I’ve discovered that there are several 4-letter words that many small business owners avoid …. today’s 4-letter word is S-E-L-L. Yes – for many, especially women, anything to do with ‘selling’ seems to be something to be avoided! Whether it’s the picture in your mind of a sleazy car salesman or an annoying door-to-door salesman, our inner critic often shouts bad words at us when we think about sales and selling.!
But here’s the thing — if you have a business; you S-E-L-L something (a product, a service, something); that’s just the nature of business. If you hate the word SELL, my suggestion is that you replace it with H-E-L-P. That’s right — don’t think about selling your product/service; think of it as helping your customer because that’s what you are really doing, isn’t it? Your customer has a problem and you are HELPING them solve it! Turning ‘selling’ into ‘helping’ is a great way to shift your thinking and to quieten your inner critic who is shouting bad words at you.
Okay … how many people are you ‘helping’ today? How many helping phone calls have you made today? 1 – 3- 5- 10. I recently read a blog from a very successful business coach who suggested that each of us should be making 15 helping phone calls A DAY! That’s right — each and every day. That’s the way to move your business forward! Making phone calls is a success habit and when you commit to it daily, watch your revenue accelerate!
Picking up the phone and connecting with people is the way to fill your bank account! So how can you make this a habit? I’ve created a sales conversation tracking sheet which I keep by my desk. I record how many sales calls per day I make AND how many of those turn into customers (that’s how I know my sales ‘conversion’ rate). If you’d like a copy of my sales conversation tracking sheet – click here to download; or make up your own. I print it off on coloured paper so that I can easily find it on my desk — it’s on green paper (green = money)! Sales conversations are one of the key indicators that you probably should be measuring & monitoring each and every day.
So here’s my challenge for you this week … make a commitment to yourself and your business to pick up the phone and make X number of sales calls PER DAY! These can be to past clients, new prospects, follow-ups, etc. If you don’t have enough people to call — then it suggests that there you might have to be doing more marketing (but that’s another whole topic!).
Believe me — the more calls you make, the more you practise, the easier it will become and the more successful you will become. If you would like some help and feedback with your sales conversations, I’m here for you! It all comes down to believing in what you do; making sales a habit; sprinkle a little persistence, courage and focus. I want your bank account to fill up — so pick up the phone and HELP more people! S-E-L-Ling is a good thing!
Grow – Prosper and Succeed!
