Invest in Yourself

To build a successful business you MUST invest. There is no getting around this. Go half at it or cut corners and I will show you a half business with lots of mistakes and a date of doom.

It's OK to invest in yourself and your business through education, tools to make your work easier, etc. Try and find even one successful business out there that has had zero dollars ever invested in it. There aren't many. You have to invest in business cards, classes, and sacrifice. There is no such thing as fast money and you do nothing to earn it.

Invest in yourself and others will invest in you as well. They will see the time and money invested because you took the time to invest in yourself lending to your success. You will be knowledgeable, prepared, organized.

You will have to learn new skills and habits. Just like when you became a mom for the first time. You learned new skills and habits you never thought you could. You realized that you have a lot to learn and change in order to be a good mother. This is the same in business. You learn new skills to be a better business person and successful.

You will have to educate yourself if you don't want to be one of those that struggles constantly with their finances. You can't expect to just sign up for the latest make money idea and expect the checks to start rolling in automatically. Attend webinars, study those handbooks your company offers, take a marketing and accounting class at the local college.

Take the time to create success. You will find it was well worth the effort.

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
http://sochicbagboutique.com

Closing The Sale

You started your business and it has started great. Problem is you may not be getting the sales you are hoping for. Are you closing the sale or waiting for the sale?

Lets talk about closing the sale. You can have a great opening, great middle, but forget you have to close the sale. If you don't close you are leaving it open without moving the sale along. This is not push sales. This is following through. Not every close will get the sale but your sales will increase.

Closing a sale is many times assuming your customer is wanting the product/service you offer. You present your product and ask them what color they would like to order, service they want to start with, matching item they want to pair.

In closing the sale you want to avoid being passive. This doesn't mean you have to be overwhelmingly aggressive. You are just focused on getting the sale and helping the customer make the most of their purchase.

At the end of the sale do not ask if they would like to order. Assume they do and ask what they want and be specific.

Lets say you sell candles. You approach the customer with the product and why its best. You proceed with "Mary, what is your favorite scent? Great scent, did you want to order a jar or a dozen votives"? If they do not want to order either they will give you their objection and give you the opportunity to overcome it.

Listening is very important to closing the sale. Do not focus on selling one thing and one thing only. Focus on fulfilling the customer's needs and closing the sale based on these needs.

So when closing you need to remember a few things:

Do not be afraid of the word no. You may get a no for various reasons. Listen or ask why the no. It may be they are interested in another item, different color, no finances. Even with no finances offer the customer a way to earn it for free. Even if you have no reward program, create one. If they have their friends buy 10 candle jars in total your customer gets one for free. If you sell makeup have their friends buy a total of 10 lipsticks and they can earn 1 for free. There is always a way to overcome an objection and close the sale.

Upsale your close. If the customer orders a purse, offer a wallet. Fast food restaurants do this everyday when they ask if you want fries or a drink.

If you get a no after overcoming objections, don't keep pushing. Some sales gurus may have a difference of opinion here but you don't want to make your customer uncomfortable and leave with buyers remorse. This will not give you a loyal return customer.

Sales is relationship building. Getting to know your customer is key when closing the sale. If you don't get to know your customer you will not be able to close the sale effectively.

The best closers in the world are children. They are completely focused on the prize and will reason with you until they get what they want. Watch and listen to children. You will learn a lot from them.

In a group setting one no does not mean the entire group will say no. Many times a group will talk those no's into a yes.

Keep the customer comfortable and the conversation professional.

Write down a few closes. Start with a one product and ask friends and family to give you reasons to not want the product or service. Even go as far as asking what will turn that no into a yes. Practice overcoming the objections and perfecting your close.

Don't stress if your close is not perfect. Keep practicing. It will becoming habit and you will be comfortable as you go along.

Keep pursing your business and the sales will come.


Olivia Vidal
© 2009
http://sochicbagboutique.com