Episode 074 Sales does not have to be scary!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 33 years of marketing and leadership experience.

 

In episode 074, I share how everyone is in sales!

 

Many people shy away from sales because they fear rejection, cold-calling; no, I am not interested, or confrontation, make a mistake, and other reasons. Let's face it. Sales can feel a bit scary, but it doesn't have to be that way. 

 

I believe everyone is in sales. Maybe you don't have the title of a salesperson, but if your company or business requires you to work with people, you are in sales!

 

Like it or not, we are all in sales! Whether you're selling an idea, delivering a business proposal, conducting a sales presentation, leading a Three Word sale meeting, or offering a product or service – it's all selling. You are selling and marketing a message! I believe that Selling is one of the most critical skills everyone needs. #Proudtobeinsales!

 

Everyone sells something!

 

Salespeople and business owners are maybe struggling because today's sales climate has shifted. In this fiercely competitive economy, every meeting, every sales call, and every interaction with a potential customer is critical to our business. 

 

Sales are one area where many people reveal their most significant deficiency. It's not that they don't know what to say; it's that they're unable to deliver the information in a structure that's engaging and, most importantly, persuasive.

 

Call it a belief or a mindset but just a mere mention, the word "sales" scares people or brings up fear, dread, and anxiety to many. If you want to perform at a top-level, you must change your mindset and the way you think about "sales." How much is your perspective getting in the form of your paycheck?

 

Most people don't believe they're in sales, so they don't develop that skill. They refuse to admit they have to sell. Some believe that launching a website and sending out a few emails will be enough to attract new customers.

 

 

"Sales are what you do for people, not to people."

 

Think about your best client, that if you had not picked up the phone to call them with the idea that could transform their business, their sales could have suffered. Or worse, they could be going out of business.

 

In sales, we have to do this every day!  

 

Prospecting is a word that drives fear into the individual who doesn't believe that selling something to someone is for their benefit and overall well-being. We all prospect and don't even know we're doing it. 

When you start the dating process, you are prospecting for the person you want to marry. As managers, we interview employees. We are prospecting for someone who will best fit our sales needs. When you have a product to sell, you need someone to sell it to, so you have to go out and find the customers who need what you have. If you don't believe that their lives will be better because of what you have to sell them, you will sell the wrong thing or sell it to the wrong person. Target people who need your product and has the financial ability to make that decision.

 

Prospecting becomes second nature when you can implement a quote by Zig Ziglar. 

 

"You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." When you are genuinely interested in other people, you will learn what they are interested in and need your product. If they like you, and most people like those who take an interest in them, they'll help you find people who do need what you have to sell, even if they don't.

 

You must be able to communicate what you sell and identify who could benefit from what you sell. If you can't tell anyone those two things in a few simple sentences, you aren't in the right business. You must also be able to identify a need. I know these suggestions sound like "a given" for the sales pro's listening, but I have found that many of us who haven't studied the art of selling and don't yet understand how vital this skill is to your growth potential.

 

So don't be afraid anymore. Remember, sales start everything. Henry Ford famously said, "Nothing happens until someone sells something," because at the heart of every enterprise is the revenue-generating engine of sales. The auto industry would not exist if we could walk everywhere; new homes would not be built if people wanted to occupy them; the phone or laptop you listened to the Three Word Podcast would not be possible without technology. It all started with an idea and someone to sell and share the benefits. 

 

Be proud that your in an industry that changes people's lives. That's called Sales!

 

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