Bora Vender - Alfredo Soares

When we fail or feel that our project is going nowhere, we are taken by the thought of giving up. Soon we began to question our ability, the idea, the economy of the country.

Then fear causes withdrawal, and a small drop affirms all their fears. Every entrepreneur carries with him the conscience of giving up. However, the key to success lies in managing this thinking to your advantage.

Many people think that entrepreneurship is inventing, but this thinking is wrong. To undertake is to execute. Execution is mainly managing fear and uncertainty to put the plan first.

That's where sales come in. No matter what our professional position, we can all conquer the art of sales. You may not know how to sell or even find yourself a seller. But at some point, you were already one.

Selling is no longer the exchange of products or services for money and has become enchantment, achievement, loyalty, and alignment of interests. But how to do that?

See in this summary of the book "Let's Sell" of author Alfredo Soares, what every entrepreneur needs to learn about selling!

Let us begin?

About the book "Bora Vender"

The book "Bora Vender", "Let's Sell" in a free translation, released in 2019, was written by Alfredo Soares and shows us why success is a matter of execution, not of an idea.

The book consisting of 224 pages, divided into 10 chapters. In the end, the book offers a bonus chapter: "Guide to building your successful online store".

About the author Alfredo Soares

Alfredo Soares is a hustler entrepreneur with over ten years of experience. Today is one of the keynote speakers in sales and e-commerce. He founded two large bootstrap cases (startups without investors) in the Brazilian scenario.

He is currently managing partner of VTEX, the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America, and is ahead of Go Commerce, VTEX's new global project for micro and small businesses, and the Integrada Store, Brazil's most popular platform, with over 800.000 virtual stores created in the last six years.

To whom is this book indicated?

Soares shows us that, rather than waiting for the right moment, investment, or ideal tools, one must execute, err, learn, and redo quickly to be innovative. After all, life is the reaction of your actions: don't wait, create your opportunities.

The referral goes to you who want to start their own virtual business but don't know how to get started or what actions to take to reach their goal.

Main ideas of the book "Bora Vender"

• "How to stop postponing the first step of your projects";
• "Lose the fear of selling and creating the opportunities your business needs";
• "Use perception marketing for your business";
• "Put into practice the new relationship between sales channels and media";
• "Focus to think big and perform even bigger".

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Overview: "The first step is difficult but not impossible"

To be an entrepreneur is to live forever in a roller coaster, there are times of high and low. You fail, recover, try to reach your goal in many ways, hit-and-miss. But the important thing is never to give up. As LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman said, "To undertake is to jump off a cliff and build a plane during the fall."

Soares' asks do you know that company you value? Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, or any other major company all started the same way with the first sale. That's right, selling a single product.

What made the difference in their history, however, was their ability to execute and learn quickly from their own failures.

Many people think that starting a business is having an idea, and then they fall into this line of thought: "Oh, I started setting up my business. I already have the idea, the planning...".

But no, you didn't start. This will only happen when you win the first customer when there are people paying for your product or service. That is a start. Whether you are right or wrong, you will only find out by doing.

Overview: "We are all salesman"

In "Let's sell" is said that everything has a beginning, and it happens when the first customer chooses to put his money on what you're selling. So having the ability to sell is essential to your business. But what is selling?

According to Soares:

"Selling means action, enchantment, empowerment. Because selling is solving someone's problem. It is much more than exchanging a product or service for money. The word sell could easily be replaced by conquering."

If the seller is good, he is necessarily a conqueror. That's because there will always be cheaper products than yours, or maybe even better ones.

By the way, do you know who is a salesman these days? All of us. You can be an expert at anything, but you will need to sell all the time, sell yourself and your business.

And to succeed in sales, you have to be passionate about solving problems. The essence of selling is the success your customer achieves with your help.

