Small Business Ideas For The Experienced Salesperson

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Jon Clem

Sales is such a broad category of business that it’s difficult to imagine exactly what someone does when they tell you that they’re in sales. However, whether they work for a multi-national company, buying and selling on a massive sale, or simply go door-to-door selling Tupperware or Knives, there is a common skill set that is required to be truly successful in sales. There are plenty of subtle differences between selling different products, but the ability to connect with a client and find the way to convince them that they need your product is really what makes a salesman great. This is not to say that salesmen force or manipulate customers into buying things that they don’t need, but a good salesman does have the uncanny ability to convince you that their product is better than the competition and if you’re on the fence about a purchase, a good salesman will put your mind at ease.

Many people view sales as a short term career or a means to an end, but for the right salesmen with an entrepreneurial spirit, there are plenty of great franchise small businesses perfectly suited for the experienced salesman. Whether you want to get hooked up with a franchisor that sells an incredible product and do the sales yourself, run a staff of well trained salespeople or take on a consulting franchise where you and your experience are the products to be sold, here’s a look at some of the best franchise small business opportunities currently available for the experienced salesperson.

Sales
Considered by many to be one of the world’s oldest professions, sales is an industry and skill set that will never go out of style. Being able to properly identify a need and plug-in the perfect service or product is a skill that everyone can benefit from, yet few people have mastered. With a franchise like Rotobrush, you can arm yourself with a van and a specialized tool for cleaning out air ducts. This may not seem like a huge industry, but with the right salesman at the help, Rotobrush estimates that you can earn as much as $75k/year just working part time. If you would prefer to sell something more tangible, consider a franchise with Caddy Card. This unique franchise focuses on the niche market of golf course advertising, by selling advertising space on full color scorecards and then giving them away for free to local golf courses. Advertisers will jump at the chance to reach a demographic with more disposable income than just about any other sport or hobby, and golf courses love getting the neatly designed score cards, complete with scale maps of the golf course.

Management
Sales franchises focusing on management skills are generally little more than a small franchise that outgrows the availability of one person. Consider a franchise with Palm Beach Specialty Coffee. You can easily start out with a small operation in this small business franchise, placing specialty coffee machines in local businesses and offices. Then, grow your business as fast as you want, bringing in other salesmen to do the daily work of sales, restocking and maintenance, while you manage the business and keep it on track. Vending is another great way to run a sales small business from behind the scenes. Simply place your machines with a variety of products from dvd rentals from DVDNow to energy drinks from Entech USA Vending and get ready to watch your business run itself. The products and their cleverly designed machines will do the work of sales on their own as you plan out your next machine location, manage a staff that refills and maintains the machines and contact local store owners to make placement deals for your machines.

Consulting
Business consulting may not seem like the most approachable small business, but with a little sales or business experienced coupled with a successful franchise, nearly anyone can be a success in business consulting. 360 Solutions provides training and a strong curriculum for all of their franchisees. Then, once you’re fully equipped to train business professionals, you can start making serious money as a consultant, helping businesses reach their goals and find as much success as they’re willing to work for. CEO Focus is another great name in business consulting, providing a proven "game-plan" to potential franchisees that can be rolled out in as little as 60 days. If you’re considering a franchise in business consulting, but are concerned that you may not have the experience to instruct business professionals who, quite frankly, have been in the business world much longer than you, fear not. Sometimes, all that’s needed to incite change and get a company on the right track is to get some outside perspective. Couple this perspective with the unique training programs developed by the franchisors, and you’ll soon see how you can heavily impact even the most well established corporations, by bringing in fresh concepts and ideas.

Each of these franchises are perfect for the experienced salesperson, but even if you’re not so experienced, but would still like to own your own small business franchise, each franchisor offers extensive training to get you in peak sales performance. These franchises have built names for themselves on strong products and smart and successful business plans, and when you’re ready to take the helm of your own small business franchise, they’ll provide you with everything you need for a successful launch and a successful future.