What do sheep have to do with sales?

by Leave a comment

Did you know I grew up on a sheep farm?

Yep, when I was 5 years old, my mother gave up her cushy life as a Pittsburgh suburban housewife, bought 148 acres and started raising sheep.

My sisters and I joke that the greatest benefit we got from being on the farm was that we could use the experience as fodder for our college entrance essays.

However, it wasn’t until way after college, when I started my own business, that I really benefited from the experience.

You see, traditional farming doesn’t bring in very much revenue. So my mother had to create other ways to bring in income. We began to spin yarn from the wool of our sheep, which we sold for a much higher price than we could get for the raw wool.

Eventually we had a full-on cottage industry, selling everything from yarn to sheepskin coats. We were often featured in the local newspapers, and were invited to festivals, where we demonstrated spinning or even shearing live sheep. (Yes, that’s me in the back at age 11).

Because of this, I started selling from a very young age. I learned to talk about the benefits of our products while facing rejection. I experimented with different ways of approaching potential customers. I learned that products have different values depending on the buyer. And I was constantly faced with the fear of failure if we didn’t make enough money.

It was the best training I could have had for being an entrepreneur.

I incorporated those lessons into the coaching I use to help my clients to succeed in selling their services. I’ve determined that there are 5 common fears that get in the way of sales success.

During my live 5-Day Sales Challenge, I’ll break down one of those fears each day and show you how to release it to make selling easier and more natural for you.

The challenge will take place on August 24 – 28, from 12:00 – 12:30 PM EST daily. Each day I’ll give you actions that you can implement right away to see results.

So sign up to participate in my 5-Day Sales Challenge to break free from the fears that stop your business from growing today!

See you at the challenge!

Have you ever wondered about your own strengths and weaknesses as the “CEO” of your business? I’ve created a quiz that can help you gain insights into your leadership style and areas for growth. It’s a fun way to reflect on your skills and discover opportunities for development. Take the quiz and unlock your CEO potential today! Click here to take the quiz.

Author: Liz Wolfe

Liz Wolfe is a business coach, author, and speaker who coaches entrepreneurs to get unstuck so that they can launch and grow an abundant business. For more than 20 years she has empowered people with her three-part coaching system starting with a clear vision coupled with purposeful Action, and removing hidden barriers to get breakthrough results for her clients. Liz got her entrepreneurial start growing up on a sheep farm in Western Pennsylvania with her mother and two sisters. They built a cottage industry making and selling woolen items, which helped Liz develop her public speaking and selling skills. Later she moved to NYC, where she used those skills to create a successful computer consulting business with her husband, Jon. Eventually she transitioned out of the technology business to apply her experience in a more interpersonal context, helping business owners to develop an abundance mindset. Liz says that one of her greatest accomplishments is staying married to her husband for 25 years while running a business with him. They have two wonderful children. Always eager to get in front of a crowd, Liz also plays the ukulele and is half of the singing duo Ukulicious.

Leave a comment