Build A Brand, Don’t Sell

I feel like I’m terrible at sales, I don’t know many people around me who work in a creative field who think they are good at it either.

Creative people like making stuff; we like the actual creating part, not trying to convince someone else why they should pay for the work. After eight years of running LooseKeys, I’ve had to be the person making sales pitches. Although I’m better at it then I used to be, I still struggle with it at times.

One reason I feel like sales calls and emails suck is that rejection sucks.

Typically when someone makes sales calls for a living, they are short; the goal is usually to reach out to as many potential clients as possible because if one is interested, it’s worth it. I’m not big on that approach.

So instead of you finding them, make them want you. I love making things and sharing those things I make or even sharing my opinions on something in my field. It might not sound likes sales, but I am showing off what I can do and that I’m knowledgeable in the space.

Building that name or that brand can generate leads & sales.

When you want to show someone that they should choose you, you have to brand yourself as a better fit than the competition, not sell them.

Having a rep or a salesperson is often something I think about and have tried in the past. In the end, no one cares as much about your business or your work as you, so getting someone excited to be your hype man can be an effort.

When I talk to other creative people, this seems to be the one thing they don’t feel they are good at either. We are bad at selling us, but we are great at helping brands and companies market themselves.

If you are trying to blindly reach out to someone and make a case for why you are better than the competition, it’s a difficult sell. I see this all the time working with companies; just because your app or product is better, it isn’t going to get someone to ditch what they are using and make them switch.

I’ve found that I tend to focus less on trying to convince someone they need to hire me and instead on building LooseKeys as a brand or name that they want to work with in the future.

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Perhaps it’s easier to promote and sell a company because it can feel less conceited than boasting about yourself. When I do sell the positives of LooseKeys, it’s less about the work we do and more about what we can bring to a project. Anyone can do the job, but I’ve been able to show that LooseKeys is trusted, imaginative, and agile. We’re ready to take even the smallest direction and deliver something that can entertain or make our clients smile.

Of course, this is also why I love marketing online; you’re creating something today that has the potential to pay off in a couple of years.

A video does the sales pitch for you, gets you in the door, so you can follow up and explain more instead of spending your days playing the odds on cold calls.