Note: This guide is for first-time sellers looking to set up an e-commerce website. This is for people starting from the ground up and may not be as helpful to those with an existing brick and mortar storefront that already has an inventory management system or requires any complicated inventory and/or fulfillment management.
You want to open up an online shop. It’s your first time selling stuff online and you have no idea how websites are made. You also have very limited budget to spend on the website. What to do?
Working at Barrel, I’ve met with dozens of people in a similar situation. They have the product figured out (most of the time), and they want to know how they can start selling online. They come to a company like ours to ask if we can help build them a site. We’ll typically charge anywhere between $35k and $100k, so often times, this will be too pricey for first-time sellers. I decided to put together a brief guide for first-time sellers who’re open to taking a do-it-yourself approach. This guide also outlines what I believe should be priorities as a first-time seller.
Making your first sale as a salesperson can seem daunting. But with the right strategy and persistence you can get over that initial hump and start building your book of business. This comprehensive guide covers key tips for landing your inaugural sale.
Set Specific Sales Goals
Having concrete sales goals gives you something to work towards. As a new salesperson you may not have hard sales quotas yet. So create your own objectives, for example
- Get 2 sales in the first month
- Close 5 deals in the first quarter
- Reach $10,000 in sales by end of Q2
Setting incremental goals helps you build confidence and momentum. Review and revise them regularly.
Understand the Sales Process
Make sure you have a solid grasp of the entire sales process, including:
- Lead generation – getting new potential customer names
- Prospecting – making initial outreach to leads
- Qualifying – determining fit and interest level
- Presentation – product/service demos and pricing
- Handling objections – answering concerns confidently
- Closing – asking for the sale and finalizing terms
- Follow up – ongoing customer relationship management
Knowing the sales workflow helps you execute each stage effectively. Study sales methodology and psychology.
Focus on High-Potential Leads
Not all leads are created equal. As a rookie, avoid wasting time on low odds prospects. Instead, pursue leads that are:
- Referred by current happy customers
- In target market with pain point you can alleviate
- Have budget and authority to make purchasing decisions
- Open to meetings and giving feedback
Pursuing qualified, warm leads gives you the best shot at closing quickly.
Perfect Your Sales Pitch
An compelling sales pitch is key to sealing the deal. Make sure yours has:
- Brief company/product overview
- Statement of their needs/issues
- Explanation of how you solve their problem
- Key features/benefits summary
- Proof of concept – demos, samples, testimonials
- Clear call to action
Practice delivering a smooth pitch focused on their needs until it’s natural.
Build Rapport and Trust
People buy from those they know, like and trust. As a new salesperson, quickly establishing rapport is critical.
- Research prospects before calls
- Warm up with friendly ice breakers
- Ask questions and actively listen
- Share relevant experiences
- Send meaningful follow up notes
When they see you as helpful and trustworthy, they’ll be more likely to buy.
Handle Objections Effectively
Don’t get discouraged by objections. View them as opportunities to address concerns.
- Listen closely to understand true objection
- Empathize and acknowledge the concern
- Provide clarification, education or compromises
- Remind them of benefits they’d miss out on
- Confirm the objection is fully resolved
Proper objection handling helps advance the sale.
Ask for the Sale
The close is when you explicitly ask for the business and seek a commitment. Common approaches include:
- Summarize benefits then ask “Does this sound like a fit?”
- Offer a choice – “Would you prefer A or B?”
- Suggest next steps – “Shall we move forward with paperwork?”
- Address concerns – “Does this resolve your last question?”
Practice different closes until you’re comfortable directly asking for sales.
Learn from Rejection
If a prospect says no, don’t take it personally. Not every lead will convert. Analyze why the deal fell through and improve for next time.
- Review the opportunity for red flags you missed
- Note objections you struggled to overcome
- Identify gaps in your product knowledge
- Change elements of your pitch and technique
Let rejection motivate you rather than discourage you.
Celebrate Small Wins
Closing your first deal is a big achievement. But also celebrate small milestones, like:
- Securing your first sales meeting
- Getting positive feedback after a presentation
- Having objections properly addressed
- Developing strong rapport with a prospect
Marking small wins maintains motivation during a long sales cycle.
Persistence Pays Off
Some sales cycles stretch for months. Persistence and discipline are key.
- Make a certain number of calls per day
- Follow up regularly with prospects
- Vary contact methods – email, phone, mail, social media
- Add value with helpful content
- Build urgency with time-limited offers
With consistent outreach, you can turn initially cold leads hot.
