Episode 1: 3 Things You Really Need to Get From Sell Like Crazy

Hey entrepreneur, welcome to this book review. Over the next 6 weeks, we will be discussing the principles from Sabri Suby’s ‘Sell Like Crazy’ and applying some great ones.

We selected this book because there are too many entrepreneurs who set out to build a business and learn the skills needed to render their services but have no idea how to keep the revenue stream flowing constantly.

No business can survive without cash flow. In selecting the appropriate book to review, Sell Like Crazy stood out because of the practical and proven insight that it contains.

What this is saying is that Suby takes a wholistic and objective approach in the book.

Sell Like Crazy is divided into 14 chapters and together, we will read, review and apply its principles in 6 weeks. This means that a new review article will be published every Wednesday on 2 chapters of the book for the next 6 weeks. Look out for the free Fashion Executives Test template from Mauvelli.

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You are first a marketer, then a fashionpreneur

In the first three chapters of the book, one of the major points that Suby emphasized is this, “As the owner, your number one responsibility is to sell”. In the makeup of a fashion business, there are staff who do a myriad of things including sewing clothes or other fashion items, attending to customers or whatnot.

In a survey carried out by Mauvelli on corporate employees, only 14% agreed that they should be a part of the company’s sales process. This percentage understood the correlation between the business’ sales and their salaries while the others felt they were hired for their competencies and should get paid regardless.

Premium Content: How To Create A Marketing Strategy When Launching In Competitive Fashion Environments

The survey shows that Suby is right in saying that the owner of the business has the number 1 priority in bringing in sales. This means that as a fashionpreneur, you are first a marketer and should approach the activities in your brand from this perspective.

4% of the activities bring 64% of the revenue

From daybreak to close of business, there are myriads of things to do in a fashion brand. However, not all of this should be given equal attention and more importantly, as the founder, not all of this should be done by you.

Suggested Read: Building A Fashion Brand? Here Are 6 Hidden Costs To Watch Out For

Remember that your number one task is to bring in revenue for the business, therefore, your energy should be focused on tasks that move the money needle and bring in revenue. Suby estimates in his book that only 4% of the tasks that you are saddled with actually bring in money for your brand.

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These 4% activities include forging strategic partnerships between your brand and reputable media houses like Mauvelli for extended coverage of collections and events, creating new products, shooting videos for courses and others. List out the tasks that you daily do in your business and highlight the 4% calibre, then delegate the others appropriately.

What are the most common chores that you do in your fashion brand, please take part in this survey and tell us.

The single parent mother work ethic – How to Sell Like Crazy

In our review of the first three chapters of this book, what gave Sell Like Crazy 7 out of 10 marks for us is the brutal honesty and realistic approach it gives to sales. Nothing works if you do not work and Suby agrees.

Suggested Read: 5 Steps To Maintain Brand Consistency As You Grow Your Fashion Brand

This is the Single Parent Mother Work Ethic in a nutshell, “I don’t care how talented you are, how fortunate your upbringing was, or even if you had better education or opportunities than me. You simply can’t outwork me. Ever”.

The basic block that all of Sell Like Crazy is built on is that your work ethic is the ultimate factor. Do you put in the work, or do you lounge and just get by? Do you create the sales funnel that your brand can convert to paying customers, are you deliberate on spending quality time on the tasks that matter? Do you train as an entrepreneur by getting knowledge tailored at building up your business or do you feel fashion skills are enough?

Your work ethic is the one factor that you can control and if you get it right, you can turn your business into a value-adding fire-breathing sales machine.

What do you think of the first three chapters? We’d like to hear from you in the comments section. See you next week for the next review of Sell Like Crazy.