Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in consultancy but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ryland Ferguson, Founder of RepRev Consulting, located in Livingston, TX, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

RepRev Consulting is a boutique sales consultancy serving small-to-medium-sized businesses focused on selling business-to-business. We work with business owners and salespeople to unlock their sales potential by building a customized Sales Practice that maximizes what has already worked for them and integrates it with world-class, proven approaches that build trusted connections to prospects and customers. Using coaching and targeted training, this process yields shorter sales cycles, helps turn prospects into advocates, wins more business, and helps salespeople enjoy selling more than they ever thought possible. We are on a mission to change sales for the better and help businesses achieve their growth goals.

Tell us about yourself

As a founder of the business, I wanted to apply the lessons I've learned through decades in sales to as many businesses as I can impact. I believe in high-integrity, process-driven approaches that make selling a joy. As a full-time traveler who has spent five years on the road world-schooling my children, I knew I needed a business that could help me make the maximum impact in short engagements with clients while working remotely. RepRev Consulting was born of my hope to coach, train, and optimize the sales operations of businesses across the B2B environment. Whether clients need on-demand coaching sessions to work through a specific scenario with a client, targeted training sessions to develop skills that need sharpening, or a full overhaul of the sales process, I'm honored to have the opportunity to help business owners and salespeople get the results they need in sales to achieve their goals.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In speaking with many business owners, it seems success and accomplishments are very personal and meaningful. For a while, I've been proud of my work helping clients to sell and enjoy selling more than they ever thought possible; I still feel my biggest accomplishment was simply getting started. As much as I believed I had to offer my fellow business owners and salespeople, taking the leap to bet on myself and get started was still the hardest part of owning a business. It's not a mindset that comes naturally to me, but after years of consideration, I knew I had to strike out on my own and wade into that abyss. I'm so glad that I did and looking back, I don't think I could have done it any other way.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

For me, the hardest aspect of being a business owner is balancing work and life. As a full-time travelers, there's so much to do and see everywhere we go. I want to make sure I'm staying present and enjoying the locations, cultures, and experiences that I have come all this way to encounter. I live this way to spend as much time with my wife and children as I can and share in their experiences in deep and meaningful ways. At the same time, I'm deeply passionate about my business and my clients, and I want to deliver fantastic results for them. Even when I feel like I have the time aspect perfectly balanced, there is still the question of balancing mindset and presence as well. Transitioning between those two worlds requires mindfulness and intentionality. I constantly work to keep a harmonious work/life balance.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Learn to sell. As a sales coach, of course, that's my number one tip. Selling is not something that comes easily and intuitively to many business owners and, frankly, many salespeople. Business owners are often experts in what they are passionate about, which is why they're amazing entrepreneurs, but they are rarely experts in sales. As you grow from customer one to customer one hundred and beyond, building an effective sales process that is backed by world-class training and coaching will give you the tools you need to make your revenue growth repeatable and scalable.
  2. Find a mentor. As a business owner, you'll face all kinds of questions, big and small, on myriad subjects that can easily bog you down for an hour, a day, a week, or longer. Having a mentor you trust that can point you in the right direction will save you time, money, and headaches. Get more than one mentor, and you'll find even more resources for short-cutting problems and finding success. Particularly if you are unfamiliar with small businesses or entrepreneurship, mentors are invaluable resources.
  3. Trust the Process. When you first get started as a business owner, you're often touching almost every aspect of the business. As you grow, your time will simply not be able to keep up with that level of demand. Take the time to develop, write out, test, modify, and maintain effective processes as you go for everything you do. Not only will it cut down on costly errors and save you time and money in the long run, but also it will make your life infinitely easier when it comes time to outsource that task or department to someone other than yourself.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Sales can be easier than you think, more enjoyable than you've imagined, and more effective than what you're doing right now. Don't be afraid to learn what you don't know about sales - it's the best investment you can make in your business. It translates faster and more directly to revenue growth than anything you'll invest in this year.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.reprev.net/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rylandfergusonsalescoaching/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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