An entrepreneur’s job is to sell all the time. You have to sell your idea(s), sell your image and sell your vision to your employees, your customers, the public, the bankers and the media.
Selling is not about arm twisting or swindling, it’s about marketing your ideas, your product and your business constantly. Selling is giving your stakeholders (customers, employees, public, bankers, media) what they want in a way that works for you and them.
There is no one way of doing it, though it has to be hard core, purposeful, directed and goal achieving selling. Soft fuzzy selling will not work.
Following is a compilation of how to sell to people.
Find out what people think they want by asking questions.
What do you want to achieve?
What do you hope to gain?
What are you unhappy with?
What do you want to avoid?
Find out what they will pay for and what they want by asking questions.
How have you budgeted for this?
What do you hope to pay?
Who has authority to approve this?
Offer what they want as long as you can provide it.
Ask them to buy.
Will you give me your approval?
Repeat the above process as often as necessary.
You may ask, what happens if they want something I don’t offer? This is where your tenacity, creativity and resourcefulness come in. You may have to ask better and different questions. You may need to adjust your approach. Or the alternative is to give up and close shop. Many do .But these people never become successful entrepreneurs.
