Want to grow your small business but don't want to feel "salesy?" Here's how.

1. Growing your Small
Business
By Connecting with People who
Need what you have to Offer
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

2. "When a career counselor first recommended I consider a
job in sales, I looked down at my tailored suit and mentally
reviewed my make-up and jewelry, trying to pinpoint what
made him think I was sleazy.”
• Sales people are viciously stereotyped and we carry that
stereotype inside our hearts.
• The result is a feeling of being disrespected and
mistrusted, producing severe stress.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

3. The Importance of Small Business
Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Stasticis.
Selling with Soul U.S. Small Business Adminstration
Sparker, The Coaching Company

4. • Everyone sells, regardless of title
• No one likes to be sold
• No one wants to seem “salesy”
• For entrepeneurs, failing to sell is often
the fatal flaw that brings down a valuable
and important business idea.
• “Low Sales” consistently appears on the
U.S. Small Business Administration list,
“The Top 10 Reasons for Small Business
Failure.”
• Overcoming sales-phobia is a prerequisite
to business success.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

5. REMEMBER:
• Nobody benefits, nothing can happen, until
something is sold.
• Your great idea, excellent product, and
outstanding customer service can and should be
sold.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

6. It all starts with your WHY
• Why do you want to offer this product or service?
• If your first answer is “to make money,” dig deeper to
understand what that money means to you:
• An emergency or college fund?
• A family vacation?
• Recognition?
• If you dream of being self-employed, why?
• Freedom from corporate pressure?
• More time to spend with your family?
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

7. THEN
Write your Mission Statement,
including your commitment to:
• represent only quality products and
services;
• deliver the best possible service to
your customers,
• and to do your work with integrity.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

8. Next, Understand Your Customer’s WHY:
What are they hoping to achieve?
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

9. Don’t look at your product or service
as features and benefits. Understand
how it is actually used.
As Harvard Marketing Guru Ted Levitt
said, “No one wants to buy a ¾ inch
drill. They want a ¾ inch hole!”
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

10. Examples:
• Do you sell jewelry? Why do people buy jewelry? Are they
buying confidence? Prestige? Can your expertise in
accessorizing help your customer feel great about that big
presentation, job interview, or first date?
• Why do people buy health care products?Are they buying
energy to keep up with their kids or job demands? A sense of
well-being? Can your products help your customer have the
energy and stamina to pursue their dreams?
• Why do people buy coaching or training? Are they buying
confidence and motivation to help them achieve their own
personal best? Do you help your clients achieve their goals?
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

11. The Steps of Selling
• The basics of selling are a series of steps
executed in the correct order to build and
maintain an understanding between
ourselves and our customers.
• Skipping steps feels pushy.
• Each step plays a role in the emotional
buying process our customers experience.
• We buy because we want, not because we
need.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

12. • Getting the first appointment
and establishing the human
connection.
• Finding the why, need or goal.
• Developing a mutual vision of
a solution or a plan.
• Negotiating based on the
value you bring.
• Following-up to ensure your
customer is satisfied.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

13. • Getting the first appointment means picking up the
phone and having your 15 second introduction
ready—and practice!
“As a coach I’ve helped people advance in their career, bring their
work and home lives into harmony, and achieve their financial
goals. Are any of those things you’re concerned about?”
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

14. Making a Human Connection
• Share your story with your customers, why you do this,
how you have helped someone.
Tell me a fact and I’ll learn.
Tell me a truth and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story and it will
live in my heart forever.
Indian Proverb
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

15. Statements invite contradiction;
Questions invite conversation.
Help the client put the pieces of the
puzzle together, not by telling, but by asking.
Seliing with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

16. Forget about “closes,” overcoming obstacles,
or persuasion.
Don’t give away your power
or try to take away theirs.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

17. Quid Pro Quo
Negotiate with confidence in the
value you bring.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

18. Reach out!
• Join LinkedIn, Facebook, and groups and social media.
• Develop an email list for announcements, events,
promotions.
• Ask for referrals, “likes,” and introductions and use
“quid pro quo.” For example, please like my Facebook
business page and I’ll like yours.
• Ask people to pass your newsletter, website link, and
articles or blogs on to one other person.
• Make “shameless requests” for endorsements.
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

19. As Stephen Covey says, “Don’t prioritize your schedule.
Schedule your priorities.”
Make sacred space and time
or it won’t get done.
Seliing with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company

20. For the rest of the story…
Selling with Soul
Sparker, The Coaching Company