This is one reason why volumes of books and articles have been written on the topic of selling. If you’re looking to build sales skills for entrepreneurs, here are some of the Tech Park’s favorite articles:
Hubspot’s Graphical Summary of How to Win Friends and Influence People
The Dale Carnegie’s legendary sales manual book is the best of its time – and possibly of today. It’s an easy read, and follows a quasi-listicle format like a blog post.
Still, if you don’t have time to read 214 pages, Hubspot’s blog has a brilliant graphical and heavily formatted version that will condense your reading time to mere minutes. By reading the guide, you’ll understand why it’s so important to remember other peoples’ names, why you should never argue, and how to make others feel like they are the important. Once you earn the trust of others, they’ll be much more willing to buy.
Entreprenuer.com’s 6 Steps to the Perfect Pitch
Sales pitches aren’t just for Shark Tank competitions and elevator rides. The most successful entrepreneurs are always pitching. It becomes a second nature.
So make sure your pitch is spot-on, and that you are constantly improving it. Use Entrepreneur.com’s six guidelines to help you.
According to Entrepreneur.com, these steps make the perfect pitch:
- Keep it short
- Use facts and figures, not ideas and hypotheses
- Make sure your revenue projections are realistic
- Show frugality
- Have a realistic timeline
- Don’t try to conceal weaknesses or threats
Piperliner CRM Blog’s Why Questions Matter in Selling – A Synopsis of SPIN Selling
When selling, many people focus solely on what they should say, and how they should say it.
But a better approach might be, What should I ask? Because according to the author of Spin Selling Neil Rackam, what you ask is more important than what you state. By asking the right questions, you can get the prospect to not only understand the value, but also to arrive at a conclusion on their own.
Piperline Sales has a great synopsis of Spin Selling for those who don’t have time for a full book. Probably the most important information to remember in Spin Selling is the four categories of questions to ask:
- SITUATION questions
- PROBLEM questions
- IMPLICATION questions
- NEED-PAYOFF questions
(Notice the acronym in the bolded letters – SPIN.)
Forbes’ The Five Sales Tactics Every Entrepreneur Must Master
It’s great to have a well-rounded sales skillset, but some sales skills for entrepreneurs are more important than others, according to Forbes.
Here are the five skills, which have been re-worded as sales tips:
- No one wants to buy your product; they want to buy your help.
- Referrals are your lifeblood.
- Get used to cold calling.
- Know what a pain point is and how to find it.
- Network often– and know how to use your network.
Selling takes practice, but it’s something almost everyone can do. Entrepreneurs should practice constant improvement in sales skills; it’ll pay huge returns in the long run.
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