subject: Finally Revealed - The True Secrets To Success In Business! [print this page] All right, young and/or new entrepreneurs, I'd like to let you in on one helluva business secret - gather round, quick, quick! It is an extremely important secret that can have a most profound impact on your small business success, or it's failure.
Let's start by asking a simple question...Do you enjoy sales?
Truth is that when many small business owners are asked this question, they respond with answers like, "No way" or "I can't stand sales, let someone else do it."
Why do we have to make such a fuss about how you answer the question above? No doubt you have seen headlines like the following, which glorify how easy and simple it is to succeed in business.
"The Ultimate Lazy Way To Start Your Own Business"
"Earn Billions of Dollars Just By Sitting Down In Your Undies, Counting The Stars!"
"Sleeping - The Wave of the Future, Your Key To Millions!"
Everybody wants a million bucks, which means there are countless individuals trying to put the adage "there's a sucker born every minute" to the test. Does success in business actually work this way? In cartoons, it might. Is it realistic? Not in our lifetimes!
There are no ifs nor buts about it, if you want to run a successful business over a period of time, it all depends on how well you can sell your product. It doesn't get any simpler than that. It's your call - sell your product, resell somebody else's product, sell your services, sell anything you think is profitable. Your skills and willingness to market your product would determine whether you end up in absolute triumph or abject tragedy. Business people who don't enjoy sales have little chance, if any, of succeeding in the business world.
The prevailing attitude of many rubes, er, new business owners who are just starting out is that they have such an awesome product that can sell itself on its own. Come on, there's no way John Q. or Mary S. from Podunk, Arizona wouldn't want to buy something so legen...wait for it...dary, right? Why, it's as if God Himself wants the product to sell!
Well, here's a hard truth about sales - you ready? It will take 5-7 sales attempts to close 80% of your sales. You bet your last dollar that's correct. It would really take 5 to 7 attempts before most people will be willing to part with their money and make that purchase. A one-off advertisement or a half-hearted sales pitch to a random fellow on the street is NOT, and I repeat, NOT an effort. The moment you wave the white flag upon hearing that crushing monosyllable that starts with an N and ends with an O, you are opening the doors for other businesses to capitalize on your lack of tenacity and gain a potential customer you just lost.
Too many business people have overly lofty expectations in terms of sales, but the truth is, and you might as well accept the hard truth, that great sales don't happen overnight - it could sometimes take years! In most cases you may have to do a lot of fine tuning on your advertising campaigns, from the website, the sales pitch, right down to the product itself. It is dogged determination and patience that separates the dilettantes from the truly dedicated, successful business owners.
In summation, if you want to be successful in business, and that means ALL types of business, you have to be skilled and ready to sell, sell, sell, even sell in your sleep if that's what it takes!
