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by Renee Fellows

February 18, 2008— Small business owners are responsible for every aspect of their business and that includes sales. You may be the sales manager in charge of several sales people or the only sales person for the company. What happens if selling isn’t your strong suit?

Selling is like any other personal skill. It takes training and practice to become really proficient. Not everyone was born to be a sales person, but when you’re running a small business, the sales hat goes to you along with purchasing, bookkeeper, human resources, production, and marketing. Where should you begin? First and foremost, admit that you’re a sales person. Denial isn’t going to increase your sales, so just admit it, you’re a sales person and you might as well just roll up those sleeves and get down to work.

Believe in yourself and your product.

If you truly believe in and love the product you’re selling, the message will be delivered loud and clear to your potential customer. If you’re having a hard time articulating the reasons why your product is superior, take some time to write a list of features and benefits. Then write a comparison of your product or service against your chief competitors. Now you are armed with facts and can defend your position! Talk to customers about benefits and focus less on features. Customers want to know how your product or service will make their lives easier and better. That doesn’t mean don’t focus on quality. A high quality product can easily translate into customer benefits with features of longer lifespan, ease of use, and durability.

Overcome your fear of failure – fast.

You don’t have time to worry about bruising your ego. If you’re going to make your business a success you need to develop a tough skin. It’s not easy to face rejection and it’s especially difficult if you’re not only the business owner but the artist who created the item in the customer’s hands. It’s doubly hard to overhear comments like, “That green is hideous! What was she thinking?” when you’re standing right behind the counter. Take what they say with a grain of salt and keep smiling. Not everyone is going to like everything in your product line and that’s just the way it is.

Don’t price yourself out of business.

Unlike more traditional businesses, artisans often price their product too low. They’re so thrilled that someone wants to buy what they’ve created that they low-ball the price to what they think the customer might pay. What’s the right price? Standard retail formulas suggest doubling the base cost of your merchandise. The formula doesn’t work as well for hand-made items because of the time the crafter has put into its conception and production. That’s where good marketing comes into play. To charge what you need to keep your business running means that you need to present the quality, value and unique selling proposition (USP) for your product. Think of some of the most price-demanding brands in the market. Why do consumers pay top dollar for their products? They pay it because the brand has a reputation for quality, performance, and unique design.

Know your perfect customer.

The key to developing a solid brand and marketing strategy is to know your market. Steadfast rule number one – business ownership and the product are not about you. That’s right, as difficult and far-fetched as that concept may seem, your business and your products aren’t all about you. Good business is about your customers’ desires, values and wallets. To be an effective entrepreneur, you must give up any notion that your business was built to singly serve your needs. Did you go into business because you loved making bracelets? While that’s a lovely thought, it doesn’t mean anything to your customers unless that love translates to a passion for teaching others to make bracelets too. If that’s the case, then channel your passion into teaching. Charge for the classes and you’ll not only win over the customer but establish a long-term relationship with them.

If you discover that your love for making bracelets is the only reason that you went into business, then you need to spend some time doing some serious introspection. Decide if you truly wish to have a business and not a hobby. Should you choose business ownership, then we’re on to the next step – taking a long hard look at your product line. Is it priced appropriately? Are you making a profit off each item? Which items aren’t selling well or which ones are selling like crazy but costing you twice as much to produce? Again, these can be difficult decisions because you and your clients may love an especially complicated bracelet, but it just isn’t cost effective to keep it in the product line.

Friendly Faces Sell More

It’s hard to believe how many small business owners don’t have a positive attitude with their customers. Any trial or tribulation that has occurred during their day seems to ricochet to the unsuspecting customer standing before them. How many times have you gone into your favorite hobby shop only to be confronted with a grumpy or worse yet, angry owner venting about their bad day? The business owner has forgotten the golden rule of business ownership: without the customer there would be NO business.

People buy your product or service because it fulfills a need. Whether the need is emotional (i.e. ‘I love that necklace’) or logical (“I need a new dishwasher”) remember that your job is to address how your product will meet and exceed that customer’s needs and expectations.

Don’t forget to close the deal.

If you’ve ever bought a big ticket item like a car, you’ve experienced ‘the closing’. That’s where the sales rep heads into the ‘back office’ to talk to his boss about your offer. What really happens back there? Are they discussing the latest Red Sox trade? Sometimes, but most of the time they’re discussing strategy. What will it take to get you into that car or to make the offer that will be accepted by the homeowner? They’re considering your breaking point, how much more they can get you to negotiate, and how desperate you are to have this deal work on this day. Go shopping for a high priced item and study how the sales person ‘works the deal’ on you. Study her technique, the way she small talks with you to learn your hot buttons, budget and urgency level. Once you’re wearing that pretty little red dress, sparkly engagement ring, or sitting in that luxury SUV, you’re hooked. This little trick is called ‘taking mental ownership’ of the product. Once you’ve pictured yourself using the product in question, it’s a short trip to ownership.

You don’t need to become a slick and sleazy sales person in order to implement some of these strategies in a very subtle way. Why use them at all? Because they work. And the more comfortable you become with the psychology of selling, the more successful you will be.

If you are still at a loss for how to promote your products in a way that will translate into increased sales consider taking a course. Companies like Dale Carnegie are well known throughout the business world for their top notch sales training programs. While they may be a little pricey (around $2,000) think of it as an investment in the long term success of your business.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can increase sales for your small business, talk with a Fidicual Advisor by calling 866-FIDUCIAL or visit the web site at www.Fiducial.com.

Renee Fellows is the owner of ClearPoint Marketing Communications in Derry , New Hampshire . She works with small business clients to develop marketing and public relations strategies that bring business and customers closer together. She can be reached at 603-434-9433 or via email at Rfellows@oneclearpoint.com .

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