Selling, Art or Science?
“Having been in the sales training business for more than 30 years, we have seen all manner of sellers; strong performers, average sellers, and those who just don’t make the grade. But behind all of this has always been the debate as to whether sales is an art or a science, almost to suggest that for some, sellers are born and not made.
The intent of this manifesto is to apply unconventional thinking to the question of art or science, not only resolving the issue, but also putting forth the significance of the answer from both a seller and supplier company perspective”
By Jim Holden for ChangeThis.com
Stop Selling and Start Storytelling…
“After a lot of thought, it’s pretty apparent to me what the most valuable overall skill is for future CEOs and world changers—the ability to tell a story. We live in a world where we are sold to hundreds of times a day and have become ridiculously blind to those trying to sell us something. But we’re always up for a good story.
Storytelling is what made us love the advertisements in magazines that, as children, we would rip out and put on our walls and asleep under with inspired awe. Stories are the most powerful form of inspiration and persuasion in the world.”
By Jason L. Baptiste for ChangeThis.com
Good at Selling? How to Sharpen Your Sales Strengths…
There is no single right way to sell. In fact, we believe there are as many ways to sell as there are salespeople.
Does that feel liberating? We hope so. If you enjoy sales, if you’re good at it, and if you’re finding some of the success you want, you possess a rare ability—and you should celebrate it. You’re someone who can do this job. And if you’re trying to follow a method or emulating a sales hero and it’s not working, it might not be your fault. Who you are is who you should be.
You’ll be most successful at sales if you make the most of who you are.
And by that, we mean using your natural talents—the ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that come naturally to you.
By Tony Rutigliano, Brian Brim for ChangeThis.com
What’s the Business You’re Selling, Exactly?
Starting a business is a BIG deal. Building it to become more than your hobby is even bigger again. In fact, building your business into an asset may result in it being possibly the largest asset you’ll ever own, or second maybe to your home, as discussed on Westpac’s Ruby Connection…
If trying to sell it is what you eventually want to do, then get strategic about WHAT it is you’ve got, how it is someone else could do it and therefore who that special someone might be that will love it as much as you once did. Think about it this way, would you put your home on the market without a little thinking and TLC-driven renovation first? so…
What is the “story” of your Business?
Why did you start it? Who was involved? Are they still with you? What happened to them? How is it legally structured ie Pty Ltd, partnership, sole-trader? Why the Business name? Is it registered? Any trademarks/patents? How long has it been going? Does it look today like you envisaged when you started? Is there still a need for what your Business does? And why? Why should someone love it like you once did?
The evolutionary history, as well as its current story, is all-important.
What does your Business sell?
List everything; not just the features, but the benefits to your consumers as well. Why do your consumers buy from you? Did your Business always do what it currently does? If not, what did it start out doing? What happened? Why did you stop? Why the change of direction? Why the current choice? What other options are open in your market that you haven’t done yet? Who else does what you do?
What financial records does your Business have? (eg: Tax Returns and BAS)
Profit – that’s what a buyer wants to know about. To “prove” that requires “real” paperwork, not just what you can pull out of a financial software package. ATO tax returns and submitted BAS’s, Certificates of Currency for insurances, and reports of any forecasting done is what they’re after. This paperwork is very important to a prospective buyer because that’s what they will base a lot of their “valuation” decisions on. These records provide evidence that your Business is a worthy asset.
Starting with the end in mind TODAY, regardless of how old your business is, means you can start to, slowly but surely, gather and assemble the answers to each one of these questions, to be able to convey to a potential buyer WHAT it is they are buying…
Next… Who?
Ready to SELL your Mother of a Business?…
“Beware The Business Sale Tsunami” says Michael Fingland for Business Essentials. Isn’t it about time you started to seriously think about what you’re doing with your Mother of a Business, and why you’re doing it?
If selling it as part of your “Super” is on your radar, then it’s time for you to seriously look at what you’ve got to sell. If you don’t like what you see, then best contact me on sell@theentrepreneurialmother.com and we can work through it together…
As the baby-boomer generation reaches retirement age, many thousands will be putting their businesses up for sale, or trying to persuade the next generation to take them on. Michael Fingland, of Vantage Performance, says there’ll be a veritable tsunami of businesses up for sale over the next five years – it will be a real buyers’ market.
Will you be ready?
This is definitely a path the entrepreneurial mother will be reviewing, and revisiting, with some regulatory over the coming months…
Learning from Lionel Logue, The King’s Speech…
The latest from aCE talentNET consultant Elliot Epstein of Salient Communication…
SPOILER ALERT:
If you haven’t seen the Geoffrey Rush/Colin Firth movie The King’s Speech yet, then I recommend you go and see it and be aware that this article will disclose its characters and plots.
The King’s Speech has some great lessons for us in how to sell as well as consult and advise senior level clients.
This true story revolves around two key characters, King George VI and Lionel Logue, an unorthodox Australian Speech Therapist.
The King reluctantly ascends the throne after his brother runs away with Mrs. Simpson (you remember the story or were you staring at that cute girl/boy in class when this piece of history was being taught).
The King has an awful stammer which is not a great presentation technique when you’re about to galvanise the nation with your words to face the onslaught of World War 2.
After feeble and failed attempts by so called ‘experts’ to remedy the King’s stammer, he is dragged by his wife (the late Queen Mother) to see the odd Antipodean, Lionel Logue.
Does any of this sound familiar so far? Companies that have tried in vain to solve important problems despite numerous attempts with four or five suppliers, suddenly arrive at your office. Now what do you do? read on…
