Top 10 Strategy Nine(for growing B2B business) - Get great at selling….overcome your "issues” with selling

When you wear your sales hat you are an agent of change. You

can help people move forward in a positive direction that is life-changing. If

you sell something that may not change people's lives, such as my client who

sells paper, plastic, and every type of bag - you may not feel that you are

changing companies or lives - but you CAN feel like you are an example of a

good, ethical, customer-focused business, which can also help change the world.

Learn about the positive aspects of selling - be a student

of communication and sales. Read books like the ones listed at Score More Sales.

When I was new in selling, I joined Toastmasters, which is a

wonderful organization for anyone looking to become a better speaker,

persuader, and/ or leader. I also attended numerous programs put on by various

motivational speakers and trainers. I read voraciously, and still do today. The

business owner or sales pro who thinks they know it all --- probably needs a

lot more help than the person who admits to knowing little.

For anyone having trouble selling because they think it is

manipulative or tricky - I would submit to you that you have not been around

true professional high integrity salespeople. What you don't like about selling

stems from examples from bad salespeople, and those slimy guys that give us all

a bad name. It gives us pounds of excess baggage to carry in with us when we

have a first meeting with some prospects. Get clear on what you don't like, and

then think about what you DO like about sales. I like exchanging dollars for knowledge

that helps companies succeed.

A

mainstay in selling is just learning about your prospective client. With real

interest, you ask powerful questions so that you can understand what their

business challenges are, or you see how they do business and make suggestions

that would improve their revenues, lower costs, or make the company a better

one. Then you simply follow up, ask new questions, and become an agent of

change with recommendations that will improve your prospect's company. If you

cannot add value, a consultative professional will say so, and can often

recommend other ideas to help the company anyway. To me, this is a very

admirable role in business. What could be better?