Business Development is Sales in Disguise

By: Liz Wendling, CWCC Member

Like it or not, we are all in sales!  This message is not only for people who are in traditional “sales” this is for everyone who has anything to sell.   Well, that pretty much means all of us, otherwise why are we in business?  Not embracing this hard fact, especially in this economy, can cost you your business.  Common sense will tell you that without participating in business development and selling you will not have a business for too long.  Eighty percent of small business owners fail over a five year period, but worse, seventy percent fail in the first 12 months due to “lack of money.”

We hear these statistics over and over again but the question is, “why do we allow this dynamic to continue?”  Most business owners are specialists in their field and never learn the art of selling like a true business professional.  For many, they do not want to learn to sell so they use these excuses “I don’t want to be pushy,” “I’m just not good at sales,” or “I’m not a salesperson.”  These are complete nonsense and using any of them will keep you exactly where you are right now.  Here is my new favorite quote: It doesn’t matter where you are; it matters where you’re going!

I regularly encounter entrepreneurs and even midsize companies that believe producing a quality product or service is enough and they refuse to believe they have to sell it.  Reality is, not changing your mindset about sales and selling will be fatal to your business.  If you do not want to call it sales, call it business development.  Either way it means the same thing for your business; sale or no sale, thriving or surviving.

Smart sales people and enlightened business owners already recognize that their “product” is only part of the sales process and that selling is actually just a “value exchange”.   They realize that even knowing the basics of sales conversation gives them a significant advantage over their competitors.

Some business owners are coming late to the game because they had no clue they needed to know how to sell.  Good news….it’s not too late to create immediate change and grow your business.  If you want to survive in this rapidly changing marketplace, you need to learn how to sell and become more comfortable with the sales process, because all business (including yours) is sustained through the generation of revenue and is dependent upon sales transactions.

A true professional sales person or business owner who really wants his or her business to succeed will train, train and train to learn the art of selling well.

Stop whining, start winning and get over it; we are all selling something!  Everyone needs support, everyone needs a guide and mentor and the smartest business people in the world all have coaches and mentors.  What have you got to lose? (I think you know the answer to that)

Liz Wendling, The Sales Coach for Women specializes in teaching women business owners, entrepreneurs and business leaders how to prosper by overcoming the fear and anxiety inherent in sales. Liz empowers women to be confident and strong in the sales process and shows them what it really takes to make sales fun, stress-free and profitable.  www.salescoachforwomen.com