The one in charge of customers is in charge of the business.
Go to 5 companies and ask them where they have the biggest challenge. I guarantee you that at least 4, if not all 5, will answer that selling is the hardest part.
Sales is the toughest aspect of business. Period.
Sales is the toughest aspect of business. Period. Of course, in the case of development companies, development is equally demanding. But generally speaking, sales are the most challenging. This is also the reason why salespeople are so well paid. Often, they have variable payment contracts, which means they are paid based on their success. In fact, salespeople are like hunters in a way.
Salespeople are like hunters in a way.
When I worked as a salesperson for one of the pharmaceutical companies, my sales manager told me in a speech that we salespeople are the tip of the spear.
Dedicate at least 50% of your time to sales.
So, the first piece of advice is to dedicate at least 50% of your time as a businessperson to sales and marketing. Especially at the beginning, when you’re starting a company, entrepreneurs often fall in love with the idea and spend most of their time perfecting the product. Meanwhile, they should be spending a lot of time on sales. I’ve also experienced spending over half a year researching a specific industry and improving a product, but when it was time to sell, I didn’t have a single customer. I somehow kept myself in a world of dreams, which isn’t realistic.
Asking your parents if they would buy your product is not realistic.
Another piece of advice for those starting their business journey – asking your parents and friends if they would buy your product is not realistic. It’s only real when you have people in front of you who take money out of their pockets and pay. Only that counts as confirmation that the market wants your product.
The second piece of advice
The second piece of advice is to continuously educate yourself. Read books about sales, watch videos about sales, and study other companies and salespeople – in other words, look for good examples and best practices. Copy and adapt what you find useful.
The third piece of advice
The third piece of advice – start building a sales system. At some point, as your company grows, you will need more people to take care of sales and marketing. Therefore, it’s important to start building a sales system as soon as you have a product that the market wants.
The fourth piece of advice
The fourth piece of advice. I read this in a sales book. If you have a good sales and marketing system, more input into sales should mean more realized sales. Specifically, let’s say you’re advertising on social media. If your creative is good and the market wants your product, then more investment in marketing should bring in proportionally more revenue. If this is not the case, it’s time to ask yourself whether you have a problem on the product side or the marketing side. This is a pretty tough question to answer, but through experimentation and rational thinking, you’ll find the answer.
In conclusion – sales is king. As a businessperson, your main job is to sell. No one in your company is more responsible for sales than you are.
