Most people don’t realize how important selling is—unless your paycheck depends on it! Every time I mention selling, I always hear, “It’s not for me”, “You have to have knack for sales”, or “I just can’t do sales” - but this can’t be farther from the truth.

Salespeople aren’t the only ones selling something. In my latest book, You Don’t Have to Be a Shark, the premise is simple: great salespeople are made, not born, and no one achieves success in life without knowing how to sell. Think of the last time you convinced your kids to finish their vegetables or convinced your parents to let you borrow the car for the weekend - believe or not, you’re selling something! On Shark Tank, entrepreneurs have to sell themselves just as much as their business because we invest in them.

Related: You can now raise funds for your business on BEAM

Regardless of what you’re selling, it’s easier than most people think. Just keep the following 5 tips in mind…

The first thing you’re selling is yourself.

Forget about the product or service. If whoever you’re selling to doesn’t like you, they’re not going to listen to you. Make sure you know the product and present yourself well. Be the salesperson you’d buy something from.

Listen more than you talk.

Bad salespeople can’t get over how amazing their product is—they go on and on about it! But good salespeople listen to what their clients are saying. They pay attention to the clients’ needs from the start and present accordingly.

Know who to sell to.

If you’re selling a widget that costs $50K, don’t try to sell it to the guy whose widget budget is $2k. A common mistake salespeople make is trying to sell to anyone and everyone. Make sure whatever you’re selling fulfills your potential client’s needs and is realistic for them. You’re much likely to get that sale!

Understand what motivates the other side.

Why should people care about what you’re selling? How is your product or service providing value to them? Pay attention to what’s driving your potential client to take your meeting in the first place and address that in your pitch.

Keep it simple.

Don’t overcomplicate your pitch just because you want to sound more knowledgeable. The mark of true knowledge in anything is how well you can explain to the average person. Keep your pitch simple and under 30 seconds—practice your elevator pitch!

The key to selling successfully is to think about the person you’re selling to. Make your approach about their needs and think about how they’ll feel after the pitch/meeting. There is no such thing as a ‘natural-born salesperson’. Take it from me - anyone can learn to be good at sales, including you!

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