by Clare Appleyard, founder of Katannuta Diamonds

My journey into entrepreneurship started in 2006 with a nervous breakdown (if you want the story, it’s on YouTube) and a subsequent interest in personal development.

Not long after this, soon after I’d started Katannuta Diamonds, a friend told me about a network marketing company whose product was personal development. With my passion for personal development, joining the business seemed a logical step for me. This initial network marketing company was taken over by a second company and 10 years later, I chose to quit my network marketing business.

Network marketing is an industry that polarises people; people either seem to love the industry, or hate it. There is no middle ground. Those that hate it will make accusations of pyramid schemes, scams and fraud. Those that love it will parry these accusations with proof of legitimacy, education on actual pyramid schemes and so forth.

Here’s what I know after 10 years in the industry: the skills I learnt and relationships I built have had an outstanding positive effect on my Katannuta Diamonds business. Today I’m sharing the top 7 lessons learnt over the last decade, in the hope that you too can benefit and apply them to your own business and life.

1. Commit to personal development

Personal development is where it all started for me, and I wouldn’t be here today without it. Our mind is a sponge and it truly is a case of what you put in, you’ll get out. To be a successful entrepreneur requires a bullet-proof mindset and the only way to develop the necessary mindset is to fill your brain with the “good stuff”. Read as many personal development books as you can, attend workshops and seminars to learn and grow and watch motivational videos on YouTube. It really does make a difference.

2. Build relationships

Too many entrepreneurs are in constant sales mode, pitching all and sundry about their business and product, never stopping to consider the relationship aspect of business. People will buy from people they know, like and trust so invest time in the friendship first. Find out what you have in common, connect over a mutual love of tea, or books, or chocolate (for example). Be interested in other people and their lives, which brings us to lesson 3…

3. Be interested, not interesting

There’s a saying that we were given 2 ears and one mouth for a reason – we should be listening twice as much as we are talking. Most of us forget this though, and will talk about ourselves, our loves, our hates, our challenges, our business, to anybody who crosses our path. I’ve seen it time and again at Lioness Lean In events where somebody introduces themselves, thrusts their business card into your hands, tells you all about themselves, shows you newspaper clippings and then swans off to the next victim. That’s not networking.

Stop trying to be interesting and instead be interested in other people and their business. Ask them about their business, family and life instead of telling them about yours. Ask where they need help, ask what their challenges are. They’ll walk away from the conversation feeling that, possibly for the first time in a long time, somebody actually listened to them.

4. Learn how to sell

Very often, the biggest challenge standing in the way of entrepreneurs and their success is knowing how to sell, and how to close a sale. Many people have an aversion to selling and don’t want to be seen as a “salesperson”. Ultimately, all business comes down to sales. If you don’t make a sale, you don’t make any money. You either sell, or you get sold.

If you personally have a negative association with selling, you’re going to struggle to succeed as an entrepreneur. If you can learn how to reframe selling as something that is beneficial to your client, you’ll stand a better chance of increasing your business success. In this regard, I highly recommend Daniel Pink’s book “To Sell is Human”.

5. Ask closing questions

People make purchases based on emotion, not logic. Logic may tell somebody that they don’t need the dress, the shoes or the piece of art that you are selling, but emotion will allow them to justify the purchase.

Don’t make the mistake of asking somebody what they think (e.g. “What do you think about our proposal/quote?”); that will move them straight from their emotional brain to their logical brain and they’ll start to justify why they can’t make a purchase. Instead, ask them which option would suit them best, or ask them how they think owning your product will make them feel. Keeping a client in the emotional part of their brain will make closing a sale much easier.

Depending on your business, closing a sale may be easy, or it may be challenging. “Assuming” the sale will help speed along the process – if somebody is enquiring with you, or visiting your store, they already have some level of interest in buying. Getting to the actual sale may be as easy as asking “Cash or card?” as they stand in your store holding that dress that fits them perfectly.

6. Hold people accountable, and cut through their BS

Human beings are interesting characters. We all inherently have our flaws and weaknesses and we tend to want to defend ourselves as much as possible, even though we may know we’re in the wrong. Network marketing taught me to hold people accountable. If somebody says they are going to do something, hold them to that. If they don’t do it, call them out on it. It’s too easy for us to make excuses all the time as to why we didn’t do something, or why we’re late, or why we didn’t follow through with a commitment. Most of the time, our excuses on justifying our inaction is complete and utter BS – we know it, but we’re not used to somebody telling us that. And when they do, it can hurt.

Start with yourself. Start questioning your own excuses. Start honoring the commitments you’ve made, even if it is inconvenient or uncomfortable. Start holding the people around you to a higher standard of integrity and accountability, and ask them to do the same for you.

7. Get uncomfortable

Whilst all the lessons above are critical, and applying them will help make a significant difference in your business, lesson 7 is perhaps the most important of all. In the world of entrepreneurship, we hear quotes about comfort zones so often, they become part of the background noise.

In truth, the comfort zone quotes are all true. You are where you are in your business right now based on the actions you’ve taken. If your business isn’t where you want it to be (and for most of us it isn’t), you’ve got to take different actions to get different results. We probably know this already, but there’s a reason we’re not taking these actions – because they make us uncomfortable.

What uncomfortable actions should you be taking right now, to drive growth in your business? Is it making a cold call instead of sending an email? Is it firing the employee who is costing you money, rather than plugging the hole because s/he needs the job? Is it negotiating a better price with your supplier, rather than just paying what they’ve quoted? Is it calling a potential client again, even though they’ve turned you down 6 times already?

Figure out the main uncomfortable action that will help you grow, and then go and do it. Now!

Clare Appleyard is the co-founder of Katannuta Diamonds, a bespoke jewellery manufacture company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Formed in 2007, Katannuta Diamonds has established itself as one of South Africa’s leading independent jewellers, with a strong reputation for excellent service, quality workmanship and competitive prices. Graduating from UCT with a Master’s degree in geology, Clare gained valuable diamond experience working for global giant De Beers, before expanding and developing her interest, knowledge and skills into the world of polished diamonds and gemstones. Passionate about diamonds, gems and consumer education, Clare is building a strong, proudly South African brand and is committed to helping fellow female entrepreneurs do the same.
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