My business card read, almost like a bad joke, Account Executive. I had never sold anything in my adult life! But here I was with a list of clients waiting for me to call on them.

I just inherited another salesman's territory where he had spent his last 30 years selling radio commercials. He introduced me to each of his customers and walked into the sunset of retirement, perhaps a bit relieved.

I was not relieved. I was scared to death.

So I went to the bookstore and bought every book I could find on the subject of sales. I read like a madman, and to my surprise I discovered something amazing about sales. Sales is not magic.

Most people view sales unlike any other profession. There is a mystery about it and an aura that surrounds it. We refer to great sales people as wizards and rainmakers, modern-day magicians. Sales, however, is not magic.

IF IT'S NOT MAGIC, THEN WHAT IS IT?

Magic is removed from the sales process when we understand that effective selling is just identifying the steps of action that BEST reach your ideal customer and taking those steps over and over again.

That is what I discovered about sales, that if I could clearly identify the businesses that were most likely to use my group of radio stations and reached out to them in a consistent, systematic way, I would succeed in sales.

And I did, being the fastest in my company to achieve $250,000 and $1 million in radio revenue.

This is NOT what most small businesses owners experience with sales. The experience of most small business owners is much like a ride at an amusement park, just not as fun. Sales go up and sales go down, with no explicable reason for either.

As their sales rollercoaster twists and turns through their fiscal year, they are left exhausted and despairing never free from those gut wrenching meetings with your sales staff when, after getting bad news from the accountant, you scream, "What can we do to increase sales around here!!!"

THREE SIMPLE STEPS TO GETTING OFF THE SALES ROLLERCOASTER

It's time to get off the sales roller coaster forever. It's time to destroy the myth that sales is magic and replace it with a step-by-step system that even the least sales savvy person can follow. Here's how:

1. Understand each of the five phases of the sales cycle outlined below.

2. Identify the specific steps of action, or best practices, for each of the five phases of the sales cycle that work for your business.

3. Implement your best sales practices consistently and review them rigorously.

FIVE PHASES OF EVERY BUSINESS' SALES CYCLE

PHASE ONE: Contacting

Make a powerful, personal connection with your target customer, the person or business that is the BEST fit for your products and services. Know who they are. Go where they are. Deliver value first. Build rapport. Gain their trust. Great sales are based on great relationships. Start here first. Start here well.

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