What Makes Solopreneurs Uncomfortable With Sales
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2023 3:15 am
"Sales? Ick! Who does that?"
Waay back, when I was a wantpreneur, dabbling with trading the stock market and hedge funds, I thought, probably like most young men in my cohort of would be masters of the universe, sales was the stuff of scammers and snake oil salesmen, you know, people who couldn't actually trade the markets or make honest money as honest working men!
So the idea that I could ever be in sales never occured to me...
Fast forward to 2017/8 and I was trying to find my way as an actual entrepreneur who had left the job world and gone out on my own. I realized I needed to learn to sell, and fast, if I did not want to end up as just another broke entrepreneur.
I did go into sales for myself, and I did learn to sell. More than that, I did become very very favorable of sales. I dream of selling a good product, a good service. I look forward to it. It's second nature.
Now, I did get some help from training materials from some of the best in the game, like Jordan Belfort and Mr. Nillikilla himself, Grant Cardone, and maestro Brian Tracy.
But the thing is, so many solopreneurs are in that position where they are resistant to sales. Let's be honest, as a solopreneur, being resistant to sales is like a chef being resistant to food or a guitar player being resistant to scales. It means as a solopreneur you are more or less allergic to money and revenue, and your business will show the effects.
Why is this? Well, the reasons are legion:
- we are never taught to sell anything in school. I think academia kinda frowns on selling and salespeople
- and unless your parents are hardcore sales reps or Amway hobbyists, they're probably not pushing you to aspire to be a great salesman. They tell you to be a doctor or engineer or something cool like that
- and unless your friends are kinda weird, they probably are not trying to sell you stuff on the weekends or urging you to join them in an MLM selling steak knives door to door
In other words, in a world that thinks selling is sleazy, no wonder so few solopreneurs actually get into the game of bidness with anywhere near the requisite level of sales skills. Fix that, and you'll be on your way to the jujillions!
Waay back, when I was a wantpreneur, dabbling with trading the stock market and hedge funds, I thought, probably like most young men in my cohort of would be masters of the universe, sales was the stuff of scammers and snake oil salesmen, you know, people who couldn't actually trade the markets or make honest money as honest working men!
So the idea that I could ever be in sales never occured to me...
Fast forward to 2017/8 and I was trying to find my way as an actual entrepreneur who had left the job world and gone out on my own. I realized I needed to learn to sell, and fast, if I did not want to end up as just another broke entrepreneur.
I did go into sales for myself, and I did learn to sell. More than that, I did become very very favorable of sales. I dream of selling a good product, a good service. I look forward to it. It's second nature.
Now, I did get some help from training materials from some of the best in the game, like Jordan Belfort and Mr. Nillikilla himself, Grant Cardone, and maestro Brian Tracy.
But the thing is, so many solopreneurs are in that position where they are resistant to sales. Let's be honest, as a solopreneur, being resistant to sales is like a chef being resistant to food or a guitar player being resistant to scales. It means as a solopreneur you are more or less allergic to money and revenue, and your business will show the effects.
Why is this? Well, the reasons are legion:
- we are never taught to sell anything in school. I think academia kinda frowns on selling and salespeople
- and unless your parents are hardcore sales reps or Amway hobbyists, they're probably not pushing you to aspire to be a great salesman. They tell you to be a doctor or engineer or something cool like that
- and unless your friends are kinda weird, they probably are not trying to sell you stuff on the weekends or urging you to join them in an MLM selling steak knives door to door
In other words, in a world that thinks selling is sleazy, no wonder so few solopreneurs actually get into the game of bidness with anywhere near the requisite level of sales skills. Fix that, and you'll be on your way to the jujillions!