An introverted entrepreneur? Yes, they exist. Not all people love selling all the time. But as a startup founder, that’s usually part of the job description, at least at first.
We asked 11 successful entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) for practical advice on how to make peace with their new, unofficial role as chief salesperson. Their best advice is below:
1. Understand Sales
Understanding sales is important and will let you explore ways to offset your inability or dislike of sales. It may not be that you hate to sell as much as you hate the traditional method of sales in your industry. Here are some tips that helped me (an extreme introvert):
- Choose to network and do lunches and coffees. One-on-one or one-on-two is always better for me then trying to “work a room.”
- Hire a business development guy. This is our “relationship starter.” Once a conversation gets into a specific project, we’ll bring other people into the conversation.
- Create, track, reward and update fans. Are there non-competitive allies in your same space selling to the same group? See if they are open to an affiliate relationship.
- Get over it. Sometimes you have to make the cold call.
2. Don’t Expect an Immediate ‘Yes’
The biggest strategic shift I took in my current approach to sales was not actually expecting I would get anything. It sounds silly, but I’ve found if you are flexible and open with your leads instead of over the top and persistent, you will have better results.This is especially good advice for an entrepreneur who hates to sell. The moment you can shift your perspective on sales away from selling, you can realize you are just having a nice conversation about your work and the whole experience will become a lot more comfortable. Don’t expect an immediate “yes,” and you will be pleasantly surprised by how many you will get.
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