Because of their unique role, founders have a direct and indirect impact on a company’s operation, culture, efficiency, and communication. Most founders have a technical background and have several years of experience in their field, often complementing each other’s skill set. However, especially when it comes to solo founders, entrepreneurs need to learn missing skills such as sales and finance to be successful. In this article, we discuss the importance of continuous education for entrepreneurs and what the most vital skills are today.

Sales

There are literally no businesses that don’t do sales to generate revenue or to grow. While it’s natural for established businesses to hire their own sales staff, if you plan to found a new startup, you need to pick up at least the basics to be successful. Regardless of your background, understanding how sales works will help you develop a strategy, create a business plan, attract new customers and retain the ones you already have, and make the right decisions at the right time.

When it comes to sales, the most important skills are the following:

• Sales Basics: A simple understanding of the selling process is not as difficult as it may seem. It all comes down to finding out what people need and solving their problems.
• How To Generate Leads: Only mature businesses can enjoy the luxury of new clients coming to them. Startup founders and fresh entrepreneurs need to hustle and get out there to reach out to their potential buyers in person.
• Understanding potential buyer personas: As an entrepreneur, you will need to know who you are selling to and the underlying reasons why they are buying your products or services.
• How to close a sale: Starting a conversation with potential customers is one thing, but you will need to win the deal to generate revenue for your business. To do so, you need to handle rejections and turn cold conversations into real interest.

IOOGO has your back! Check out the above links to know more about these must-know topics in sales.

Finance

Finance is the nuts and bolts of running a business. These days, it does not take an expensive university education to learn the skills you need to be a successful entrepreneur. We have created webinars to show you how to master the most important tasks on your finance journey.

• How to become an entrepreneur: Understanding the basic requirements for entrepreneurship, including business forms and strategy development, will open up a whole new world of opportunities.
• Financing Options: One study by US Bank found that the reason why 82% of businesses failed was due to cash flow problems. In this IOOGO webinar, you can learn how to finance your company to avoid any potential financing issues.
• Principles Of Banking: Banks are the main financial engines of economic growth, but it’s not easy to navigate the vast amount of loan offers. As a founder, you can learn how to choose the most suitable option for your business and acquire the necessary knowledge to make a successful application.

The most important principle of entrepreneurial education is that founders need to gather as much knowledge as possible about running businesses while keeping their skills fresh and up-to-date. With the right background information, you can make the right decisions, both financially and in terms of selling your products or services. At IOOGO, we understand the importance of lifelong learning, and that motivates us to support founders and entrepreneurs through webinars and other educational materials.