Sell or Starve

To get a job, you have to sell yourself.  To start a business or run it successfully, you have to sell a product or service – every day.  Gone are the days of “build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.”  If you are going to be successful in any way you have to learn to sell, and do it well.

Here are statements I’m hearing from people who have not learned how to sell:

• “I’ve applied for lots of jobs but no one’s hiring.”
• “Everywhere I go they tell me I’m over-qualified.”
• “I’ve got to just stay on unemployment since the economy is so bad.”
• “No one can afford to engage a career coach right now.”
• “I’m not expecting any new customers for my landscape business as long as we’re in this recession.”
• “I’d love to start a business but I don’t have any money.”
• “I’ve been rejected by 10 publishers – I guess I’m not an author after all.” 
• “I started a church but it turns out we were in a poor location.”

The cover story in the current issue of Success magazine profiles George Foreman. (Big Business with Big George) Of course we all know George because of his boxing success – or do we?  No, there are lots of boxers, but we know George because he learned how to sell.  He says his athletic ability was less a factor in his success than his selling skills. “If you learn to sell, it’s worth more than a degree,” he says.” It’s worth more than the heavyweight championship of the world. It’s even more important than having a million dollars in the bank. Learn to sell and you’ll never starve.”