Five Reasons Why All Owners Should Sell

First of all, let me define what I mean by “sell,” though you’d think it would be painfully obvious. What I am talking about is the act of generating business via proactive selling actions such as phone calls and appointments. I spoke with a selling owner just today who said he’d sent a thank you letter and wanted to count that as a sales call.

Ummmmm...no. That’s not a sales call. Neither is an e-mail. Voice mail is, however.

OK, now that we have the ground rules set, here are...

Five Reasons Why All Owners Should Sell

1. No one can sell with the authority of an owner. Doors open.
2. You will earn the respect of your sales people, which is nice.
3. The economy has created an “all hands on deck” atmosphere. Owners have hands, too.
4. No effort is too small. Even one call a day can make a difference as you will read shortly.
5. It keeps the owner in touch with the conditions in his/her market. Amazing what you learn about your business when you are away from it.

Surprisingly, many owners do not sell. I hear all the excuses, but have yet to hear one that resulted in a hall pass. Yes, you are busy. Yes, other stuff comes up that is important, too. But, is it more important than sales? Nothing is more important than sales. And yet many owners don’t sell.

Want to know why? Here are five reasons:

1. Don’t have to/Want to — Must be nice.
2. Not the sales type — Become the sales tip.
3. No time to sell — Make the time.
4. Didn’t know I should — You must be a franchise owner, huh?
5. Fear

That last one, fear, is probably numero uno. Many owners report being frozen at the thought of picking up a phone and calling strangers. “Never mind, who should I call?” they ask me. “And what would I say?”