Entrepreneurship brings new challenges and opportunities, especially when you come from a corporate or academic environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We’re all in our late-40s\/50s and we did the “good girl” thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We went to University and did HARD THINGS<\/strong>! \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then we got the shiny job at the shiny office and did the shiny office-politics. \ud83e\udd2e <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n For all of us, the rot set in around 30. We KNEW we were capable of more<\/strong>, we knew we WANTED more<\/strong> – 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!<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But eventually we all made the jump to entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly you’re on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And that’s where many of us back off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n We’re not used to actually having to SELL OUR SERVICES. We don’t know HOW to SELL<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n We PERFORM our services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n REALLY BLOODY WELL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But we never had to shmooze on the golf-course or wine and dine clients to persuade them to sign a multi-million contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now it’s just us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Four years at University and I never attended one solitary SALES lecture!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And the first hurdle to get over is to SHOW UP.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n OUR FACE.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n OUR MESSAGE.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n With all the millions of doubts that will set in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Is my nose too big to sell?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Will they like what I’m selling?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Are there still part-time jobs in the supermarket?”<\/em> \ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Maybe if I just create programs and services and put them on a fancy website, the clients will find me!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wishful thinking sweetie! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this cold, cruel \ud83d\ude09 online world – WE are the PRODUCT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n WE are the SERVICE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And not only are we selling our personal brand, our triumphs and foibles – but we also have to change direction and…<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n ASK FOR THE SALE<\/strong>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Straight up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n “This is what I’m selling, this is how I can help you – and this is how you can pay me<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And that is scary as FUCK! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn’t matter how good your annual appraisals were – or how many hundreds of thousands – or even millions! you made your corporate company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As an entrepreneur every $10 HAS to come from you!<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n My advice? ASK for the SALE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s the worst that can happen? <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A potential client says NO? So what? <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your worth is not based upon that ONE NO! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n You keep creating. You keep improving and yes, you damned well better KEEP SELLING! <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or… you could just sit there in your home office telling yourself how productive you were today… but no sales yet. Maybe next month?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Selling is a Mental Battle - ASK FOR THE SALE!","_seopress_titles_desc":"Coming to entrepreneurship from a corporate environment as a middle-aged woman brings a HUGE challenge. Asking for the damned SALE! There's no more sales team - it's all on you!","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexsheach.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}