the customer, but I think it's quite reasonable to be lead by any part of the business.

Many engineering companies are lead by engineers, and a haulage company may be lead just as well by a driver or an accountant.

Personally I hate dealing with customers. When they come to visit I pretend I'm there to fix the air conditioning.

[KristineS]

I agree, there should be people with a job function that is specifically related to generating and closing sales. At the same time I know a lot of small business people who don't have the luxury of having a sales force. In smaller companies everyone has to sell or the company won't be around that long.

[orion_joel]

I am my own sales person for my business (good thing i am in the owner to or i would ahve been fired by now, with my lack of sales). The lack of sales though is more so due to lack of attention paid to the business though.

The sales skills i do have i generally picked up for a year i worked in retail sales for a pffice supply store, in there technology department. It makes it much easier to learn and work on skills when you have a constant stream of potential customers who have already satisfied the first part of the sale as being interested.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

Sales sometimes get's more complicated than it needs to be.

Sales is really just problem solving finding out what a customer needs and giving it to them. Businesses exist to solve problems. Think of any profitable business and it solves someone's problem (read need)... Everything else is just smoke and mirrors strategy and tactics.

If you're in business for yourself you are in sales.. deal with it.

[KarenB]

I wasn't comfortable promoting my services until I had developed a real sense of self-confidence and trust in my own abilities. Even though I had worked successfully in the corporate world for decades, when it came down to just *me*, without the backing of a giant corporation, I felt rather sheepish about saying, "Pick me! Pick me!"

I find that cross-selling is easier. Because I offer a lot of different services, I may be contracted to transcribe an interview, for example, and then I'll talk to the client about their other needs like proofreading, editing or article distribution. It's not an overt sales pitch, just something I may sense about their other needs as I'm working on a specific project.

Cold calling is not for me, but I ensure that I have an active presence within the communities that I service. My communities are on the internet, so I've joined several top-notch virtual assistant (VA) associations where I have met peers who have referred business to me and vice versa. I guess you could call "networking" another form of selling - perhaps the equivalent of a local board of trade or chamber of commerce if you're in the brick-and-mortar world.

When I first started out a couple of years ago, I placed ads in local newspapers and signed up for Google AdWords, etc. While that helped to establish a presence of sorts, it was a rather passive form of advertising and didn't produce a whole lot of results.

I like the casual approach to offering my additional services. I always ask my existing clients how things are going with THEIR business and I'm keenly aware of their mention of any "problems". The other day I was speaking with a client who told me how much he was struggling with a PowerPoint presentation. I said, "I love doing PowerPoints!" (even though that's a service that I advertise and have mentioned to him before). Bottom line: I got the business.

Selling, upselling and cross-selling may be initially difficult, but I think they become easier as time goes by and you discover what best suits your style. I don't believe there is a one-size-fits-all formula. You have to sell in a manner that feels comfortable and right for you.

Karen

P.S. I like your advice, Advice-Man!

[KristineS]

I think networking is a great way to sell and I'm surprised more people don't do it. I participate in another forum that talks about business in a specific industry. One of the things new people always ask is how to get business. I always tell them to find associations or join the local Chamber of Commerce. Lots of them have never thought of that.

[Marcomguy]

If you're a business owner you are in sales, I agree. Even if you're CEO of a corporation, you're in sales. Your customers and product might be different, but you're still in sales.

For example, you might be selling to Wall Street analysts or to the CEO of another company you want to do business with. It's still sales.

[KristineS]

I think the mistake a lot of business people make is thinking only salespeople sell. Every time you have any contact with a customer or a potential customer you're selling whether you know it or not. If you're not always aware of that and how what you do could reflect on the relationship with that customer, then you're making a big mistake.