Sales on a Beermat
‘The book is written with clarity and wit.'
Stephen Fry, author and broadcaster.
'The Beermat books are acquiring a reputation for readability and entertainment, but also for having a lot to say.'
Lucy Armstrong, Chief Executive, The Alchemists
Sales on a Beermat was co-authored with Mike Southon. Sales has been Mike’s passion for twenty years, and he has developed his own approach and methodology to the subject.
As with ‘Beermat Entrepreneur’, we begin by looking at ‘naturals’ for the job. Mike says he can spot a born salesperson at 100 paces: there’s an ease, a gregariousness, a confidence about such people that is innate.
But what of the rest of us, who are not natural salespeople but still have to sell?
The answer is complex. There are various sales roles within an organization, and we need to find which one is right for us. This can be a simple information-gatherer, or an ‘evangelist’ for the business. Fine: no actual selling involved. But in a very small business – an entrepreneur starting off, for example – you have to do everything yourself. Including sales. Even if the thought fills you with horror.
So learn the craft. Unlike finance, sales is not conceptually complex. It is essentially about qualifying (drawing up lists of prospects, and finding which among them have needs and money today) and closing (getting them to agree and sign a deal). In practice, the two skills overlap: you qualify by making small closes, weeding out those prospects who don’t want to make whatever commitments it takes to move them along the path toward becoming customers.
Harder, perhaps, is the psychology of these processes. The ideal salesperson is in some ways sensitive and empathetic, listening to clients’ needs and making themselves part of the solution to those needs. In other ways, they must be rhino-tough and resilient: for most enterprises sales will involve asking for business and getting a high proportion of rejections. Developing one’s character in both these directions is not easy. But it can be done, and the book has plenty of information on how.
There is also a section on sales management. The essence of this is a clear, well-monitored sales pipeline. Too many small businesses lack one of these – the pipeline is ad hoc, full of guesses, unreliable. A simple but rigorous model is presented.
Finally, there are sections for professional partnerships (who often need sales skills, but equally often are reluctant to admit the fact) and sole traders.
Behind this book is the conviction that sales is a business discipline, as important as finance or operations. The book is a rallying-cry for sales; a call for sales professionals to be proud about what they do and for other people in the business to be less snooty. But it also demystifies sales: yes, it helps to be a natural, and if you can get such a person on your team, you give yourself a big advantage. But we can all sell if we put our minds to it, both learning the techniques and acquiring the mindset that leads to marketplace success.