Overview: "Sales Myths"

• The salesman has to be smooth-tongued: the meaning of being smooth-tongued is "having devices to persuade and convince". But gimmicks actually give the idea that the salesman is a cunning fool who will always lead the customer to the disadvantage; Although there are several types of a salesperson, they are all very different from this stereotype of the guy who "wraps up the customer". Instead, you will need to deliver a clear benefit, resource, and good condition to your customer;
• A salesman is born ready: Some people are really born with skills and talents. Okay, but the ability to sell can be grasped like all the others. As with everything in life, the more you do the better it becomes;
• The customer is always right: Soares explains that:

"Often he will have the right, and you'll need to clarify for him the points where your product simply will not meet his need, or if his need is illusory and you will never solve it";

• Selling is not for everyone: In fact, selling is for everyone. But becoming a great salesman is for the few, it is for those who can stand out and excel. To become one, you must have some skills. A salesperson connects to people and develops the ability to ask questions and close the sale without fear and without losing timing. And yet, it has resilience, common sense, and self-motivation. Most importantly, a good salesman is always improving, empowering himself. The good seller cannot stop.

Overview: "How to define your ideal customer?"

According to Soares in "Let's Sell":

"First, map your current customer base. The best way to understand customer profiles is to analyze in your customers' historical data, identifying which ones are the most profitable, the ones that pay the longest."

Separate the top 20% with the highest lifetime value (customer revenue) and find connections between them. For this, these questions can help you:

• What is the market segment?
• What is the average company size?
• In which physical region is it located?
• What is your biggest challenge?
• What is the lowest acquisition cost?
• Which are the best channel to prospect for (LinkedIn, Facebook, Email, Phone)?
• With which company profile does your service/product indicate the highest perceived value?

The answers will help you understand how to expand the relationship with your service or product.

By the way, these questions were for businesses that already had a customer history, but if you don't have a history, we can work with some assumptions:

• Establish five segments to work with;
• Interview at least five companies from each segment to understand the challenges, goals, and processes;
• Create a calendar of acquisition experiments for each segment with specific capture pages and campaigns.
• Study the results to understand: highest average ticket, the highest conversion, and lowest acquisition cost.

According to Soares,

"It's very important that you start with a well-defined market, have fans and focus on a solution that your customers love. After that, expand it into other segments and evolve."

What do other authors say about it?

In "Digital Business", Alan Pakes says sales are the cornerstones of any business. That's why you should also focus on winning over your customer and showing that you have the right solution for them by guiding them toward selling your product.

Jeffrey Gitomer, in "The Sales Bible", points out that a successful salesperson is one who understands customer needs well and offers services that solve their problems. Think long-term about possible customer loyalty to your service.

According to Dr. Robert, in his book "Influence: Science and Practice", everyone uses to influence and is also a target for it. He explains that persuasion professionals know exactly what they want and where to go, for that, they use six psychological principles, addressed in his book, to achieve their goals

Okay, but how can I apply this to my life?

Here's a checklist that will make your life easier and help you implement the actions you need to start an online selling business.

• Purpose: Will your business change other people's lives? Will it offer better performance? What is his real goal? Reflect on these questions. What moves you?
• Values: What are the non-negotiable principles for you? Are you willing to do anything to achieve success? Corruption, bribery, disloyalty, and disrespect? We do not think so. Structuring a business requires responsibilities;
• Plan the business: Answer these questions: "What and who do you intend to sell to? Who will offer what you need to deliver your product or service?" That is, you need to know your niche, audience/persona, and vendor mapping;
• Company Name: The name needs to represent your idea, its differentials, and the message you intend to convey to people. You can hire services for a naming project;
• Professional Email: A word of advice is that you use your brand to communicate with your customers, sign up and make contacts;
• Phone and WhatsApp: It is essential to have an official number to not be confused with personal messages;
• Branding: You need a professional logo to match your business. This service can be hired as well;
• Social Networking: You must be part of the space your client is in. Build a relevant audience, deliver valuable content and engage with your communication channels;
• Build the Team: Before selling your product or service, sell your business idea to those who are willing to take this journey with you. This will ease the path;
• Get Professional: Never stop learning, build a skilled team, and transfer operational roles. Look for solutions that optimize your time, so you can focus on what matters, the strategy.

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