The Fatal Error Every Entrepreneur Must Avoid

Everyone knows that Sales is the heart of any business. You go into a business with the goal of making money. Yet many entrepreneurs are underselling themselves and not doing enough to grow. Instead, they spend the majority of their time doing non-Sales activities like working on new content, social media engagement, and doing their work. But about pipelines? What about new clients? They think they are fine because they break even but there is no system. Their businesses generate some income but it is only a matter of time before they go out of business because their mindset is broke. Financially they are simply not doing well enough to sustain their business. 

It is like a dirty secret. On the outside, they have decent results and sometimes even an impressive client portfolio but when you look at their actual revenue, they sheepishly begin apologizing, often saying “I know, I know, I don’t do enough sales.” or “I haven’t been working on my business enough lately.” They all have a number of semi-valid excuses but I know the truth. If you ask them how they are investing in their business growth, they reply “I can’t afford it. My revenue is only enough to cover operating costs, taxes, loan payments, salary, and random expenses.”

In fact, I regularly get asked by these CEOs to do freelance Business Development or Sales and Marketing for them because they hate selling to people or negotiating deals or they are “too busy” or they argue they are not good at it. Believe it or not, some business owners feel uncomfortable around money in general and some even undercharge.

Sales is the heart of running a business. It may not come naturally to some business owners. This is a shame because many talented people will end up going back to work for someone else. There are a few ways to get past the discomfort of selling to others:

Remember that you are helping others, not selling to them.

People need you. It's why one goes into business in the first place. You have something wonderful and unique to offer others. Feel proud of it.

Focus only on your audience. You aren't meant to help everyone.

The better you define your audience, the easier the Sale will be. It will be a perfect fit for certain people. Don't worry about those who aren't for you; there are enough clients for everyone.

Offer value first for free to build trust and then let people know which paid services you have without selling to them.

The best sales are the ones that come to you. When you help people with your presence, mention related offerings and certain people will jump on the chance. You don't have to try hard to sell to anyone.

Trust and likability are at the heart of sales. Clients need to like and trust you to buy from you.

At the same time, being too nice to often the problem. Know your worth. Know the competitive market rates. Do not undersell your products or services. Professionals know their audience well and what they need and will buy. In other words, you wouldn't sell high ticket coaching to the unemployed, would you? Match your offerings to the needs of those you serve.

Be honest with yourself if you aren't selling enough.

Ask yourself: Are you just working in your business? Then you are no business owner. You are an employee of your business, merely a slave to your bank, a slave to your clients, and a slave to your bills and financial obligations. Working on your business means knowing not only what it looks like now but what you ultimately want it to look like. If you have built your business on something people truly need and defined the audience who wants it, sales will be easy. If you don’t have time for sales, there is a huge problem. 

This is not about money or wealth. Maybe you are happy with less. It is all about financial freedom, business health, and mindset. Ultimately, it is about living a life where you don't have to work sixty hours forever if you don't want to.

How does one fix this? Hire a mindset coach. You need someone to challenge the fears that are holding you back from taking your business to the level it should be at. Read all you can about scarcity and abundance mindsets. Do exactly what you fear most. Set clear goals and an action plan.

Free yourself from this paralysis around Sales.

Or continue as-is but next time you are scrolling through the news online and you see one of your competitors getting a huge award or announcing a mind-blowing achievement or even (gasp!) selling their business and retiring to sail around the world while you are struggling to stay afloat, you’ll be reminded that the secret sauce is always Sales.

If you found value in this article, please consider subscribing to my personal email list.

Krista Mollion helps new and aspiring business owners launch successful businesses. Reach out to find out more about her coaching and mastermind programs here. Follow #thesassymethod to get her posts.