When an entrepreneur wants to start a business, he/she knows what to sell therefore a business
business plan will be designed, a name will be carved and sometimes a website will be created
Immediately. Giving less thought to how he/she will effectively sell the product/services.
Selling is one basic thing every entrepreneur need to master in order to grow your business. People start
businesses for different reasons but they all want to make sales and derive profit from it. It’s devastating
when your business is always at lost, this means that’s something is wrong which is not selling the right
way.
The power of sales should not be underestimated, it is crucial for your business and you need to get it
right because it increases client base, aids business growth, increase customer retention and solve
customers problem. Below are some of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make and possible ways
on how to avoid it.
1. Selling to the wrong people
Your product has no value to anyone who doesn’t need it. When you sell to the wrong person, you
spend your time, energy and resources but at the end the person will not end up buying. It is also very
wrong to force someone to buy your product/service.
There are thousands of people out there who need what you are offering, all you need to do is figure
out who they are and target them, channel the same energy and resources towards them and they’ll
definitely buy from you once what you have to offer has value
2. Not selling the solution
Some entrepreneurs sometimes focus the product or service and the company/brand itself without
bringing to limelight what the product/service will do the customer. People don’t buy what you sell, they
buy why you sell it and when you sell something that doesn’t solve their problem, they definitely won’t
buy it. It is very important that you make it clear to your customer your product/service is the solution
to their problem.
3. First selling yo family and friends.
When you first start selling to your family and friends, they buy out of love and a strong feeling if
obligation to support you rather than the real demand in the market. These sales don’t really offer
honest feedback and candid criticism that an unbiased stranger (customer) might think of your
product/service
Selling to family and friends is not bad but do not put them in a situation whereby they feel obliged to
buy from you, your target market is not your family and friends, they are outside.
4. Making your first sale to the wrong person.
Like I said earlier in the third point above, do not first sell to your family and friends, it is also important
that you know whom to first sell to. Sometimes business owners don’t care who they make their first
sale to but it is important that you carefully choose your first customers base on the ability to provide
great references and testimonial that can trigger other set of customers to buy from you.
5. Discounting when starting out
It can be hard for a new business to hold firm on the value of the product/service they are rendering so
the feel compelled to offer a very large discount in order to make their first sale. By doing that, you can
reduce the long term value of the product/service or hurt the business if the sale result is in loss.
When you first sell on a low price, future customers would bargain to buy on the exact discount price. To
avoid such, make it clear during the period of the discount sales that they can only buy at such price
during a particular time after which the product/service will be sold at the normal price.
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