We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikki Rausch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nikki , appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The idea for my business came from someone I met at a networking event.

I was working for someone else then and started attending networking events to get the word out about training courses offered by the person I was working for. It was the first time I ever networked with women business owners as I came from a male-dominated industry, technology.

Right off the bat, I noticed that the women business owners in attendance were filled with something that I was missing from my life. They were filled with passion. I was so in awe of their passion for their work, and I wanted to spend as much time around them as possible. I was hoping some of their passion might rub off on me. I was always confused by the saying, “Follow your passion.” I thought maybe there was something wrong with me as I had never felt that about my work before.

As I got to know many of these women business owners, I realized that quite a few were struggling to make money in their businesses. They were struggling because they didn’t understand how to sell effectively. Since my career was as a professional salesperson, I understood selling.

To spend more time with these amazing women, I started offering advice and strategies to sell to anyone who wanted to learn.

One of the women started implementing what I was teaching her and getting exceptional results. She pulled me aside after a networking event and told me she thought I should start my own business, showing people how to sell. My initial response to her was that I thought it was a dumb idea because what I was teaching seemed so easy that I didn’t think people would pay money to learn these skills.

She convinced me I was wrong. I started my business in 2013, and it’s been the most amazing journey I’ve ever taken, and I’m now doing work that fills me with passion.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got my first professional sales job from a college project where we had to interview someone from every department of a company and then give a presentation on how the company functioned. I remember way back in the late 1900’s, I found a job posting from this company in the newspaper. I used it as a visual for my college presentation. At the end of class, one of my classmates asked if he could take the newspaper ad from me as he wanted to apply for a sales position at the company.

He applied, and they hired him. Another student from my class also applied and got hired. I figured I might have a shot if they hired those two guys. I applied and ended up getting a job as well.

At Sales Maven, my company, I now show people how to be more strategic in their sales conversations so they’re able to close more business. My approach to selling is to teach people that sales isn’t something you do to another person; it’s something you do with another person. It’s a collaboration and a conversation.

What I’m most proud of is that I’ve taught thousands of people how to sell in a more genuine way that feels good to them and their prospects. I’ve worked one-on-one with hundreds of women business owners to build their confidence along with their selling skills.

It’s my belief that when women get more comfortable with selling, they’re able to make a bigger impact in the lives of their clients, in their own businesses and their communities.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that it’s my job to be nice to everyone. I was raised by a single father who didn’t think highly of women and was quite vocal about it. I was the only girl in a family of four children. I was expected to smile, stay calm, and be pleasant, or I was made to feel like there was something wrong with me.

Most of my co-workers were men when I started my professional sales career. They were aggressive and direct. Their way of selling didn’t fit my personality.

In order to achieve a high level of success, I learned that there is a difference between being nice and being kind.

I strive always to be kind and thoughtful in my actions and words.

Being nice, just saying what people want to hear in order to make themselves feel better, isn’t something I am willing to do anymore.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the most significant pivots in my business came from realizing that I could work with clients around the world if I changed my offers.

When I started, most of my client work was done in person.

To reach my broader audience, I started guesting on podcasts from all over the world as my main source of marketing. I changed my offers to be virtual instead of in-person, allowing people from all across the US and abroad to work with me. This shift happened at the end of 2019, which was a lifesaver for my business because we all know what happened at the beginning of 2020.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yoursalesmaven.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_sales_maven/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yoursalesmaven/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerausch/
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/SalesMaven

Image Credits
Nikki Closser and Megan Williamson