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"building a business is like building a house, all the pieces can be in place but if your aim is a little off, instead of nailing it you some times hit your thumb" mcw 2015
All transaction involve a sale. either you are selling or are going to be sold.
The sale dosen't start till the first no.
10 no's a day will make your pay.
Any one can say no, only the right person can say yes.
Whoo boy .... as a builder i can really relate to " Building a business is like building a house." :)
It's a patient,methodical, step by step process. There's an order of operations for building it. For example: It wouldn't make sense to build the roof before you built the walls.
It takes time ....Rome wasn't built in a day....it will take time to build a business as well.
Every house needs a foundation as does every business. If it's built on a solid foundation the house will endure. If it's built on a poor foundation, the structure above will collapse under it's own weight. Ask yourself ....what are the founding principles of your business ?
Correct your mistakes along the way. As a young apprentice i was taught that errors have a way of compounding themselves. That an error of 1/2" at the foundation would compound itself up through the walls of the structure. By the time it came to put on the roof the peak would be 8" off. That causes a real problem when it comes time to bring everything together.
In business, it's important to recognize the learning mistakes you made when you were first starting out. Don't keep making the same errors again & again. The bigger you get ....the more those mistakes will cost you.
It might sound a little preachy but build something that will endure. Take the long view of things, make a consistent effort, leave the get rich quick schemes & the greed to somebody else.
Go into it with the expectation that it will be lots n lots of hard work and you won't be disappointed.
WAY OFFA THE TOPIK!!!
Umh, Scrappah.....
I hate to say this, but,
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I, unh, have been known to build my farm shacks by building the floor, then building the roof on the floor. Then lift it aside and then build and put up the walls....
Jon.
I totally get it Jon.
It's rough carpentry ! For the life of me .... i just can't get it to come together that way.
Funny story: Years back i had a customer that was adamant that old buildings should not be torn down. I went through the works of hell to save an old building on his property & convert it to a living space. Nearly collapsed on me halfway through the job.
The following year his next door neighbor hired me to tear an old place down & replace it with something shiny & new.
That really bothered the guy with strong opinions about such things. He wanted to save the building and move it on to his property for safekeeping. When i explained that the floor had rotted out and it had chased two feet up the walls he said:
That's no problem .... just cut off the rotted part and move the rest.
ETA: Sorry for the sidetrack OldGent.
Now .... back to business ! :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by olddude
I knew an old salesman that would say "The only reason a customer says no is because I have not fully explained to them why then really need it"
Ummm .... i've got to disagree some. My impression of sales is that the harder you chase a thing the harder it runs from you. The customers can smell "commission breath" on you from a mile away.
You have to be patient and let them come to you. People have their pride. If you try to bullywrangle them into buying something they will resist you every step of the way. It's like paddling up stream.
On the other hand .... if they think it's their idea they will spend all kinds of money to get the thing they want. You've got the wind at your back and it's an effortless process.
I think it's about remembering your place. The customer is always the boss. You are there to provide service to them.
I'm reminded of the old adage: " You can have just about anything you want .... if you're willing to help enough people get what they want."
When I was a corporate sales rep. I was told that the most successful salesmen are told no 9 times out of 10. My experience has proved this to be accurate. It means you have to be good and persistent. Mike
I totally get that point of view. Be persistent and bend the customer to your will. It comes from the wordview of a dominant personality. There's a lot of that kind in business. It's especially so in banking & finance. The so called " Masters of the Universe" and all. There might be something to it. " Fortune Favors the Bold ! ".
Other folks would simply say that they don't like pushy salesmen.
IDK ... My eldest son was in GM's top 3% of the sales force when he was selling cars. He's pretty moderate with a focus more on service and a keen understanding of the psychology of his customers. He had a good knack for closing the sale. Depending on the customer he would either be dominant and push it through -or-be sanguine and let the sale close itself.
Nowadays it's more about excellence in service. He bought a business 24 months ago and has been working his a$$ off. As of today he had officially increased the monthly gross by 300%. His operating expenses are under 30% and he's pulling down some pretty serious money.
He's really kicking the stuffing out of his competition.
He's not mild mannered and passive in sales but neither is he overbearing. It's more that he's doing an outstanding job and he keeps getting new clients that were referred to him by his existing clients.