Starting a Baby Boutique & Clothing Line

Sales help for those of us who don’t like to sell

March 18th, 2007

I’ve had this topic come up a few times in a few different conversations - the fear of getting out and selling your own product. I can tell you 100% for sure that my own fear of selling held my business back. And of course, once I did it, got the first boutique sales call over with , I realized that it really isn’t THAT bad at all. I’ve since had a few learning experiences, can tell you I have definitely said the wrong thing at the wrong time, but chalk it up to learning and move on.

I get all this stuff going in my head and what I’ve found is that it’s best if I chill out and make it just a conversation instead of a presentation. And what I really have to learn to do more and more is talk less, listen more. Each time I complete a sales call, I feel a little more confident.

And no, not everybody has loved my stuff. But this is an easy one to solve in your head because it just takes one look around to see how many different styles and tastes there are out there. Not everybody is going to like my non-traditional stuff. The one who really didn’t care for my designs had a very traditional store - a whole heck of a lot of light pink.

This gets into qualifying your sales leads and calls, but all in due time. All in due time. It’s just good for me to be getting out there and making the sales calls. It’s incredibly good to hear the feedback first-hand from the people who face the customers all day.

One more thing I’ve learned quickly is that almost everyone will have a “if you could design it this way” or “you should do this” or “you should make one of these”. Well, after concenting to one custom request for a boutique, I’ll think long and hard about doing that again. It’d have to be really really worth it. The reality is if they think an idea is so great, they are more than welcome to go off and create it themselves. This isn’t to say don’t listen to their requests, because it’s invaluable feedback on what type of stuff they like, and even if you don’t have something along those lines right now, you might in the future; and then you have a very targeted sales call to make.

What started this whole post was my brother recommending an article in Inc. Magazine that has to do with entrepreneur’s learning to sell when they don’t see themselves as, or don’t want to be, a salesman. My brother just made a valiant leap into sales, which believe me, if he can do it, anybody can. And remember too, just by our very entrepreneurial nature, we’re used to pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I strongly recommend to entrepreneurs that you just get out and get the first one out of the way. Definitely don’t go to your favorite boutique first, or the boutique you want your products in the most; pick a random one and go for it.

Here’s a link to the article in Inc.,  on tackling a fear of sales - I’m sure you’ll find some of it insightful.

Entry Filed under: Sales & Marketing