Getting it Sold

This exercise will make you aware of sabotaging, "sales-phobic"” thoughts and actions in your company and help you increase your sales appreciation.   

• Recall purchases that made you happy.  Today, you've bought power, water, sewer, internet service, phone service, fuel…without even thinking about it.  Because it's so convenient, you agree to have these basic goods and services constantly delivered.  Think about your ongoing purchases.  Over time, with financing, you're buying your car and your house.  During a month's time you've bought food, clothes, entertainment, education, haircuts, vitamins, school yearbooks, family outings.  Fun stuff!  Wonderful purchases.  Without sales you would spend all day every day gathering food and water and obtaining basic clothing and shelter. 
• Realize the connection between sales and world peace.  Good sales are good trading practices.  Good sales allow you to focus your energies on your skills and talents, and offer them to the world in exchange for money.  Then, you can offer that money to others to secure their livelihood, while benefiting from their skills and talents.  Good sales build solid communities and our best chance at world peace.  Certainly governmental distribution of goods and services is a poor substitute for free market trade. 
• Understand that without sales you are out of business.  It's easy to go out of business.  It's easy to lose money in business.  Either way, you do a disservice to yourself, your employees and your customers.  As a profitable business owner, you are a pillar of society.  As a losing business owner, you are a burden to society. 
• Promise never to sell anything your customers don't need or want.  Does that make you breathe easier?  Good sales and good customer service go hand in hand.  Offer your best to your customers, and ask them if they would like to buy.  Good sales feel good to everyone involved.  Sales expert Bill Stiles says, “Think of yourself as your customer's assistant buyer.  Your customer has a problem.  Offer solutions.  Help solve the problem. “
• Accept that people want to buy from you!   Review your USP - Unique Selling Proposition.  Aren't your customers better off if they BUY? 

Now, get out there and sell.  Let people know about your great business.  Today, and every day this week, you and each of your employees will....

• Deliver Ten Elevator Speeches.   Find ten people, preferably strangers, and deliver your Elevator Speech.  Hand out your business card, too.   Watch for their reactions.  Do they react positively?  Do they look bored or confused?  Do they laugh?  Review your USP and revamp your Elevator Speech until it causes people to respond with, “That sounds interesting.  Tell me more.”  Ask them what business they are in.  Listen.  Share an authentic human moment. 

This exercise will expose any “"sales-phobia"” at your company.  Discover the sales-lovers on your team.  Uncover the “"sales-phobics".”  You are going to help them overcome their fears.  Or they are going to “get off the bus.”  Tomorrow we will lay out a bare bones basic system for creating a sales-focused company. 

The game is SALES.  It is an honorable game.  Good for you for playing! 

You may want to update your Elevator Speeches in the Setting Sight section of your Plan Binder.  Also, keep assembling ideas, “"to do's"” and projects on the Master To Do List.  We will work on organization and strategies for Getting it Done in the Getting it Done section of The Bare Bones Biz Plan.

"Keep your focus on sales.  If the top line is right, managing your business is easy.  If the top line is too low, everything is a struggle."

- George Barnett