How to Use Your Sales Skills to Start a Successful Business [For Salespeople!]

So, you’ve achieved a measure of success in sales and accomplished some of your goals.

However, you still find yourself with a boss, lacking the ultimate freedom of time you desire, and perhaps not earning as much as you would like, missing out on the chance to scale your income potentially without limit.

This is where leveraging your existing sales skills to start a business becomes crucial.

A business can provide you with the opportunity for unlimited income potential, unlike a job where you might only see a commission of 10 to 20% of your sales.

Imagine earning up to 70% from your sales, with the rest covering expenses, while having complete control over your business.

In this guide, I will show you how to utilize your sales skills to launch a successful business. Check it out:

1. Recognize your number one asset.

Your primary asset as a salesperson is your ability to sell. Working with entrepreneurs regularly, I’ve noticed a significant gap in their sales skills: the ability to sell. When you embark on entrepreneurship, you inherently become a salesperson. It doesn’t matter if your background is in top-tier investment banking or any other field; starting your own business transforms you into a salesperson. Recognizing that your ability to sell is a critical asset for an entrepreneur is a significant advantage. It doesn’t mean you have a complete set of sales skills yet, but it’s a crucial starting point.

2. Find an offering that prospects want.

This step is vital, and many salespeople struggle with it. Having the ability to sell doesn’t necessarily mean you can sell just anything. Some products or services are inherently easier to sell because they are in demand. When planning your business, it’s essential to identify an offering that not only meets a need but is also something your prospects actively want. Success in business often hinges on this alignment between what you offer and what your target customers desire.

3. Sell to prospects with money.

It might seem straightforward, but targeting prospects who have the financial means to purchase your offering is critical. The challenge isn’t always about the product or service but about finding customers who can afford it. Whether you’re targeting affluent individuals or successful companies, ensuring your target market has spending power can significantly impact your sales success.

4. Leverage automation to maximize your time.

As an entrepreneur, using automation tools for tasks like email outreach, LinkedIn messaging, or text message campaigns can significantly increase your lead generation and sales efficiency. You don’t want to be spending 100% of your time on sales, particularly business development. Automation allows you to focus on other aspects of your business while still maintaining a steady flow of sales opportunities.

5. Don’t quit the day-job until POC.

Quitting your job before your business has proof of concept can be risky. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of leaving their stable income too early. It’s crucial to have solid evidence that your business model works and can generate income before making the leap to full-time entrepreneurship.

6. Replace the salary on the side.

Building your business while still employed allows you to transition more smoothly. The goal is to gradually replace your job’s salary with your business income. Rushing this process or setting unrealistic timelines can lead to unnecessary pressure and potential failure. Once you’ve replaced your salary, now you can go full-time into leveraging your set of sales skills to continue building your own successful business.

7. Once free, time to scale.

After successfully replacing your income and committing to your business full-time, focus on scaling. Growth is crucial for long-term success, and if you don’t focus on scaling your business like crazy, you’re setting yourself up for eventual failure. At this stage, aggressive expansion and leveraging your established systems, including automation and product-market fit, are key to scaling your business.

So there you have it. Now you know the keys to using your sales skills to start a successful business—for salespeople. Which of these ideas did you find most useful for launching your own entrepreneurial endeavor? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below to join the conversation.

As always, if you found this helpful, I would be grateful if you’d please share it with someone else or many others. People can get my weekly emails and free eBook, 25 Tips to Crush Your Sales Goal by clicking here. And be sure to check out the Sales Insights Lab Accelerator.

Also, if you enjoyed this, then I have an awesome free training on how I used my sales and prospecting skills to launch a low-cost startup and reached $31,000 in monthly recurring revenue in just five months. For those serious about starting their business, this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss.