Making sales a priority in business is something that so many small business owners have struggled with, myself included. Even as I write this blog, I find myself needing the reminder! Here are my tips on how small business owners and freelancers can stay motivated to make sales:
#1. Look at the money on the table.
Every time I see how much money is in my pipeline, I feel that little spark of motivation. What does this mean? For every potential client I have, I assign a dollar value. As a business coach, I will often put in the lower average sale that I make with coaching clients. For this example, I’ll use $2,000 as a sample number. If I have 5 potential clients, that is $10,000 on the table!
#2. Recognize that sales are the thing that will grow your business and should be a priority.
As a solopreneur, we often have 10,000 things on our to-do lists, and taking care of our current clients and orders is a priority BUT if we neglect our leads, we’ll wake up to find no new sales in our pipeline and we are going to have to hustle to fill it up.
#3. Add it to your schedule.
There are four main categories that should be worked into every single day. Admin, Sales + Marketing, Projects/Client Work, and Personal Development. If you make time for these four items, you can’t help but move forward! Whether you block Fridays for sales and doing all your follow-ups, or spend 30 minutes a day on sales, you will move the needle forward. I personally prefer to do 30-minutes daily and to be honest, I’ve had clients start getting a shift in sales when they spend 15 minutes a day on sales and marketing because their original effort was zero.
#4. Know your numbers:
Know your sales goals and make sure they are something you know you can actually achieve. Many small business owners want to make $10k a month or even $100k, but they aren’t consistently hitting $5k a month. Start with goals you know you can achieve and raise them every single month or quarter. You might not always hit your goal, but by having and hitting goals you can see your business grow!
#5. Celebrate your wins:
This is always a hot topic in the business community, how do we celebrate your wins? Start with the above tip, and know your numbers, and set some celebration milestones. Don’t wait until you hit your BIG goal, but when you hit major milestones, like 50% of the way to your revenue goal, or specific dollar amounts. This helps create excitement as you build your business! What does this look like? If my goal for the quarter is 2,000 subscribers then I’ll plan a nice dinner or buy that furniture when I hit my halfway goal of 1,000 subscribers, and then plan something bigger, like a vacation, when I hit the full goal of 2,000 subscribers.
#6. Make a plan to manage discouragement:
Always do your best. When you are getting discouraged ask yourself “am I doing my best”? All anyone, including yourself, can ask of you is for you to do your best… but very often, we do not do our best or even the minimal effort. Take the time to decide what your standard is and what your ‘best’ looks like — and give yourself the pep talk that your best one day may look very different on a different day. Some days we are operating at a 100% capacity, and other days we may be sick, tired, or dealing with external issues that cause us to operate at 20%. Both scenarios are acceptable, but know the answer to ‘am I doing my best’ in this area. If you are, then amazing! I’m super proud of you! If not, commit to doing a little better.
#7. Download the Pretty Simple app!
This app was designed to motivate you during the sale process! Get a 14-day free trial today!