Six Truths About Small Business Sales

Here are six truths about small business sales every small business owner must understand.

1.     Sales is an honorable profession. I am a student of the sales process. I have over 100 CDs on sales which I listen to as I travel the Midwest. All of these programs and nearly every book I have read on the subject begins with a section dedicated to convincing the listener or reader that sales is a honorable profession. I wonder if the practitioners of any other profession have to be convinced that they are involved in an honorable profession. Do you suppose that a seminars for brain surgeons, rocket scientists or bus drivers start with a few paragraphs on how honorable the profession is. Sales people even hide behind titles like designer, associate, consultant or business development professional.  

2.     Sales is  not an option. If you are in business you are in sales. Without sales the best stone countertop on the planet will never get sold. All the company employees; receptionist, accountant, fabricator and installer, will be out of work and the company will fail. Not because of production, purchasing, bookkeeping or any other department but because there are no countertops to produce, products to purchase or accounts books to balance. You do not need to like sales but you need to do it.

3.     If you make a good product it is your duty to get it into the hands of consumers who would benefit from such a countertop.

4.     You need to work on the parts of your sales process that are hard for you as well as the parts that are easy.  

5.     Sales in not a part time activity. You do not ask your lead fabricator to answer the phone, greet people who come into your office or do bookkeeping. Why would you ask your sales person to do these activities or worse why would you have your receptionist or bookkeeper do sales. It is easier to do the easy routine things rather than the hard things such as cold calling and follow up. Given a choice an employee will do routine easy tasks instead of hard important ones. They will look busy instead of do things that lead to a sale. 

6.     Nothing happens until somebody sells something.