For small businesses, success depends on sales skills

By BARBARA WOLLER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: March 26, 2006)

Small-business entrepreneurs are passionate about what they do, be it offering advice as a business consultant, creating Web sites or making widgets.

But once it's time to sell their product or service they often falter because they are not comfortable being a salesperson, said Ben Blumberg, president of SalesWorks in White Plains, a licensee of the Sandler Sales Institute.

"So what a lot of small-business people do is they go out and look to hire a salesperson," Blumberg said. "This is a pitfall. They've gone from not being much of a salesperson to now being a sales manager," and there's always the risk that the individual they hire may be wrong for the job.

That's why Blumberg and other experts say it's imperative small-business people take time to acquire some know-how about sales and selling techniques themselves.

"You must find a technique that fits with your personal style," said Alan Eisner, an associate professor of marketing at Pace University. "It's not only thinking through what your sales pitch is but how to overcome obstacles customers present."

Take, for example, the common situation where prospective customers are enthusiastic about what you're selling and appear to be ready to buy but at the last minute say they want to "think it over."

One way to persuade reticent customers to buy, Eisner said, is to convince the customer that you offer superior service, support and value -"particularly if you're a small shop and you compete with larger retailers."

Partners Michelle Violetto of Tappan and Tanya Ehrlich of Valley Cottage have learned those sales skills since they opened a Little Scoops ice cream parlor for children's birthday parties in Blauvelt in 2002.

Little Scoops offers 90-minute parties for children ages 2 to 12 that start with pizza and games and end with the youngsters making their own ice cream sundaes. Their store has a nostalgic 1950s feel and kid-size tables and counters. Violetto and Ehrlich worked with Rockland County SCORE to develop the business plan and bring the concept to life.

SCORE, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, counsels entrepreneurs on how to develop their startups.

Violetto said that if prospective customers say they might want to go elsewhere, she tells them that Little Scoops is a good choice for them because it holds parties for one child at a time and the staff does all the work.

"They don't have to worry about setting up, cleaning up, entertainment," she said. "They just should come with a camera and enjoy the celebration without having to run it."

Apparently, Violetto and Ehrlich did things right. The business took off quickly and today in addition to the company store in Blauvelt, Little Scoops has five franchise locations in New York and New Jersey and four additional franchises that will open soon.

Other times, however, small-business people must be flexible enough to retool all or part of their sales approach and focus on what the customer wants.

That happened to John Fox, founder and chief executive of Homeland Energy Resources Development Inc. Homeland Energy is now in the business incubator for early-stage companies at Pace University's not-for-profit Second Century Innovation & Ideas Corp. in Yonkers.

Homeland Energy deals with renewable energy generation for industrial facilities and vehicles. Fox said a while back - when energy prices were much less of an issue than today - he could tout the "green" environmentally friendly energy component of his business to make sales as well as the cost savings. But that's not always the case in today's economy where many customers are driven solely by the bottom line.

"That's where they made their decisions," he said. "It was 'nice' that we were offering green renewable energy but from a business standpoint there had to be an economic incentive for them to buy or work with us."

Small business should also deal up front with the question so many entrepreneurs dread. That's when a prospective customer asks, "So how many employees do you have," Blumberg said.

To defuse that situation, Blumberg said, a small-business person could say, "That's a good question. Why do you ask? ... Is that an issue for you?"

One possibility is that the person is just asking out of curiosity and discussions can continue. But, perhaps, the prospective client had a bad experience with a small company in the past and wants a larger company this time. In either event, the issue is off the table.

When it comes to sales, small-business people must not be too fast to attribute sluggish sales to the cost of their service or product, said Thomas J. Morley, director of the Yonkers-based Westchester Regional Center of the New York State Small Business Development Center, which serves Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.

"Small business frequently looks for the easy answer, and the easy answer is 'sell it cheaper,' " Morley said.

"What they should ask is why is the product not being sold."

For example, the "perceived value" of a product - even at a higher price - can sometimes boost sales, Morley said.

Say a small business sells an 8-ounce bottle of shampoo for $1.89, he said. Perhaps it might be an idea to also make a 2-ounce travel size to package with the 8-ounce bottle and sell both for $2.59.

"My per-ounce price goes up but people like it," Morley said. "It's a value perception."

Morley also said it is especially important that small-business people work closely with their customers to boost sales. In particular, they should try to see their business from the customer's point of view. Creativity matters, too.

The owners of small restaurants, could probably boost sales if they take note of their customers and reach out to new faces as well as the regulars.

"Ask people who you don't recognize 'Why are you coming 'here?' " Morley said.

Perhaps the customer will answer that he learned about the restaurant from his neighbor.

Here the restaurant owner can appeal to local loyalties by giving a percent-off coupon for a future meal to the new customer and a second percent-off coupon for him to give to his neighbor.

Advertising is crucial, too. Small-business owners must research who they expect their best customers to be and advertise in appropriate media to reach them.

Violetto and Ehrlich of Little Scoops said they initially advertised in newspapers but later decided to also use direct mailings because it let them target a specific consumer base: families in specific areas and economic levels who had young children.

Another way to reach prospective customers, of course, is through the Internet.

Morley said the owner of a local deli could put up a Web site to boost sales - especially if he's near, say, an office park, where people might not have much time for lunch. If the deli owner has a Web site those workers can go online to order their lunch and pay for it by credit card.

Small-business people must also remember that marketing and selling are different.

"Doing public relations, advertising, Web blasting - all of those things to me are marketing," Blumberg said. "They're good stuff but passive.

"At some point you have to open your mouth, you have to shake a hand, you have to pick up a phone and dial. Or if someone calls you from one of your great ads - now what? To me the sales process starts either on the phone or face-to-face. You have to interact with a prospective client."