Frances Pratt
Founder, KISS to Sell
With a graduate certificate in change management, an MBA from Melbourne Business School and over 15 years of sales experience in every industry, Frances has a wealth of business knowledge. With years of experience, Frances was determined to find an area she was passionate about within business consulting. She spoke to business owners and people she knew in order to get a few jobs doing different business-related tasks – however, none of these clicked with her.
It was through this process that Frances realised many business people didn’t really understand sales and salespeople. This was a turning point for her – she realised that she loved sales and was great at it, so she started to focus on sales consulting. Today, her business offers jargon-free sales training online for people who don’t like selling.
“I love selling … it’s true! I also get a kick out of showing people how they can be the chief sales person for their business in a way that they are comfortable with and will help them honestly and ethically grow their business.”
Advice from Frances
What three pieces of advice do you wish you’d been given when you started?
- Planning is so important. In the end, YOU have to dictate where you put your energies and being in the ebb and flow of other people’s current doesn’t let you do that.
- Prepare for the downtimes. Whether it is psychologically, financially or productively – you really need to think about how you are going to work through these. What resources do you need, what helps, and how can you cater for that in your business.
- Celebrate the wins. One of the things that I have very installed in my business week is a celebration and my time. It is great to push yourself and get things done. But stopping, reflecting, celebrating and taking time out are imperatives if you are to sustain your business, yourself and allow yourself to take that next step in your mission.
What advice would YOU give someone thinking about starting a business?
Get out and talk to your prospective clients NOW. The only people who can buy from you are real live clients. These are the people that you will need to convince to buy, and learn what they would (and wouldn’t) buy from you. You need to find and then deeply understand your potential client and what they value, how they talk, the words they use, what they will and won’t pay for, what keeps them up at night.
‘I have seen too many examples of people who have worked really hard crafting a better mousetrap – which is truly better and amazing … and then they take it to market, and everyone has a cockroach problem!’
What skills and knowledge areas would you recommend those starting out in business get acquainted with quickly?
- All the money stuff
- How to listen well to others
- How to tell your story in an engaging way
- How to learn from the people around you
Frances on being a HerBusiness Premium Member:
“Being an entrepreneur can be very lonely. Sometimes, particularly when you are starting out, you think you are the ONLY person with this or that problem.
I love HerBusiness because it gives me information on the areas where other people stick. I get to hear other people’s stories and learning from them. I don’t get a lot of time to read, so the book interviews are priceless.
Best of all I love the opportunity to meet other businesswomen and share stories, laughs, tears and inspiration to continue.
Whenever there is a group of women, online or in real life, I always learn something that surprises me and gives me a new piece of the puzzle of business and life.”
Learn more about KISS to Sell here.
This post was co-authored by Vashti Broos. Vashti completed a journalism internship at HerBusiness. She studies Marketing & Public Relations/Journalism at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney.
