Last year a large public university near where I reside appointed a new Dean of the Business School.  In a newspaper article he stated that he would be evaluating an area of focus for the business school – a way to distinguish the school.  I wrote him an email and gave him a recommendation for focus. Selling.  Of course, no business school aspiring to greatness is going to focus on teaching MBA candidates about selling.  In fact, I would guess most MBA students believe they are getting an MBA so they don’t have to be in sales. Yet, 15+ years out of business school, and after 25+ years in the business world, I have come to understand that the ability to sell – build and grow businesses – is what the market really values.

There is an old Inc. Magazine article, which I still pick up and re-read.  It is titled “Start With Nothing.”   In the article, successful entrepreneur Greg Gianforte promotes the benefits of “bootstrapping,” starting a business with little to no capital. When you start a business this way, it forces you to focus on the essentials of business – making and selling a product. On the sales side, it forces you dig down and be creative, resourceful and tenacious.  Also, when we pick up the phone and speak to potential customers, we learn things we can use to improve both our product and our sales and marketing process.  If our product is not where it needs to be, the market will tell us, and we can use this information to improve it.

In the past I may have found myself thinking I needed to develop the latest case study, or white paper, or wait for the new improved product release, before I could sell. I have come to realize the best path to success is to pick up the phone, speak with someone, ask questions, listening and learn, and see if you can help them. You may find starting with nothing can lead to something big.

Downloads:

Here is a link to the Inc. article

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20020201/23855_pagen_2.html

Another good book related to this topic –personal branding, or the art of selling yourself. I listened to the audio version.

http://www.amazon.com/You-Inc-The-Selling-Yourself/dp/B003UHUBFY/20