"Far too many people are held back by their fear that they are not a born salesperson," says Deborah Meaden, the businessperson currently promoting her book on how to run a business. The fear of selling is the fear of being told No. It is the fear of having to push something unwonted on people. It is the fear that a No is a rejection of you. Meaden's solution is to say that if people are as passionate about what they do as they should be "it follows that they can't help but sell their dream to other people". What she recognises is that it is good to look at the "sale" from a different perspective so that what is important is not whether the person liked you or the product but whether they enjoyed the experience of the sale. People like to be asked for their custom because it gives them power, the power to say yes or no. Selling face-to-face requires you to have good knowledge of what you are selling, a belief in your product (or services) and the ability to listen. Even if the shopper says no, you need to find out what they do want. Coaching yourself and your team on the benefits of what your business sells is a weekly task that all good businesses need to do all the time.
True in part to my New Year resolution, I held a business meeting in an independent coffee shop today just next door to a Starbucks. The cafe was presented well and four staff were busy preparing for the lunchtime rush, at 11am. As my guests were late, I had a half hour overview of footfall on the street outside and in the restaurant. Six customers. Barely enough to form the queue in Starbucks or Pret-a-Manger just down the road. Plus one Italian girl who dropped off her CV. Some people stopped to look at the posters in the window and moved on. The owners seemed quite happy. When I left just after 1215, they were doing brisk trade. However, I have the impression that the business is not working hard enough. It could easily have managed 120 customers between 11 and 12, instead of 12. This is lost profit as the fixed overheads and staff costs are already in place. The owners are clearly busy - perhaps too busy to take time to look at the potential that their cafe has. What shou...
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