Maybe I was wrong about sales?
I always thought my business weakpoint was sales.
I like marketing - done right it is pretty interesting as I wrote about here.
But sales, I hate sales, it reminds me of used car salesmen, low forms of life even compared to amoebas, lichens, and viruses. And I've always thought I was HORRIBLE at sales.
Yes, my business depends on sales. I'm essentially a one man shop, although I often hire industry experts to help me on specific projects (i.e. friends I know and trust who really know their stuff and who are pretty much self-managing).
If I don't sell, I have no income. No one sells for me. No keynotes, consulting, training or coaching sales - no income. And despite selling lots of services, I always considered it a weakpoint. Something about "closing the sale."
Maybe I've been wrong all along and I'm actually OK? This excellent Guerilla Consulting article says I'm not such a dummy after all. After all, I'm NOT selling used cars. The close of a sale for me means a beginning - the beginning of the work. Unlike the sale of a used car, the client/sucker/buyer does not drive his 1976 Purple Gremlin off into the sunset (note to international readers - the Gremlin is a legendary horrible car, and ugly too!).
Key point of the article? Don't close the sale. Let the client close it - if they don't it may not be right for them.
Postscript and afterthought: Maybe the reason I've always thought I was so horrible at sales is that I've worked with some gifted salesmen in the past?
I like marketing - done right it is pretty interesting as I wrote about here.
But sales, I hate sales, it reminds me of used car salesmen, low forms of life even compared to amoebas, lichens, and viruses. And I've always thought I was HORRIBLE at sales.
Yes, my business depends on sales. I'm essentially a one man shop, although I often hire industry experts to help me on specific projects (i.e. friends I know and trust who really know their stuff and who are pretty much self-managing).
If I don't sell, I have no income. No one sells for me. No keynotes, consulting, training or coaching sales - no income. And despite selling lots of services, I always considered it a weakpoint. Something about "closing the sale."
Maybe I've been wrong all along and I'm actually OK? This excellent Guerilla Consulting article says I'm not such a dummy after all. After all, I'm NOT selling used cars. The close of a sale for me means a beginning - the beginning of the work. Unlike the sale of a used car, the client/sucker/buyer does not drive his 1976 Purple Gremlin off into the sunset (note to international readers - the Gremlin is a legendary horrible car, and ugly too!).
Key point of the article? Don't close the sale. Let the client close it - if they don't it may not be right for them.
Postscript and afterthought: Maybe the reason I've always thought I was so horrible at sales is that I've worked with some gifted salesmen in the past?
posted by Ted Demopoulos at 5:25 AM
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