Being entrepreneurial-minded, my two prior business experiences pointed me to a successful sales career. Entrepreneurship teaches us both the upside and downside of business. Accordingly, I’m sharing the lessons that redirected my career:
#1 Party Planners
As I was about to graduate from college, the thought of a 9-5 job was not at all exciting. I wanted to be in business. At the time, people believed that women belonged either at home or in the classroom as a teacher. So when a friend asked me to partner in a party-giving business, I replied, ‘Yes!’Julia and I were a novelty at the time. We dared to begin a business without any experience. More astonishing is we did exceptionally well. Fear was the last thing on our minds as we were pursuing enjoyment in our work. We named the company ‘Details Details.’Enthusiasm and dedication to learning guide success.Our first attempt at hosting a party was on behalf of a well-known radio station. We secured a spot for the party at Universal Studios. On the glamorous side, within in a few months, we were featured in the Los Angeles Times, made the cover of Mademoiselle Magazine, and experienced great success.But then the reality of business taught us the hard lessons.There was a HUGE market drop, and that ended the desire of people putting on lavish parties. We learned the following year that the same radio station brought in coffee and doughnuts for their year-end celebration.
Lessons Learned: Create a business model that can withstand the ups and downs of the economy Learn new strategies from the worst experiences to improve your next move Continue to leverage the best methodsSeeking a job was my next order of business. It was fortunate to land one with an advertising agency headed by a remarkably talented owner. I paid close attention to his
insights into marketing, advertising, and writing.
#2 Words On the Go
As a stay-at-home Mom, someone suggested I create a word processing business to remain at home. Quick with typing, along with the enjoyment of meeting people in a variety of professions, I grasped onto the idea. Soon, I had
a thriving businessserving many types of professionals.I loved our initial meetings at their offices. The initial conversations allowed me to inquire about their work and how they chose their field. After the documents were typed, clients would come to my home office to review them. I offered coffee or a cold drink, and we chatted while enjoying the beverage together. Business organically evolved into a returning and referring clientele.But within a couple of years three problems with the business arose:
The hourly fee hit the acceptable maximum There were only so many hours per day I could sit and type In need of helping to pay for college, I was pointed to a career in sales.Being Entrepreneurial Minded Drives Sales
Entering Sales Being Entrepreneurial Minded
Management consistently told me I was wasting my time in attempting to build relationships with people as described above. The downside to the conversations was they turned into multiple meetings that required extra hours of time. But management failed to take a critical statistic into account.Relationship selling encourages the initial sale to multiply by way of repeat business, referrals, and testimonials. My sales pipeline was forever full.When people recognize you care about them, they begin to care about you.Pay attention to the advice of your sales trainers, but forego the scripts. Develop your unique approach and identify your unique brand.My interview,
‘How to qualify and warm a lead by connecting on a personal level’ is about sales and entrepreneurship. The host is Abdo Riani, Founder of StartupCircle, and serial entrepreneur.
Your Story About Being Entrepreneurial Minded
Being on the job requires you stick to the rules and follow all procedures. Unfortunately, for those who are entrepreneurial minded, it can feel as if there is a choke hold on us. If we do acknowledge who we are and our uniqueness, not all instruction works out well. Are you willing to be seemingly fearless?
Do You: Attempt what your intuition instructs Experiment with and tweak new approaches to improve results Build relationships simultaneously while building the business? Stop Selling and Ask Prospects for Their Advice:
What is your process for selecting a vendor? Will it be helpful if I were to meet with the department heads? What will it take to become your go-to source?Client appreciation arrives in the form of additional sales.Related:
The Question ‘Why’ Expands Your OpportunityIn your quiet time, check back for sales that went south and those that went exceedingly well. Compare and contrast your approach and procedures for each. Is there a commonality among the accounts that proved to be more successful?Convert the steps that work best for you into a habit and record the results. Upon confirming all is good, you will be well on your way for improved sales benefitting from the entrepreneurial mindset.
Sales Tips for Entrepreneurial Mindset
Learn the better strategies from both entrepreneurs and sales achievers Use the strategic sales training concepts but add your personal touch Get to know clientele before attempting to sell Ask prospects what they hold as most important Inquire as to how companies prefer to purchase Use both the poor and better experiences as a training ground Experiment with new ideas Determine what works best to date and set new goals Every six months review goal achievement and reset your stretch goal Celebrate Success! Today’s blog is provided to help you achieve the Smooth Sale!
