none of the things on his list are sales , he has a mantra to motivate himself . “ One of the mantras I always say to myself is ‘ Constant forward momentum , constant forward momentum , constant forward momentum ,’” Robert said . “ The only momentum in a company is sales ... There are multiple ways to drive revenue . For example , with existing customers , you can go wider , but it ’ s all in the bucket of sales .”
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Stop Worrying About Selling Too Much .
If your technical people feel like they only have enough bandwidth to fulfill the clients you already have and not enough for more sales , motivate them with a pep talk to let them know that you can ’ t stay the same and hold off on sales — unless they want to keep working at the same salary without any benefits or bonuses . “ Technical people go to our sales kickoffs and say , ‘ But what if we sell more ? What will happen then ? We ’ re struggling servicing the customers we have now , what if we sell more ?’ My answer to them is : ‘ Would you like a raise one day ? Would you like to make more money ? Would you like more opportunity ? Would you like more opportunity for your family , for your kids , for you ? How are we going to do that unless we grow the company ?’”
16 . Don ’ t Wait To Start Selling .
Many IT people believe that their product or service must be perfect before they start selling it . But Robert says this is a huge fallacy . “ Engineers want to make it perfect before they sell it ,” Robert said . “ True entrepreneurs jump out of the airplane and have the confidence that they ’ ll figure out the parachute on the way to the bottom .”
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Learn How To Sell Yourself First . More important than your product or service is selling yourself . “ On ‘ Shark Tank ,’ entrepreneurs have to sell themselves just as much as their business because we invest in them … If whoever you ’ re selling to doesn ’ t like you , they ’ re not going to listen to you … be the salesperson you ’ d buy something from .”
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Stay Laser-Focused . For several years , Robert competed as Ferrari # 007 for Herjavec Group Racing in the Ferrari Challenge North America Series . He achieved multiple podiums and even won Rookie of The Year in 2011 . To Robert , building a successful business is a lot like racing cars . “ You have to stay laser-focused when driving a car over 200 miles an hour ,” he said . “ And the same approach is required when growing a business in today ’ s world of rapidly changing technology .”
Robert ’ s principles are valuable in today ’ s competitive IT environment . His story demonstrates that anyone can succeed if they are willing to take control of their own future . Of course , from our conversation with Robert , it ’ s obvious that getting good at sales played a key role in his rags to riches story . The good news is that anyone can get better at sales . Just like Robert , who admits he knew nothing about sales when he started out , you can become an expert too . In fact , he says there is no such thing as a “ natural-born salesperson .” In his book , “ You Don ’ t Have To Be A Shark ,” Robert makes the case that “ great salespeople are made , not born , and no one in life achieves success without knowing how to sell .” Remember to sell yourself first , listen more than you talk , know who the right person is to sell to , understand what motivates your prospect , and keep it simple . And if you ’ re struggling with sales , get coaching and follow Robert ’ s sage advice to get out there and sell something . Your business growth depends on it ! n
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