You might not know it, but nestled between the mountains in Northern Nevada there is a booming startup city, named Reno (Aka my home). We even have our own Startup Row. Our University has a growing entrepreneurship program and just opened the Ozmen Center for Entrepreneurship. We decided that there should be a sales class included in the course work to complete the minor. So they asked me to design an Entrepreneurial Sales class. I thought a lot about how to teach sales to college students, because we all know you can’t teach sales hypothetically. So I decided to design the class around the companies of the entrepreneurs in the class. I let the students chose which company they wanted to work on.
Here are the companies:
- AW2 Flowers
- Baker Development
- Flour Chylde Bakery
The students who had started businesses were excited to have a team to help them build their sales plan.
Young or old, the same applies to anyone one starting a business. You need a strong sales plan.
I made sure they had a plan that included:
- Their target audience and how they would reach them.
- What was unique about their company, products, and services.
- The best lead generation methods for their business.
- How and where to network for their business.
- How to build a trade show plan.
- How to keep their customers satisfied and get referrals.
- How to use social media to make connections and build and maintain relationships.
- How to choose the best CRM for their company.
- How to prepare for sales calls.
- How to build a sales funnel.
On the last day of class, after the final, I asked my students to share what they learned. From my students to you.
Here are lessons from young entrepreneurs that can apply to any
business owner or salesperson:
“Build a relationship with a potential customer first before talking about business.”– Bryan Orellanan |
If you are a business owner or salesperson, determine what you need to reach the next level in your sales. Think about the relationships you already have and how you can leverage them. Think about how you can use those relationships to gain introductions and referrals. Find your passion and go for it.
Alice is nationally known for her expertise in elevating sales to increase valuation for companies with a B2B complex sale that have exceptional growth potential. She’s originally, from the widely known Miller Heiman Group. Spending her time strategizing with CEOs and their leadership teams to build the strategies that find new business and grow existing accounts is her passion. Her clients love her spirit and the way she energizes their sales organization.
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