….you learn to sell something you believe in.
By Greg Winteregg, CEO
I hope you aren’t too disappointed.
You might not be too excited about my opinion, but look around at the most successful people you know and you’ll see that they are good at selling something i.e. products, services, themselves and their personality etc.
Executives also make a lot of money. They can organize things and get others to do the work; but aren’t they really selling when they are promoting their vision of the company to other businesses and their employees?
So, my observation is that Sales Reps and Executives make the most money. The tech developers can also do very well if they get their idea patented, but then they need Sales Reps and Executives to make the money for them if they can’t actually sell.
If you can’t sell or be an executive, don’t even consider owning your own business.
About the only TV I watch are athletic contests. I really don’t have much interest in the rest of the programming, but there is one show I watch whenever I can—Shark Tank.
In case you haven’t seen it, there are five successful millionaire/billionaire types who are on the stage lined up as a panel. An entrepreneur strides in front of them to pitch their product or service in the hopes of getting one of the members of the panel to invest their own money in the proposed venture and become instant partners. They are pitching their product or service to some of the most successful ‘sharks’ on the planet. Sometimes they land the shark, but sometimes they end up as shark bait.
There is one major distinction between those who land a deal and those who end up consumed by the sharks and sometimes embarrassed: IT’S THE ABILITY TO SELL. It’s not important to close only the sharks on a deal, but the sharks also look at how much product they have sold before walking on that stage.
Maybe you have already figured this out, but notice the pattern the next time you watch. The hopeful entrepreneur has a great logo; they’re usually wearing it. The product is professionally presented. They have a number they present as to what it would take to invest in their venture.
The sharks start asking lots of questions to find out more about the product or service. This goes on for about five to ten minutes. Then someone asks the question that will determine if they land a shark or become shark bait:
What are your sales?
All of the hopefuls are very dedicated to their endeavor and working incredibly hard; often times sacrificing everything to put into their venture. Some have put all of their life’s savings into the venture and borrowed money from relatives and friends. But watch the reaction of the sharks when they reveal their actual sales numbers.
If after many years they still don’t have enough sales to break even, the sharks will definitely react in disbelief with raised eyebrows or an incredible ‘are you kidding me?!’ look. They’re dead at that point. Some of the sharks are pretty polite as they decline and others aren’t but it’s just a matter of minutes before the hopeful walks off the stage dejected and hurt.
But what happens if they have enough sales to be profitable, quit their job and have a deal for their product to be placed in Home Depot? Then the sharks turn on each other and try to make the best offer because THEY WANT IN! Sometimes two or three team up to make a better offer against the others. And the hopeful entrepreneur sits back and watches some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world argue about who gets a share of their business. What’s the difference?
It’s the ability to sell.
I’m sorry if I’m bursting your bubble, but I’m just being honest. And trying to save you a lot of money and heartache. But the sales profession doesn’t have the best of reputations. Nobody wants to be that “used car salesman.”
However, before you sink into utter apathy, I can teach you and almost anyone how to sell a product or service they believe in—this is the real world, not Disney World, so nothing is 100%.
The solution is to do our free online course, read the Matterhorn blogs, watch our videos and LEARN. You can do this with just a little bit of free time at night and here’s the best part: a lot of our material is FREE and PUBLIC. You really can achieve all of your goals and dreams, but you MUST learn how to SELL.
Sure, some are born with this ability. I wasn’t. I had to learn. And this is a skill that can be learned just like riding a bike can be learned. Yes, you will sometimes end up with skinned knees (I still have the scars) and a bloody nose. Persistence, having a good teacher, and the right data will eventually lead to success.
CONTACT US
For more Matterhorn, follow us on Facebook, and make sure you subscribe to us on YouTube.
