The salesman
One of the things I've learned over these past years, is that being an entrepreneur means being a salesman of your dreams. Part of wanting to undertake a project means not only being able to build something (a product, service, or social project), but also to make someone see the value in it, at least if one wants to make a living out of it (and sometimes, as in my social project, although I do not live out of that I have to make others see the value to be able to achieve continuity).
However, this is not always easy, and the statistics of the entrepreneur prove it for sure. For those who do not know them, I'll leave you some numbers:
To make it clear, 9 out of 10 projects fail in the first 5 years. I've been working independently since 2011. Do your math, it's been over 5 years. I guess that means I'm successful?
This makes me wonder many things. And I have realized that beyond having the need to get ahead because when you are on the edge of the cliff there is only one way to escape, which makes the decisions easy, it also makes me wonder why it is that I manage to continue living from my speaking ability.
How do I sell a product, service or social project? And my answer was simple: I blindly believe in what I do, but being at the same time very critical of it. When I become aware of my mistakes or someone makes me see them I do not continue doing what I do, but instead I am the first to punish myself (sometimes too much), then change, grow, and then continue to say that I believe 150% in what I do.
E.g.: I love to talk about some products that we have developed with Sol and Ariel. Why? Because I really think they are good jobs. Sometimes I manage to sell it, sometimes people are not interested in buying it, but I will never stop trying, and when it does not work I wonder where we failed, or if we could have done something different.
E.g. 2: I am passionate about telling what we do at ComIT. Last week I had a meeting with a person I just met and I had to tell him about the work done over the past 6 years, the joy of learning that a young man got a job after a course, and my future dreams with the project. That person told me that he believed in what I told him, because of the passion with which I told the story. And how not to do it like that if it is a beautiful project that changes lives for good?
I discovered that the secret of my ability to sell is based on believing in what I sell, and I suppose that those times when I failed as an entrepreneur was because internally I knew that what I sold did not met my standards 100%. Maybe when I started the project I was sure about it, but over time that emotion faded as I discovered various mistakes made that could not be remedied. That eventually turned into a lack of trust in the product / service, which then ended up being a dagger at the heart of the project, when I was unable to sell it.
I suppose there are people who sell things even knowing their limitations. I imagine that 90% of sellers will be like this. Some will be straightly dishonest, selling rotten fish, which I could not do. I'm too transparent to try to sell someone into something I would not buy. But obviously there are people who have that ability.
I am infinitely grateful to have had all the experiences, and to have learned from them. Of the good ones and the not so good ones. To be able to look at the positive aspect of my failures and realize how easy it is to sell when you love what you do.
However, this is not always easy, and the statistics of the entrepreneur prove it for sure. For those who do not know them, I'll leave you some numbers:
- 50% of new businesses close within the first 12 months of existence
- Between 80-90% of the remaining, close within the next 5 years
- Many entrepreneurs fail 2 to 3 times before being successful
- Of every 10 businesses that are launched, investors lose money in six, receive their money back in two and multiply their profits by 15 in only one
To make it clear, 9 out of 10 projects fail in the first 5 years. I've been working independently since 2011. Do your math, it's been over 5 years. I guess that means I'm successful?
This makes me wonder many things. And I have realized that beyond having the need to get ahead because when you are on the edge of the cliff there is only one way to escape, which makes the decisions easy, it also makes me wonder why it is that I manage to continue living from my speaking ability.
How do I sell a product, service or social project? And my answer was simple: I blindly believe in what I do, but being at the same time very critical of it. When I become aware of my mistakes or someone makes me see them I do not continue doing what I do, but instead I am the first to punish myself (sometimes too much), then change, grow, and then continue to say that I believe 150% in what I do.
E.g.: I love to talk about some products that we have developed with Sol and Ariel. Why? Because I really think they are good jobs. Sometimes I manage to sell it, sometimes people are not interested in buying it, but I will never stop trying, and when it does not work I wonder where we failed, or if we could have done something different.
E.g. 2: I am passionate about telling what we do at ComIT. Last week I had a meeting with a person I just met and I had to tell him about the work done over the past 6 years, the joy of learning that a young man got a job after a course, and my future dreams with the project. That person told me that he believed in what I told him, because of the passion with which I told the story. And how not to do it like that if it is a beautiful project that changes lives for good?
I discovered that the secret of my ability to sell is based on believing in what I sell, and I suppose that those times when I failed as an entrepreneur was because internally I knew that what I sold did not met my standards 100%. Maybe when I started the project I was sure about it, but over time that emotion faded as I discovered various mistakes made that could not be remedied. That eventually turned into a lack of trust in the product / service, which then ended up being a dagger at the heart of the project, when I was unable to sell it.
I suppose there are people who sell things even knowing their limitations. I imagine that 90% of sellers will be like this. Some will be straightly dishonest, selling rotten fish, which I could not do. I'm too transparent to try to sell someone into something I would not buy. But obviously there are people who have that ability.
I am infinitely grateful to have had all the experiences, and to have learned from them. Of the good ones and the not so good ones. To be able to look at the positive aspect of my failures and realize how easy it is to sell when you love what you do.
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