My oldest daughter turned eleven years old this month. It’s hard to believe how fast time flies.
Before I know it, another eleven years will past like a flash and my little girl will be a college grad seeking her own way in the world. But, as I watch her now, I see her future in sales.
As a self-proclaimed introvert, I wish I adopted half the gift she has a natural born salesperson.
I could go on and on about her personality since her birth, but you might already know the “type”. They never take “no” for an answer. They negotiate on almost everything and every situation. They debate against every opposition until they get what they want (most of the time).
Obviously, my daughter’s an extrovert who’s born to an introverted mother. Most days, I’d rather blend in with the décor than act pushy.
So, I thought my dream career must be writing. In my daydreams, I imagined writing all day, blushing over readers who crave my stories, and voilá…the money would start rolling in!
Wrong. I've been learning the sales and marketing game the hard way. What a rude awakening! But, thank goodness, I've learned to accept it.
As writers, if we’re not writing for recreation, sales and marketing comes with the package.
Sometimes it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the fictional world that it’s hard to escape the laptop and converse with other human beings. And, when the time comes to pitch a story, or promote a book, the writer imagination tends to run wild.
Fear rears its ugly head and the nagging voice inside swears that you’ll come off too pushy, or the editor will laugh at the proposal you put your heart and arduous hours into completing.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the quality of work sold itself? Unfortunately, this isn’t a Hallmark movie.
Drop the fear and proceed with confidence.If your goals include earning funds for the work you love, it means reaching deep within your soul to drop the fear and proceed with confidence.
It’s easier to talk a good line about confidence, but a book I read called, “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway” by Susan Jeffers, helped boost my confidence. It guides “worry warts” into fearful scenarios offering practical examples and advice to move past the elements that rule the major doubts and insecurities that fuel every writer's worse nightmare.
After facing a fearful situation, I've learned that I magnified the event far greater than the actual experience. I worried about being a pushy salesperson and discovered through every sale that it's not about making the buyer do something they don't want to do. It's about helping them achieve their goals.
Never fear the natural born salesperson inside you. When it’s time to sell that book proposal or self-published book, there’s no need to put on a big act to make the sell. Be yourself. Simply add the same passion you include in your story lines, and transfer it into the book proposals, queries or pitches.
Once you break past the fear, you’ll realize there’s a natural born seller that lived in you the entire time.
But, if you feel the natural sales tactics slipping away ,take a moment to regroup and visualize what you want.
Or, do what I do. Even when I’m not comfortable with my daughter's pushy style, I find myself asking…what would my daughter do?
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