I remember the first time I starting selling for Navi.

My business partner and I hit up plastic surgeon’s offices in our scrubs in the middle of summer, arms full of boxes containing scrumptious frosted cupcakes on the verge of melting & our dazzling Navi Nurses brochures. Eyes bright, faces glistening with beads of sweat. Was it the heat or was it nervousness?

It was both.

Selling is scary af yo.

It definitely got easier after a while. Once our script became second nature and our business started to gain traction, we were able to share client stories and testimonials that supported our incredible services. And most importantly, word of mouth was spreading. Knowing that we had GOAT level private duty nursing services in the area boosted our confidence and shushed our imposter syndrome. I always joke (but not really joking) that the nursing skills are the best entrepreneurs. Listen.. we’re great and connecting with people at every level, we have backup plans for backup plans, we’re creative, flexible and resourceful, we negotiate successfully and we sell everyday!

“Check this out Bill.. let’s do a few laps around the nurses station and you’ll be pregaming in your room with the finest chocolate pudding you’ve ever had!”

-Me to my patient

For real though. Selling is so crucial not just in business. It’s an important skill to develop to be successful in all areas of life. So when I came across my SeedSpot newsletter and saw that a virtual session on sales tactics was being held, I jumped on board. One of my rules is that I always take the opportunity to learn.

The sales session was led by Seed Spot Alumni and mentor, Norman Rodriguez, founder of Elevate. Norman gave actionable advice on how to improve sales from tactics and best practices on outreach by phone or email & how tonality and delivery play a key role, how to utilize free digital platforms on finding leads easily on websites like LinkedIn, important sales metrics to track and what an outreach progression with a potential client should look like during the various touch points of the sales journey. He also went over basics you should have in your sales toolbox like a CRM, lead generator and to level up that toolbox, eventually implementing a sales enablement platform to perform data analysis on tools, techniques and more to make your sales strategy more effective.

Overall, it was a super lively session with lots of participation from students and startup founders/team members looking to strengthen their sales muscle to get gainz in their respective businesses. I’m so glad I went! I even connected with a few peeps on LinkedIn which is always a plus.

The best advice I have for anyone looking to start their own business is to take advantage of free resources in your community. For example, SeedSpot is such a great resource for entrepreneurs who are just starting out in their journey, or those that have been around the block a few times and just need to fill some business knowledge gaps with a session like this. A few years ago I completed SeedSpot’s 2-day launch camp where you took a business idea you had, completed a lean business canvas, made a slide deck and pitched in front of an audience within 2 days. It was kind of like a startup bootcamp with SeedSpot mentors guiding you throughout the process. The camp then was $98 but don’t ever let a price tag hold you back. There are so many free resources that are incredible, you just have to look for them. For example, definitely sign up for their newsletter which is totally free – that’s where I found this session.

Lastly, really get plugged into your community if you’re starting out. Go to networking events, sign up for conferences, join newsletters, and talk about what you’re working on or what you have ideas about. I’ve found that in the startup community, people are so helpful in further connecting you to others that might be helpful, and other resources you should look into.