As a bookkeeper for small business owners, I’ve seen how sales confidence and financial clarity go hand in hand.
Nervousness around sales is a very common experience.
No, you’re not weird. Well, maybe you are, but there’s lots of weird people who do well at sales, so that’s not the issue.
When your livelihood is on the line, and possibly your identity, it is easy to take rejection as well as a horse-kick to the chest.
6 ways to make it selling easier over time:
- The fixed mindset has to go. According to psychologist Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, a fixed mindset believes that intelligence or ability is static, and there’s not much you can do to change it. If you believe that you are bad at sales, it will be very difficult to approach potential customers. A growth mindset on the other hand, believes intelligence can be developed and abilities can be improved by learning.
If you experience a no or a rejection, it is not a continuation of a story of being bad at sales. It’s a continuation of your journey to learning to sell better. Failure is no longer an assault on your identity if you think you’re good at sales, or history repeating itself if you think you’re bad at it.
- The sales process is ultimately about data collection. In a previous post I talked about the optimum selling strategy for your business. Where will you find your customers? What product will you sell first to them? How much will you charge? How will you convince them to buy? Every experience should tell you how customers are responding to your current offer. And if you’re in a high competition area, maybe a different product would be a smart thing to consider.
- Go for No. I’m not talking about doing poorly on purpose or showing up to a customer meeting unprepared. I’m talking about setting a goal to get a certain number of No’s, rather than Yes’s. Andrea Waltz and Richard Fenton wrote a book about the idea, and I think there’s one for network marketers too. But by chasing your nos instead of running away from them, it may make your fears go down. Aim for 10 nos, for instance, and if by no number 7, you get 2 yeses in the process, which for this example is more than you need, don’t stop. Keep going until you get 10 nos, or you run out of time.
- Maximize the yeses you have. When you do get a customer, serve them well. Get a review and/or testimonial from them. If you can meet a future need, sell to them again – they’ve already said ‘yes’ once! Put the reviews and testimonials where people can see them, and you will have less work to do getting the next yes. You have more credibility.
- Warm your leads. If you can use the internet to reach your customers, put out an ad that lets them get familiar with you and your services. Solve a problem, provide content, give a quiz for them to fill out. Then either let them reach out to you or have them share their contact info for you to call them later. It’s easier to sell when people know who you are, you helped them a little, and they agreed to be contacted.
- Have someone else do it. Why do you think actors and models exist? Why are there attractive hostesses at restaurants or flight attendants on international airline flights? Why do salespeople get paid? There’s nothing wrong with finding somebody with the gift of gab, or who are attractive (or both) to sell for you, and pay them a percent of what you take in. You can have supportive friends do it a little in exchange for some help you offer to them. You can even do referrals for existing customers, where your customers can be rewarded handsomely for giving you business. You’re putting other people in a position where they can win with their God-given talents, and in the process they bring you people you can help with your talents.
Small Business Bookkeeping Help
Selling may still be a nerve-wracking experience, but not a paralyzing one. Now that you can get moving, you can get some success. Even a little success can go a long way to giving you the confidence you need to make this new business work.
Here’s my pitch. You can have 80+ more hours per year by offloading your bookkeeping to me. How many extra sales can you make with that time? With outsourced bookkeeping services, you’ll also know the books are more accurate, and that the information they’ll provide you with will help you make better decisions. Schedule a call with me to talk about your business’s bookkeeping strategy.