Recording this episode is very special for me for a couple of reasons. First, because I’m so happy for Tyler and the new addition to his family, and honored that he asked me to help pick up some of the slack while he settles in with his new child.
Second, because I stepped away from my own podcast, The Business of Art, after my father’s death in November of 2017, and this is the first episode of anything I’ve recorded since then.
So thank you Tyler, and congratulations.
Now we can get into the good stuff. Let’s talk about mindset shifts. Today, I’m going to, hopefully, destroy three limiting beliefs that prevent you from being good at sales, and reframe them so that stop thinking sales are gross.
Because, let’s face it, we all pretty much think sales and marketing is gross, at least when we first start out. Some of us get over that quickly, others have been doing this for thirty plus years and still think it’s true.
I know I thought it was true for a long time. Pretty much, until I turned 29.
Why was that year so important?
Because it was the year that my third business failed.
Now, when you have one business fail, it might just be bad luck.
With two businesses, it could just be horrible timing.
But when three businesses fail, you need to look deep inside yourself and see what you’re doing wrong.
And that’s what I did. I spent my entire 20s creating things. I wrote and directed movies, I was a professional photographer, and I even executive produced an internet television station.
However…no matter what I did nothing worked to actually. Make. Money.
Back then, I set an internal clock with myself. I told myself I could do anything I wanted until I turned 29, but if I turned 30 and still couldn’t make anything work…it was time to get a job.
When I turned 29, I still couldn’t make anything work, so I had to get a job.
Unfortunately, a guy with no solid employment experience, who failed three companies, with degrees in journalism and sociology…isn’t that appealing to an employer.
The only jobs I could land were sales jobs, because they’ll basically take anybody.
Luckily, I WANTED sales jobs, because when I looked inside myself I realized that while I could create amazing work, I couldn’t sell it to anybody, and if I really wanted to have a sustainable company, I needed to master sales.
Some people still don’t believe I was ever bad at sales, but I swear to you I was way worse than you, no matter how bad you were.
It took me three years of flailing before I finally locked in on these three mindset shifts that turned everything around for me.
After I internalized them, I went from a middling salesperson to the best in my company. I rose through the ranks from sales trainer to sales manager, and eventually I opened my own office and eventually my own company.
But in order to get there, I had to overcome these same three limiting beliefs I’m going to tell you about today.
Before I tell you what they are, you need to do one thing for me. You need to believe you can overcome these beliefs.
I know it’s going to sound corny, but if you want to achieve it, you must believe it first. If you listening to the rest of this lesson thinking “this is stupid” or “this can never work”, guess what…
…it won’t work.
However, if you come in with an open mind, you might just learn something that can change your life.
Alright, so what are these beliefs?
Here are the three myths I’m going to break for you today.
1. Selling = gross.
2. Rejection = failure
3. Money = bad
This is pre-recorded, so I can’t hear your response…
…but I want you to stop for a second and think about which of those you think are most true for you and say it out loud.
Remember what you said, okay?
Ready for me to bust these myths?
Let’s start with the fact that selling is gross.
Is that the one you picked?
It’s a common one.
And the truth is, selling CAN be gross.
Especially when you come at people with a SALES first mentality.
What is that?
It means that you start every conversation with a new person trying to get a sale.
It’s like going into a cocktail party and immediately yelling at everybody there to buy your books without even introducing yourself.
You would never do that, right?
Of course not. That’s going to turn everybody off and make them think you’re a dick.
You would talk to people as if they were humans, get to know them, and engage in a conversation, right?
That’s exactly what you need to do with our own projects as well.
Luckily, there is a better way.
Instead of being SALES first…
You need to give VALUE first.
This is called the Value First Mentality.
It means that before you do ANYTHING else, you try to make your customer’s lives better in a meaningful way.
That might just be showing them cool comics they might like.
It could mean doing a deep dive into your favorite story and explaining how it works and why.
It could giving them a reading list of the best comics of all time.
But whatever it is, you are giving them free and valuable information, just like you would at a cocktail party. In exchange, they are growing their trust in you, and you are becoming more likeable in their eyes.
Trust is the key to sales, and by building up trust with readers they are more likely to buy from you, all without you ever having to sell them.
And that is the secret to sales NOT being gross, by offering value instead of forcing sales. In return, more people will magnetize themselves to you, and you’ll make more sales as a result.
If you do that, sales become much easier, and more fun.
Okay. Myth #2.
Rejection is bad.
Is this the one you chose?
This one is near and dear to my heart. It’s what stopped me from moving my own business forward for too long.
I can’t even begin to imagine how many opportunities I didn’t apply for because I was scared of people rejecting me. Grants not applied for, submissions never submitted, projects never launched.
The fear of rejection held me back for so long…
…and with good reason, right? I mean it’s scary to show your work to somebody. What if they don’t like it?
It’s like opening your soul to somebody and them stomping it into the ground.
That fear is real, and a little bit of it is healthy. It shows that you’re on the right path. I am petrified more days than I would like to admit.
But I move forward anyway.
Because the truth is that rejection is GOOD.
Rejection means that you are closer to finding the people that will resonate with your message.
Do you know Stephen King?
He’s a very famous writer. HE sells on average 1-2 million books with every launch.
That sounds great, right?
Well, it is. It’s an amazing accomplishment.
However, when you do the math, it’s less great.
See, there are about two billion literate people in this world…
…and he only sells a couple million books…
…which means that Stephen King is only selling to one out of every thousand people!
That means he’s NOT selling to 999 people out of 1,000.
That’s horrible, right?
Except Stephen King doesn’t see it that way.
He focuses on the one person in every thousand that buys his books.
And by doing that it’s easier for him to handle the rejection.
Because he knows his books are not for everybody, but he also knows his books are for a LOT of people.
And that’s what you need to do. If you focus on finding the right people…
Knowing that most people will say no…
…then rejection won’t be hurtful…
..or scary.
Instead, every rejection will bring you closer to finding somebody who loves your work.
If you can focus on those people, rejection becomes much easier to take.
Especially when you find those people who do love your work.
That makes all the rejection worth it.
Okay. Now onto the third and final limiting belief that prevents you from being an awesome salesperson.
This one is tough, because it’s deeply engrained in every creative.
It’s the idea that money is bad.
Nod your head if this is the one you chose.
This is the hardest one to break, because most people I talk to aren’t money motivated. More than that, people have been telling them forever that artists aren’t supposed to care about money, and that if you DO care about money, then you are a sellout.
Regardless of the reason, they just don’t care that much about the money.
They care about making something they’re passionate about.
Does this sound like you?
Then let me ask you…
Do you want more people to appreciate your work?
Do you want more people to talk about what you do?
If so, I have good news.
Because money isn’t the goal of anything I do.
Money is the byproduct of finding people to love my work.
If I find people to love my work…
…are passionate about it…
…and want to support it…
The money takes care of itself.
I don’t even bother with the money part of it.
I focus on growing my audience of rabid fans.
Fans who love what I do…
…And WANT to buy from me.
The more of those I find…
…the more money I make.
But it’s never about the money.
The money is a byproduct of happy customers.
If you focus on those customers, then life becomes much easier. If you focus on pleasing them, making things for them, and making sure they are cared for, then you’ll make money.
It’s as simple as that.
I mean, in reality it’s really hard, but it’s not complicated.
You can do it.
Do you feel better now?
Do you feel ready to have the most successful launch of your career?
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