What Do Trailblazing Entrepreneurs Have In Common? Learn the Formula to Sales Success

You know the big players in business like Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson and James Dyson, as well as the business empires they’ve built.

But before their brands became household names, they were simply hopeful entrepreneurs with an idea. The top business leaders who become billionaires know a few secrets of the sales trade. We’re now revealing them to you.

Your business should start with a problem to solve

Before he became an entrepreneur, Sir James Dyson worked as an engineer and an inventor. His frustration with Hoover vacuum bags getting clogged with dust inspired him to build the first cyclonic vacuum, using technology he invented himself. Now, Dyson sells innovative products from hair stylers to humidifiers.

“Things are too heavy, things are too polluting, things don’t perform as well as they should, things don’t last as long as they should – there are just hundreds of problems in every product. What we’re doing is trying to do something different and better,” Dyson said.

Although Sir Richard Branson was entrepreneurial from the very start, similar to Dyson, he started his business to fill a need.

Branson launched Virgin Mail Order in 1970, selling records by mail order to raise funds for his youth culture magazine called Student. The company was named Virgin because he was entirely new to business. Soon the records were selling so well that Branson opened Virgin Records on Oxford Street in London. The Virgin brand then snowballed, from a record label to gaming, airlines and airwaves.

At the core of their business models, both Dyson and Virgin value innovation, high quality products and customer experience which significantly influences their sales strategies. 

“What excites me is taking things that don’t work and making them better,” Dyson said.

Put the customers first and the profits will follow

“Virgin has always been about putting the customer at the heart of everything we do and innovating in industries ripe for disruption. This is what our brand stands for and is applied to every business bearing our brand name,” Branson said.

“Everything in the end comes down to customer service and the people who are serving you,” Branson said in an interview with Forbes.

Connecting an innovative solution with the target customer who needs it sounds simple, but it’s incredibly effective.“It is all about customer satisfaction at the end of the day,” said Marlen von Roth, regional sales director for central EMEA enterprise at software company Atlassian. 

“Both leaders have resilience in common and are not afraid to take risks. Their shared commitment to innovation, quality and customer satisfaction has been instrumental to their success and brand,” she added.

In an interview 25 years ago, Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos said: “I believe that if you can focus obsessively on customer experience, selection, ease of use, low prices, more information to make purchase decisions with – if you can give customers all that, plus great customer service – then you have a good chance.”

”The key lies in a customer-centric approach. It is all about the customer in the end. Focus on the customer’s needs and provide exceptional service to build trust,” said von Roth.

The secrets to sales success

So once you have the innovative product, market demand and customer experience down, is there such a thing as a secret sauce of sales success?

“I don’t believe there is one secret formula to sales success, but there is value in developing human skills to improve your success rate,” von Roth said.“In sales, we are often faced with rejection. Persistence, resilience and adaptability are absolutely instrumental to overcoming obstacles like changing market conditions and customer needs, in order to achieve success,” she adds.

And Dyson would agree. “The time to push hard is when you’re hurting like crazy and you want to give up, because success is often just around the corner,” he said.

“Listen more than you speak,” advised Branson in a blog post. “You can’t get genuine feedback from your employees and your customers if you don’t truly listen to them. This means listening to the good and the bad. It’s also a simple sign of respect, which shows people you trust and value them,” he wrote.

Your people are your business

Finally, investing in your team is essential for sales success.

“Let people be authentic at work, and watch them thrive. They will find more pride, fulfillment, and passion for the job – which translates directly into better experiences for customers, heightened creativity, and greater productivity,” said Branson.

Embracing diversity and inclusion amongst your team unlocks business performance, according to von Roth. “Diverse teams bring a variety of perspectives and ideas, which can lead to more innovative solutions and better decision-making. Inclusion ensures that all team members feel valued and are able to contribute fully,” she said.

“Look after your people and your people will look after your business,” Branson said.