Do you like fish?
If you don't, don't learn to fish.
This may seem obvious, but if you do not like fish, don’t learn to fish. Yet many of us set out to learn to fish, or teach others to fish.
Most people know the old saying, “Give a man to fish and you will feed him or a day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime.” This is true for those that like fish, or maybe just need something to eat. If you do not like fish though learning to fish will not help you.
This applies to your sales journey as well since as a sales person you are “teaching your customers to fish”. Meaning you are teaching them to want and need your product and service. To teach someone anything you have to be knowledgeable and passionate about that topic. That means you cannot be great at sales for some thing that you are not interested in or passionate about. Meaning if you do not like fish do not learn to fish. Learn to hunt, or to forage, that lead you to much grater success than learning to fish. Since this is focused on those small business and entrepreneurs it would be a safe assumption that you are passionate about this product or service. That means your key is finding where are the potential customers that are want to learn to fish. So find those groups, the lakes, the tackle stores, where your potential customers are. These could be specific Facebook groups, it could be contact/ads on Instagram or Tik Tok. It could be a local group, club, or market as well. Find the best place you can think to start and go. Once you are there, ask for feedback and successions. 1 Millions Cups is a great place to start if there is one in your area.
Another important place to apply this idea is looking to hire your first sales professional. You will get to a point someday when sales should not and cannot be solely on you. When that time comes it is important to find that right person. They have to like fishing as much as you. This will ensure they can continue to educate the customers on why they need your product or service. Make sure you find another fisherman when you are looking for this person. They will become the face of your product or service, just like you have been the past few years. They have to want to learn how to fish and teach others (your customers) how to fish.
So remember:
If you do not like fish, don’t learn to fish.
Find others that want to fish when you are looking for customers.
Especially the first set of customers.
When you look for that first sales professional make sure they are a fisherman and not a hunter or forager.
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