Here’s what you need to do:
Research prospects and their industries, gain access to the people who need help with brand strategy, manage client expectations, listen and address the clients problems and know how to start a conversation with a potential prospect and close.
Where did this wisdom come from? Hmmm… Right, it came from a person that I’m coaching. It’s what he wished a topnotch sales person would do for him.
Guess what? It’s what you need to do. Read that again. It’s what you, not someone else, need to do. Why isn’t everyone who is in this situation realizing that this is the game? It’s not the design game. It’s not the building a cool website game. It’s the “I’M GOING TO GET SOME BUSINESS AND SELL LIKE A BOSS” game. That’s it.
Once you sell a client, you can hire whoever you want or do all the work yourself if you’d like. But that genius person that will do all of this for you, is already doing it— for themselves. Why would they go and get a million dollars worth of business and hand it over to someone else? In what Bizarro, alternate universe does that exist?
Take a look around.
Grant Cardone. Blair Enns. Seth Godin. Gary Vaynerchuck. Jordan Belfort. They’re all selling. They write books, hold seminars, conduct courses and are getting rich. What’s missing? You! They’re not lying awake at night thinking about how to give your their clients. So it’s time to make a grown up decision. Do you want to sit around and dream that one day you’ll meet and attract that magical salesperson, or do you want to learn the business of design?
Yeah, it’s fun to complain to designer friends about the demise of our industry due to sites like 99 Designs or Fiverr. Have a good laugh as you trash talk a “horrible client” who just doesn’t get it. Go ahead. Vent. Feel sorry for yourself. Get it out of your system. I’ll give you a moment. Are you done?
OK. Now, put down that wacom pen, pick up a book, watch a video, hire a coach, join a peer group, just do something. But whatever you do, don’t just keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. It’s time to get to work. Turn that pit of despair into something more productive. Whatever motivates you, use it. It could be to #ProveThemWrong or you can focus on all that you’ll gain. Prove yourself right.
Do you have what it takes? Cause it’s going to take everything you’ve got.
What some people don’t realize is that I’ve gone through this exact transformation— going from an extremely shy, private and introverted person, to becoming the best sales/lead generator/closer for my company. Why? Because my staff counts on me to do this. This is what leadership looks like. It’s doing the things you swore you’d never do.
Now get to work and share this with someone who needs to hear this.
