Entrepreneurship brings new challenges and opportunities, especially when you come from a corporate or academic environment.
Last week I was chatting to my mastermind buddies about how we wished we’d started down this entrepreneurial road 20 years ago – and envied those who’d known this was what they wanted to do – and were ABLE to do, even when still relatively young.
We’re all in our late-40s/50s and we did the “good girl” thing.
We went to University and did HARD THINGS! 😁
Then we got the shiny job at the shiny office and did the shiny office-politics. 🤮
For all of us, the rot set in around 30. We KNEW we were capable of more, we knew we WANTED more – but none of us really knew how we were going to do this – or maybe we just needed the push. That’s often financially or child-related because of course when you’re in regular employment taking the monthly salary and you’ve got commitments like a mortgage and childcare you can’t just throw your hands up in the air and say “FUCK THIS for a GAME OF SOLDIERS!“.
But eventually we all made the jump to entrepreneurship.
Trouble is, when you’re doing that shiny corporate job and you know you’re REALLY FUCKING GOOD at doing what you do – there’s an entire TEAM/department/office in charge of actually SELLING and bringing the clients TO the corporation.
Suddenly you’re on your own.
And it doesn’t matter how fucking good you are at what you’re doing – the BUCK STOPS HERE when it’s time to make the sale.
And that’s where many of us back off.
We’re not used to actually having to SELL OUR SERVICES. We don’t know HOW to SELL!
We PERFORM our services.
REALLY BLOODY WELL.
But we never had to shmooze on the golf-course or wine and dine clients to persuade them to sign a multi-million contract.
Now it’s just us.
There’s no map. There is advice – often scripts and “dialling for dollars”, but that doesn’t usually feel good to those of us from a more traditional background.
Four years at University and I never attended one solitary SALES lecture!
And the first hurdle to get over is to SHOW UP.
OUR FACE.
OUR MESSAGE.
With all the millions of doubts that will set in.
“Is my nose too big to sell?”
“Will they like what I’m selling?”
“Are there still part-time jobs in the supermarket?” 😉
“Maybe if I just create programs and services and put them on a fancy website, the clients will find me!”
Wishful thinking sweetie!
In this cold, cruel 😉 online world – WE are the PRODUCT.
WE are the SERVICE.
And not only are we selling our personal brand, our triumphs and foibles – but we also have to change direction and…
ASK FOR THE SALE!
Straight up:
“This is what I’m selling, this is how I can help you – and this is how you can pay me“.
And that is scary as FUCK!
It doesn’t matter how good your annual appraisals were – or how many hundreds of thousands – or even millions! you made your corporate company.
As an entrepreneur every $10 HAS to come from you!
My advice? ASK for the SALE.
What’s the worst that can happen?
A potential client says NO? So what?
Your worth is not based upon that ONE NO!
You keep creating. You keep improving and yes, you damned well better KEEP SELLING!
It DOES get easier over time. You find methods which work in alignment with the way you WANT to work – and although formulas are a great jumping-off point – you NEED TO KNOW that you need to find your own way if you’re ever going to truly embrace the concept of SELLING.
Or… you could just sit there in your home office telling yourself how productive you were today… but no sales yet. Maybe next month?
