Strategies: Making sales calls work for your small business

— -- Let's talk about getting out there and making sales.

Are you still with me? Or are you turning to another page? After all, few aspects of running a small business are as intimidating as actually making sales calls. Sure, you love thinking up your product or service, imagining what it could be, how you can be better than the competition. And when you're actually producing your product or service – that can be great. But when you have to go make a sales call? Yuck.

I feel your pain. Just last week, I gave a couple of speeches to small business groups, and I loved that. After all, there's nothing that recharges my batteries like interacting with and motivating entrepreneurs. I spent part of my week working with editors coming up with new content ideas, and that's stimulating. Even sitting at my computer and writing about small business is enjoyable.

But, like you, I also have to call on customers. I had to fly to two different cities to call on two different big customers. And that's not nearly as much fun as all the other stuff I do.

Nevertheless, making sales is a vital part of my business, just as it is in yours or any small business. Sure, some businesses do virtually all their sales over the Internet, but most of us still interact directly with buyers. Even if we have a distributor or our products are sold by retailers, we still have to go out and sell to them.

But you have a sales person or sales team? Nevertheless, it's important for you, as the business owner, to make sales from time to time — not just to make money, but to learn from your customers and prospects. Sales calls keep you close to the market and give you a reality check.

So here's a quick refresher course on some of the keys to successful small business sales:

•Change your attitude. Do you think of a sales call as an imposition on a prospect? Get over it! If you believe in your product or service and you're offering your customer something they truly want or need, you're doing them a service.