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Tips to help avoid common mistakes in By Steve Burns, Capital News contributor Most entrepreneurs will readily admit, even if they had to learn this in the school of hard knocks, that cash is definitely king in any small business. As one entrepreneur recently commented to me “it is tough in my business to keep my eyes on all of the balls that I need to juggle in a day. “But I definitely, always keep my eyes on cash flow.” Perhaps it is obvious to all of us but one of the key weaknesses of many small businesses is the process leading up to cash flow—sales. How is your small business doing on the sales side? Survival in this competitive business world means that you must have an effective sales process for your company's product or services. Survival also means that you cannot afford to make the same sales mistakes over and over again. While there are many sales models, methodologies and techniques to choose from, from my perspective there are four simple “mistakes” that small businesses make in their sales process. Poor planning Just because you run a small business doesn't mean that you can afford to “wing it” in your sales process. In fact, the opposite is true. If you want potential customers to take you seriously, then you need to be prepared for every sales opportunity. For instance, have you thought through what you plan to tell a potential customer about your product or service? What is your value proposition and what differentiates you from your competition? Take the time to develop a crisp outline of all of the benefits that you can offer, then do your homework on your prospective customer. The more you know about the company and their needs, the more tailored you can make the presentation and the greater your chances of success. Not listening I was evaluating a dry run of a sales presentation last week and, like so many other presentations that I have been through, 90 per cent of the time was spent with the seller “talking” to the buyer. I know that if you are selling your company, especially if you are the founder, that you are excited about the tremendous benefits your company has to offer and think that it is so obvious as to why they should purchase from you—in fact, it is a no-brainer it is so obvious to you. However, don't fall into the trap of thinking that your role is to blab on forever about how wonderful you are and the potential customer's role is to listen to your presentation and ask questions at the end. Ask probing questions throughout your presentation and let your potential customer tell you what their needs are. Admit where you have capability and where you don't and be honest about your sincere desire to have their business. In short, take the time to listen to your potential customer. As Stephen Covey so aptly put it “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” There is nothing more annoying than someone who is so zealous about selling you something that they are ignoring your needs. Not asking for the sale While you may not be a professional sales person, all too often we forget about the simple step about asking your potential customer to take you up on your offer. By not asking for the sale, you may be missing a huge opportunity. However, as long as you are not pushy about it, you will obtain instant feedback on their readiness to make a decision and what the potential barriers are to moving forward. Being impatient Just because you were not able to close the sale with the customer immediately, doesn't mean that everything was a waste of time. Yes, cash is king but it is just as important to keep your sales funnel flowing by keeping excellent track of your sales leads, their status and to keep in touch with potential customers you have presented to. Keeping in touch with potential customers over time has proven to be one of the most effective methods for increasing your sales and steadying your cash flow. By not keeping in touch with the company or individual, you are sending a strong message that you perhaps are desperate and only interested if they are ready to pull the trigger and purchase something from you. Perhaps the timing is not right for the company to purchase now, but it could be within a year. In summary, take the time to re-evaluate your sales processes and ensure that your company is doing all it can to generate and track it's sales efforts. If not properly addressed, a broken sales process will result in cash flow problems, which may be too late to fix. Steve Burns is the president and CEO of Burns Innovation Group Inc.
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