In the simplest possible terms, what is business? Selling something, whether a product or a service, for a profit. As simple as that sounds, you’re probably quickly discovering that getting people to buy what you’re selling isn’t a walk in the park! No matter how involved you are in the marketing end of your start-up, there’s a certain attitude which will get you in a better position to sell anything, to anyone. Here’s what goes into a great sales attitude…
Love of Conversation
Marketing has always been a social art, and with the modern prevalence of social media this is more true than it’s ever been. With this in mind, you should be learning to love the art of conversation if you want to have more success selling your product or service. Think about the last sales discussion you had. Were you actively listening, or just waiting for your turn to speak? See if you can change your behaviors to encourage deeper engagement on both sides of the table.
Great Presentation Delivery
If you’re like a lot of other people, the very word “presentation” might cause a knee-jerk reaction for you to groan. However, delivering presentations is a big part of a lot of different business niches, and certainly isn’t something you can brush over. You need to make sure that every presentation you deliver is dynamic, memorable and full of passion, whether you’re selling an intrinsically exciting consumer product like a videogame or something more specialized like a clamp together duct. There’s no such thing as a perfect sales pitch in my opinion, but you should be striving towards it all the same!
Respect for Your Prices and Products
In a lot of instances, particularly when it comes to small, unestablished businesses, one of the main things holding them back from the sales figures they want is their pricing. Take a moment to go through the prices you’re charging for your products. Then, try to put yourself in your target market’s shoes, and consider the actual value that the product is offering them. Are you charging a little too much for what your product or service does? Or even worse, selling yourself short? If you don’t believe that your product is worth exactly what you’re charging, then it’s going to show in all your pitches and marketing materials.
Emphasis on Improvement
Everything can be improved, and I mean everything. If you want to drive up your sales as quickly and effectively as possible, then you need to make this your personal mantra. As a business owner, you need to be making space in your busy schedule for continuous self-improvement, and never letting up! Reach out to other execs who have had a lot of success with their marketing, and see what you can learn from their methods. Aside from that, you can attend seminars and classes, conduct your own research, and keep records of your marketing efforts to pick out their strengths and weaknesses. The sooner you get into this attitude, the sooner you’ll see great sales results!
