Entrepreneurs as Salespeople

Entrepreneurs have long been seen as innovators, inventors, those who add value and to a great extent those who orchestrate the factors of production. Well, the value creation part in the process of surely important but what is needed is to market and sell this value proposition in the market to the prospective buyers. It is highly recommended that entrepreneurs should accept the fact in early stages of the entrepreneurship process that they are primarily salespersons. Sooner they accept this fact, better it is for them to succeed in their ventures. The fact is very simple, if someone is in business, he/she is in sales. Unquestionably, there are many secrets of succeeding in small business in the initial phase of the start up, but the selling knowledge and selling skills is at the top of this list of secrets.

Some of the selling skills required are: sales presentations, selling skills, objection handling and negotiation. One can not forget importance of timely follow-ups and courtesy calls which are essential part of relationship building in sales and business. It is worth time spending on this activity, especially if the entrepreneur is in the B2B business. Ability to generate references also helps entrepreneurs to generate more business. Referral business does not incur more of sales and marketing expenses and surely references changes the way customer profitability looks. This skill becomes utmost important during the downturns and recessionary situations, since the buyers want to be sure of what they are buying and also confident about from whom they are buying. There are many ways to succeed and sell more in small business. Some of them are pretty simple to do and practice on daily basis. These tactics not only improve the visibility of the small business but also increase the opportunities for new business.

One of the easiest and cost effective ways is to hand over at least three to five business cards to the potential customers or may be to those who can give the references in future. Business cards look better in the card folder of customers and not in an entrepreneur’s card holder. Second way to market the business is to call at least five individuals every day; this people could be the existing customers, friends, potential references or the prospects. The friendly talk leads to some of the sales leads and finally new opportunities are discovered in this way. For those who can not reach the existing customers or prospective customers, e-mails work well; provided there is something to share with them which is of use and interest to them, may be new product launch, may be new schemes, or simply the awards and accolades received in the past. Writing a personal note with some thoughtful gift as a token of appreciation and a thank you to an existing customer also has great impact. Finally, meeting one person per day and discussing with him about what business you are in and what you do, how you do and how your customers appreciate your efforts creates a group of advocates and canvassers for your small business with a better credibility. Ultimately, relationship is what matters in the business, marketing and sales.

Dr. Rajiv Joshi

Associate Sr. Faculty, EDI

Communication Skills for Entrepreneurs

It is said that you are what you communicate and how you communicate. The way an individual communicates reveals a lot about his/her personality. Though, it looks like a cliché that a good communication matters because it is the ability to communicate the idea that decides whether the idea is good or bad, it needs to be reemphasized. Especially, for start ups and entrepreneurs communication matters a lot, since in the initial years of the start up, it is the communication of an individual which becomes decisive in many aspects of entrepreneurial process, be it souring finance, getting new customers for business, convincing the bankers or venture capitalists or roping in talent to manage the business.

Well, what is needed in terms of learning about business communication for entrepreneurs is beyond writing reports, memos or the summaries. What is truly needed for the entrepreneurs in communication is how to make an effective argument in the business setting? How to identify key points for effective communication? And very important how to create and deliver engaging presentations that create impact? There is a need to develop communication skills to engage an audience that could be distracted, busy or may not pay attention to what the person wants to say. Without these skills, it becomes very difficult to sell the initial ideas or project to an entrepreneur.

The skill needed is the ability to communicate and present a complex argument or proposition in a concise and succinct manner. The ability to manage both planned and unplanned presentation and discussions comes very handy to the entrepreneurs in different situations, especially in the initial days of start up phase. Ability to communicate with people at all levels and also the flair to adjust the communication style to suit the situation is one of the most important skills for entrepreneurs. However, it is very important to structure and compose ideas before they are presented. KISS principle – keep it short and simple surely helps, but one can also look at other basic principles like; be brief and to the point, prioritize the points, use persuasive and convincing language and finally ensure that the communication has enough flexibility to absorb any kind of change needed in the delivery. However, in a business setting, the most important principle for effective communication is the sequencing of the thought process or the arrangement of ideas; be it a power point presentation, a covering letter, an introductory letter or a proposal.

The sequencing of the ideas and creating the arguments to support the principal idea is what separates an effective communication from the ineffective and so the effective entrepreneurs from the ineffective entrepreneurs. Some people have found Minto Pyramid principle developed by Barabara Minto very useful for effective communication. The Minto Pyramid model of the communication is based on the foundation that there should be a main theme in any communication at the top, that can be supported by the group of ideas and finally it should be reinforced by the facts, data and other logical arguments and thus any communication would have three tier approach and making it like a pyramid. Using this simple yet very effective way, entrepreneurs can surely develop any communication a project proposal or a power point presentation, both written as well as verbal for enhancing their effectiveness.

Leading entrepreneurship education, research and training institutes like Entrepreneurship Development Institute, India have always understood the importance of developing such skills and it has been included in the mainstream curriculum for long duration programs. Besides communication skills, other important business skills like negotiation skills are considered as key business skill at Entrepreneurship Development Institute, India.

Dr. Rajiv Joshi

Associate Sr. Faculty, EDI