The first sale often takes longer, but once you get that initial win, momentum builds. Stick to the sales fundamentals, focus on high-potential prospects, and keep working towards your goals. Before you know it, you’ll be a rainmaking salesperson!
Setting Up the Platform
Many times, people will come to us and ask for all kinds of features for their first ever e-commerce store: wish lists, registries, gift certificates, user accounts, customer reviews, and product recommendations. These are all great features to have on an e-commerce site, but not absolutely essential. I suggest focusing first on making sure that the website allows you to post descriptions and s of your products and gives customers the ability to add to cart and check out in an easy manner. This can be solved rather easily by signing up for an e-commerce platform.
Over the years, we’ve used several different platforms. Of the pack, I’d recommend Shopify (disclosure: affiliate linked). It’s got a nice user interface, has a good selection of pre-made themes, and doesn’t try to do too much (see BigCommerce). Pricing ranges from $29/month to $179/month (and the ones below $179/month also include a transaction fee), which is not a bad deal for having your own solidly built e-commerce backend. After you sign up, take a look through their themes and pick one. They have free and paid ones. I would look mostly under the paid ones. They range from $80 to $180. I would go for one that is clean, simple, friendly to large photo s, and responsive, which means it will adjust and display nicely on different devices.
With e-commerce comes the need for a merchant account and payment gateway. We’ve set up separate merchant accounts and payment gateways for clients in the past (Bank of America/Chase as merchant accounts and Authorize.net as payment gateway have been popular combos). To keep it simple, I would just sign up for Paypal Payments Pro, which can act as both merchant account and payment gateway in one. This is about $30/month plus around 3% per transaction.
Get these things in place, and voila, you should have a functioning store. Of course, this is the easy stuff. The real work has to do with content and marketing.
Invest in Photography and Product Descriptions
You can have an amazingly designed website with great typography and sweet effects, but if your photos suck, your ability to entice prospective buyers will suffer (of course, this is not true in all cases–some specialty products will sell regardless of quality). Do not to skimp on the photography. This might mean bartering with a friend for his professional photography help. Maybe you’ll luck out and find a good photographer on Craigslist who’ll do it for a couple hundred bucks. Or maybe you’re really into photography and willing to invest in the equipment (buy or rent) and the time to shoot and post-process your own photos.
This might vary depending on your product, but I’ll make a generalization: take photos that fully capture the various details of the product. If this is a piece of clothing, you’ll want to make sure you have photos of the front and back along with some close-up shots showing things like the fabric texture or the style of the buttons. I also recommend a photo that shows the product in action, whether it’s a shot of a model wearing/using it or the product in a real-life setting.
Product descriptions are also important for driving sales on your site. Some general rules I like to think about: get across the important facts, explain the benefits to the customer, and make it easy to scan (bullets can be handy for this). There are many sites with tips and tricks on this topic, and you can always find an e-commerce copywriter on Craigslist, but I would suggest reading product descriptions on successful e-commerce sites and mimicking their styles. Of course, if you’re going for something more unique, you should feel free to try creative approaches. This could mean using a voice full of personality or trying an editorial story-driven format to introduce your product.
How to Get Your First 100 Sales on Etsy (Fast in 2024)
How to make your first sale online?
Let’s dig into how to make your first sale online. 1. Send Free Samples to Influencers You don’t need to look far to find influential bloggers, journalists, entrepreneurs, and vloggers from various industries and niches. You just need to find the right ones.
Should you make your first sale?
As an online merchant, making your first sale is as symbolic as it is necessary. It doesn’t sound like much, but believe me when I say the optimism and reassurance it brings can make it the biggest milestone in the life of your business. Getting that first sale isn’t always easy, though. It can sometimes be a long, arduous battle.
How do I get a house ready to sell?
From cleaning and staging to repainting and depersonalizing, here are 11 things you can do to get a house ready to sell. First and foremost, do your homework on the value of your home. Start by researching the local housing market through Realtor.com. Take a look at comparable sales in your neighborhood to figure out your appropriate listing price.
How do I prepare for my first sales job?
Reading about vocabulary, processes, and knowledge can prepare you for your first sales role, especially when you leverage tips from experienced salespeople and the expert insight they contribute to different pieces. 7. Talk with reps in your network to understand how sales jobs work.
