It takes a strong woman to sell virtual

I was asked to write a tutorial on sales, I've only been selling or teaching the art of the sale for 35 years. It's what I do; it's the only thing I know how to do!

There are some tools that one must become familiar with to become a good seller. Rocket fuel first; be it coffee, tea, soda or just plain water ~ using Rocket Fuel will keep you zoned in on your goal. Here's mine.



Time fly's when you are doing something fun or starting a new venture. I opened an Etsy Store a mere six months ago and am fairly satisfied with my results. Nearly all my sales were multiple orders, I have 100% glowing feedback (despite the winter storms slowing delivery times), and I sell to a very narrow customer-base.



What I've learned is not to trip over dollars to make quarters! Learning the in's and out's of a new selling venue takes determination and reading everything possible. I've spent so many hours "learning" reading that I have days when I think my eyes are going to bleed. Determination also means rolling with the punches, adapting to change and most importantly avoid the politics of any group. It's hard to avoid the latter ~ however I was taught many years ago; "no one can put negativity into your head if you don't let them."

It costs money to make money and having spent the better part of my life creating bottom line revenue I am acutely aware of this fact. Marketing and promotion are the single most important aspect to launching a new business. For my Etsy store, I choose to renew items on a regular basis. The cost is minimal and it brings my inventory within closer viewing range. I have chosen not to "feature" my items on Etsy's front page. It's expensive and rarely does anyone even see it. Lets face it, I've been around Etsy long enough to know that shoppers, even new shoppers will search from the list on the front page or for sellers they know. My pretty picture for a day is not going to make a difference in my revenue.

I'm not typically a joiner, especially where I may be tempted to let negativity into my head. Etsy has changed their focus from a Forum based community to a Team based community. They did not write and ask my opinion! That said, new teams are springing up every day. In the first few days of "teamdom" I began to think of what would make the most sense for me and what would other people "need" to grow their business. The Internet, or better said, Blogging! Many, many Etsy sellers use Blogs as a sales, marketing and promotions tool for their respective stores. So I started the Etsy Blog Team. I should tell you that by it's very nature (full of off-Etsy links) it is controversial. However the team is growing fast and it's a very cool crowd to hang with. We have even started our own brand new blog, The Etsy Blog Team Blog! It's brand new but sure to be a real winner as it will be full of guest Bloggers and tutorials on subjects of all kinds.



So I leave you today with this message: Work hard, keep your head down, drink what keeps you going and don't let any negativity enter your brain!