Sales – to those who are born to sell it’s a craft, to plenty of others in business it is seen more of a dark art. Fortunately, on hand to dispel some of the mystery and myths is Julie Futcher, founder of The Sales Ace and an expert not just in selling but someone with decades of experience in sales training that helps others achieve the results they want.
After a career in recruitment and sales, Julie set up her own business ten years ago, firstly The Sales Manager and, since 2020, The Sales Ace, to help train sales teams, assist clients with drawing up a sales strategy, and to take an impassionate overview of where sales processes are working, and where they’re not.
The lifeblood of most businesses, sales are the means through which businesses grow. Whether that’s selling a service, a product or a concept, the fundamentals remain the same – developing a clear sales strategy in order to increase sales, hit targets and implement more effective sales processes.
The Sales Ace’s clients usually engage Julie’s services with the simple aim of increasing their sales revenue. The reality is often more complex, with a need, sometimes, to delve deeper to work out why the sales process is not delivering what it should.
“I built The Sales Manager up over a number of years, I had a great team and a great business, until Covid hit,” said Julie. “It was clear that the business as it was wouldn’t be viable long term and so I took the decision to close it. What made all the difference to me was the reaction of my clients. Firstly, I undertook all of the work clients had already paid for myself, not because I had to but because it felt like the right thing to do.
“And then, clients started to tell me they were worried they were going to lose my services. Having to close the business was an incredibly upsetting time, but that affirmation from my clients was the pick-me-up I needed and so The Sales Ace was formed.
“I reassessed what I wanted from a business and I’m now happy where I am. I don’t feel I want to conquer the world anymore, it just feels absolutely amazing to be able to help people and give their businesses the support they need.”
The Sales Ace delivers traditional sales training including face- to-face and telephone sales, business consultancy and, at times, recruitment advice and support. After being engaged to help train a sales team, the focus often shifts to other areas of the business and where other factors need to be addressed to allow the organisation to move forward.
“I tend to work with SMEs, ranging from three or four employees up to around 150 people,” said Julie. “I like to take a helicopter view of the sales function within a business. I’m paid to be non-emotional and ask questions that a lot of people don’t ask, things that might be difficult for the people concerned to consider, but sometimes you need that independent view.
“In most instances, I can see the sales team need some help and development, and sometimes I can see that it’s more about translating the language of the business owner into something the sales team can understand.
“You need to ask the right questions because some business owners see sales as something of a dark art. Just because you’ve set up a business, doing something you’re passionate about, doesn’t mean you know how to sell. I know I went on a massive learning curve when I set up my own business and it has to happen – you don’t suddenly become a salesperson, or an accountant or a marketeer, and you need to realise you need people around you who are.
“At times I have stood with a sales team behind me and told the business owner quite clearly that their expectations are not doable and targets are wrong. It’s a reality check but a good business owner will take that on board and want to put things right.”
Julie’s background in recruitment also comes into play when clients are looking for new members of the team and her input can range from advice on how to get the process started, through to sitting in on final interviews.
Partly as a result of the journey her business has been on over the past few years, and partly because of her desire, like many people, to achieve a work-life balance, Julie has found her attitude to work changing.
“I have a thing about what I call ‘goalshaming’,” she explained. “When you set up in business a lot of people tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. People define you by the size of your business and that’s how we are geared up to look at it, but you don’t need to grow quicky and build an empire, if that’s not what you want.
“In 2020, I didn’t want to get back into that. My goals had changed and my clients now understand that and they know me well, and they know the business works for me and my lifestyle.
“I actually feel that I’m incredibly successful because I’m achieving what I want to. I do sometimes wonder what it would have looked like by now if things hadn’t changed, but when I look back, I was already spending my time keeping the business going and managing other people’s problems and not doing what I love.
“It was a great reset for me to go back to doing what I adore. There’s nothing that gives me greater pleasure than spending time with a business, working with their teams and seeing someone who was struggling begin to flourish, and the look on their face when they get that sale and they’re hitting their targets. It gives me such great joy.”
Find out more about The Sales Ace, or book a free 60-minute sales review, on 01604 532004 or visit their website.
