When most people start a business, they are great at providing their service but are seldom good at marketing and sales. For any business to be successful, they need a successful sales strategy in place.
“The key to a thriving business is sales,” says Ben Lai, founder of the sales training agency, Sales Ethos. “Ironically, I wasn’t very good at sales when I first started out,” he says. “When the ‘product’ is you, your self-image plays a big part in your effectiveness… And mine wasn’t very good at the beginning!”
Fast forward a few years and the former nurse is now an in-demand sales coach amongst individuals and organisations. Below, Ben outlines 3 of the biggest sales mistakes new business owners make.
Mistake #1: Setting your prices too low
So many individuals either don’t know how or are too scared, to charge what they are worth. When you set your prices too low, it not only hurts your profitability but also lowers potential clients’ perception of your service.
Your ideal clients will likely think “if it’s that cheap, it can’t be very good!” Charging less can also attract more demanding clients or those not within your ideal customer avatar.
Therefore, do your research on what market rates are and how you differ. When starting out, you may choose to be 10-20% cheaper than competitors, but don’t charge any less than that.
Mistake #2: Making the sale all about yourself
Whenever you are reaching out to new clients, avoid the temptation to focus solely on yourself. Ironically, most entrepreneurs don’t actually want to do this; but they just don’t know what else to do.
Instead, flip the script – start conversationally and ask your prospects questions about their business before saying anything about yourself. This works great for marketing copy as well. Most websites are boring because they only talk about themselves rather than how they can solve a prospect’s problems.
When writing any marketing or sales copy, try to put yourself in your clients’ shoes. Ask yourself questions such as; What do they care about? What are their pains? How can you help them?
Mistake #3: Hiring someone else to sell for you
Since many entrepreneurs believe they can’t sell, they try to hire someone to do it for them. The raw truth is that no one will sell your product better than you. Your product or service is your ‘baby’, and one you know better than the back of your hand. If you can’t set an example for your hire on how to sell your product, they are destined to fail.
Add to this that ‘sales management’ is a skill on its own. Many great salespeople make poor sales managers! The best strategy is to learn to sell yourself. Once you have the confidence to do it well yourself, you can pass your system to your new hire.
Avoid making these 3 common mistakes with your business by using Ben’s tips above. To learn more from Ben, or to work with him and the Sales Ethos team, visit their YouTube Channel or book a complimentary consultation here.
