We have all run into that person who says that he hates sales. Although it is true that there can be some bad ways to create money, this has no bearing on sales in general being something that is bad or which should be hated. In fact, if you are a worker and not a business owner, the sales department is where the revenue for the business originates and so it is a vital part of the business cash flow cycle.
All businesses must pay careful attention to line 1 of their Profit and Loss Statement, so the same should hold true for an individual. He must run his personal financial life like a business and keep track of revenue in order to ensure that he stays financially solvent. So how can you improve your outlook on sales if you have had bad experiences in the past?
Steven R. Covey, in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, provides us with a framework to become more successful and to get our financial house of cards properly aligned.
- Habit 1 – Be Proactive
- Habit 2 – Begin with the end in mind
- Habit 3 – Put first things first
- Habit 4 – Think win-win
- Habit 5 – Seek first to understand, then to be understood
- Habit 6 – Synergize
- Habit 7 – Sharpen the saw
- Bonus Habit – Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs
Once you understand how to realign your mindset to get a better understanding of money, you are well on your way to being able to either get that pay raise or to grow your small business. After all, there are basically three ways to raise your income: steal and cheat, beg, and earn. I think we can all agree that earning is the key to truly becoming successful long-term. There is a reason why revenue, or earnings, is Line 1 of a Profit and Loss financial statement.
There are always ways that one can creatively increase income regardless of where you are in life. Some things to consider are to monetize your hobby, get a side hustle, or negotiate a pay raise (intelligently!). In the business world, these three ideas correlate to creating a new item to sell, innovating, and negotiating terms with clients and vendors.
Other important considerations for improving cash flow are driving down costs, hiring smart professionals, and maximizing value. Even as a worker, the more valuable you become to the marketplace, the more money you will be able to earn.
If you are thinking that you still need help learning to like sales, you are not alone. This is a natural feeling that many professional sales people have to improve upon. Some ways to improve are to work on yourself and your personal development, create new positive habits, purchase sales training courses, and hire professionals to help you with your sales.
Sales is something that we can not escape from. Whether you think you are in sales or are not in sales, the reality is that you are in sales. To get a pay raise, you need to sell your boss on the merits of paying you more money. The sooner you can get comfortable with liking sales, the faster you will increase your ability to become more financially successful.