Hello Nate. I too was uncomfortable with selling when I started out. I have now come to realize that sales is one of the most important jobs. A great salesman can sell bad woodworking while a bad salesman cannot give away great woodworking.
I have bought and read several times the book: The Little Red Book of Sales. It has some companion books as well. Easy to read, short lessons and has things that work right away. I have also taken sales classes at the local community college. I also read many articles about selling as well as check in with a few online forums from time to time. Not all of the info works for me, but some does.
One of the things that I learned is to sell my product based on where the customer is coming from. That is why I ask questions of potential customers before I start selling. I ask questions like: What attracted you to my booth? What do you like? Have you got a little one in mind? What caught your eye? You will get different answers from people and venues. Once you have info about where they are at, you can sell to their interests.
When doing wholesale trade shows, I use the same question technique to find out what people are selling in their stores. If my products don’t fit, I thank them for their time and tell that my products probably won’t work for them. The ones that will work, I have a good idea of what products to show them.
-- Jim Beachler, Chief Puzzler, http://www.hollowwoodworks.com
