No matter what your new idea is for starting or expanding your business, you must remember that you are a salesperson. You may not think of yourself as the classic ‘sales guy’ that spends all day calling on prospects to sell them a particular product or service, but you are still a salesperson.

In order to get your idea off the ground, there are a whole cadre of people that must believe (or buy into) your idea. People you may need to sell on the idea include: your family, your partner, your accountant, your lawyer, your banker, your employees, your potential employees, and yes, even your targeted customers. This initial set of sales is made easier by having a well thought out business plan.

Now that you realize getting the business off the ground is just as much about selling the idea is as it is having a well thought out plan, you need to also realize that you are now in sales for the rest of your business career. You will be constantly selling an idea, service, product or building a relationship. Just as important, everybody that works for you is in sales as well, whether they directly touch the customer or not. Your team creates an image of you and your business. That image is part of what you provide to the marketplace.

Do not fear selling. No matter what type of business you are in, there are countless resources available to you to identify the skill sets needed for your particular business, and how to acquire those skills. Two potential places to start are thesalesboard.com and Superior Selling Skills Mastery by Daniel Sitter. You can always just Google sales, and a nearly infinite number of learning opportunities will present themselves.

Just remember- Everybody Sells!