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