
Last night on âThe Money Showâ on Talk Radio 702 and Cape Talk 567, Bruce Whitfield and I chatted about âSalesâ and the challenges that you need to overcome.
A Salesperson is the most visible and perhaps the only outward manifestation of your business seen by customers. They play a very important role of not only upholding a companyâs  image but also holding the customers hand and generating leads into sales. This sales professional makes the difference when it comes to both making and maximizing the sales. We liked, twitter follower, Thandanai Khoza (@thandakhoza) from Sakina Energy Solutions definition of âSalesâ âSelling is not telling, it is identifying need/void and fulfilling itâ.
Our callers pointed out some of the challenges with âSalesâ:
Language – David from Benoni who is in the Event/AV/Advertising industry, said that languages posses a challenge to him. Yes, we agree that this is a universal problem but confidence is the key. If you donât have confidence in the service you offer, how can you expect your potential customer to have confidence in your product? An easy strategy for David, is to use a different language and that is the language of successful delivery of service. Itâs called the customer testimonial. Ask for them and collect them and use them to help you with any language barrier you experience.
You need to answer the following questions; Who do you want to target? What type of customer are you looking for? Do you understand your buyer? Collect testimonials from your âhappy clientsâ that show how you exceed your expectations. Know your product ————Ă Know your customer
Only I can sell! - The most common problem we as entrepreneurs face is âOnly I can sell and need another 10 of me to growâ. Caller Terry from Gallo Manor, who owns an Events Company, highlighted this problem. She has tried to grow her event company by creating a RSVP program, a product, which she now needs to sell. The problem Terry is facing is she cannot find the right sales person who understands her product fully and who can cold canvas and generate leads for her. I suggested she firstly needs to work on her âSales Systemâ. You need to have an efficient system in place because if you donâtâŚhow can you expect to create another âyouâ?
Selecting the right sales person is a critical and requires a lot of attention. So when recruiting sales staff, keep the following three aspects in mind:
RememberâŚ..the purpose of an entrepreneur is to build an asset of value. An asset of value is a business that of a day you can successfully raise funds for or even sell for a premium price. Systems are KEY to building an asset of value so please, start now, begin today and systematise you business !!!
Have PASSION, work hard, make money,âŚâŚ and sell like you mean it!