Kale Chips and Sales Tips

I’ll admit it. It’s pretty random that I have a blog that is so fluffy and light and beautiful and touches such amazing things like photography, flowers, yoga, and organic food.

And then I go and post something about sales.

Wait, don’t leave! I’m not going to bore you non-sales types with some traipse through cheeseball-land about how to sell a used car. It is more than that. In fact, most of you are probably already doing this every day.

It is about presenting and selling yourself. And no, I am not referring to the “world’s oldest profession”.  I am talking about calling up/talking to someone you do or don’t know and getting them to buy your idea, service, product, or whatever it may be. Maybe you need help with the bake sale. Maybe you actually need to sell your cakes from the bake sale. Maybe you want to sell key chains on Venice Beach. Maybe your husband doesn’t want to see Ryan Gosling shirtless in another movie, and you need to convince him to see it. You get the idea. Sales.

Here is sales boiled down:

1) You would like something to happen. Or you have a product/service/skill that you think is beneficial to someone.

2) You need to find a person to make #1 happen.

3) You then need to help that person see why #1 works for them.

4) You have to deliver #1 to them with a positive outcome, and hopefully they’ll come back for more.

So how does it work?

First, make sure you honestly and wholeheartedly you believe in whatever it is you are presenting to someone. People are very smart and can see a fake a mile away.

1) Know your audience. Know who they are, what makes them tick, what things are important to them. Make sure this person is the decision-maker (you will save yourself a lot of time this way!).

2) NETWORK! You can always cold call them (if you don’t know them) but how cool is it if you a) already know them b) someone you know knows them c) you have something in common from the start. (Hopefully you already know your hubs if you are trying to convince him of movie choices).

3) Ask a lot of questions and LISTEN. Sales is 90% listening. Make sure you know exactly what is important to them.

4) Reach out. Be upfront, honest and address what is important to them (they just told you this in step 3!) and how/what you have to offer can benefit that.

5) Check for understanding and agreement. Do they agree? Maybe they just want to help you out? Perhaps you need to negotiate a bit here.

6) Be ok with it if they say no. What you have may not be a good fit for everybody.

7) If you are selling a product or service, ask for a referral. Since they like what you’ve presented, ask them if they know anyone else who might be interested. And if they aren’t interested, ask them if they know anyone that might be.

8) Follow through!

Enjoy. You can thank me later when you have dreams about Ryan.

Ok, btw, here’s a quick recipe for Kale Chips (didn’t want to have false advertising, and I had to draw you in somehow!). This recipe is from the very lovely Kelly at The Green Yogi, in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Time: about 20 minutes

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Make sure the kale is dry!

2. In a large bowl or on a baking sheet, toss kale pieces with olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper; you may need to do this in 2 batches. Massage the oil onto kale pieces until the oil is evenly distributed and the kale glistens. Spread the kale out on 2 17-by-12-inch baking sheets (or do this in batches). Bake the kale chips until the leaves look crisp and crumble, about 12-14 minutes. If they are not ready, bake for another 2 to 4 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.  Sprinkle chili pepper if you want and enjoy!

Serves: 6 to 8 people