5 things I learned doing sales for my first start-up
(and why I am now building a sales tool)
I hated sales. As an ex-academic, my idea of a sales person was your stereotypical “used car salesman” who would try to sell you something you didn’t want. So when I started my first business almost nine years ago, and there was no one else to do the selling, I panicked. I would break into sweats just thinking of calling a potential client, and would have to psych myself up to it each time. That is, until I had the luck to meet a sales coach who took me under his wing and offered me two free hours of sales coaching. He taught me lesson number one; that sales is about relationships.
Sales is about relationships, and win-win
As a quick disclaimer, I have most experience with B2B sales although I am sure the relationship and win-win strategy will be successful in all settings. What the coach told me was that selling by “pushing something” onto your client that they didn’t want was a very short term strategy. You will never sell again to them. But, if you have something that actually makes their lives easier/quicker/better then it is a win-win solution — and what can be wrong with that? If you go out to buy a new pair of running shoes, you may not necessarily want the cheapest, but the ones that combine comfort, aesthetic, and price to your…
