Helpful and encouraging, particularly the points about staying steady and realizing it's not always our fault when we don't make a sale. I've never heard anyone actually say it out loud. Most sales people seem to believe they have the power to make people buy and that you're a second class citizen if you can't. I often find myself believing them. In my industry, music, it's really hard to be successful, maybe even impossible, but I'm gonna stay steady another day 😊.
Thank you for commenting Zach! It *is* indeed so easy to believe what others say about sales and success, and the narrative that if we only to "the right thing" we too will be hugely successful is so engrained in our conversations. I'm glad I was able to offer an alternative perspective for you. Keep going, stay steady and share your amazingness with the world! ✨
Regarding it not being our fault if we don't make a sale.. I totally agree. It blows my mind that people think they are actually in control of so many variables they actually have no control over. That's why as a web designer and marketing strategist I don't sell guarantees about income. I simply set up systems and strategies that make it possible. What one does with that is beyond what I can do. It doesn't matter how much money I have in the bank. What are my clients doing with what I helped them set up/deploy?
It's not about avoiding responsibility, but not making promises we can't possibly keep. Just because someone is a proud owner of a new website I build for them or takes my course doesn't guarantee anything unless they take action. (Reminds me of the health and fitness genre)
I absolutely agree Julia! We can't offer guarantees or promises and that is fine--and seeing clients doing amazing things in the world with what we helped them with is so fulfilling ✨
I agree with calling it a slow season. I am constantly reminding myself and my biz mentoring clients that every business goes in cycles of ebb and flow, busy and quiet. Thanks for helping dispel the shame around what is perfectly natural and normal.
I read "Old in Art School" by Nell Irvin Painter. Covered so much territory about aging, art school, the art world, being black in the white art world and so much more!
This is so true and it has definitely been liberating for me to decouple my worth to sales or my efforts to the same. However, when your business is your sole source of income, and you’re in a quite sales / client season. The lack of income (and the lack of control over it) adds it’s own stress 🥴
Yup, it absolutely does! In a quiet season the voice of "I'm doing something wrong!!" is so so loud, I know. The only thing we can do is to keep leaning into trust (and accepting that it's normal to feel stressed out about slow seasons). Rooting for you!
I really appreciated this honest and frankly sobering take on sales. It's so true, sometimes we can do everything "right" and it doesn't lead to the results that we want. Thanksl for sharing!
I wish I could see DUNE on a big screen. (Long story.. I live in rural Bosnia.. there's more to it than that but I don't feel like telling that story) I LOVE big, epic sounds. I'm a huge metal fan. (All kinds of subgenres) and of Hans Zimmer. I've been immersing myself in not just the Dune soundtrack but metal versions as well. I've also been interested in the sound production of these films.
In addition, I LOVE geeking out on a variety of topics. Mentour Pilot for aviation accident investigations. Sabine Hossenfelder for quantum mechanics and general science. Tornadoes and storm chasing. (It's that time of year) I've been learning a little bit more about coding (CSS) and need to study some more Bosnian as my skills are stuck at around A2/B1. (I live here so it's important)
I've also subscribed to Brilliant. Sometimes I need something light to snack on because my brain gets tired, and I'm generally drawn to sci fi and fantasy. I also enjoy Stevie T on YouTube, even though it's generally not my brand of humor. There are some other odd YouTube channels I've binged on.
Edit: I am not into gaming, not because I don't enjoy it, but because A. My current laptop sucks and B. I know I would end up spending waaaay to much time gaming.
Generally I'm not the stereotypical "quiet and gentle" introvert. As an INTJ I'm more likely to really just prefer to be with my own mind than hang out with people. I think some of it has to do with the fact that most of my face-to-face conversations are in Bosnian and require a LOT of mental thought, even for small talk. I often get invited to a lot of gatherings in the summer months, and by October it's empty here and I'm in complete bliss.
Then I can watch and read what I want. I find that I crave more and more time to immerse myself in nerdery and big, fat, lush, textured SOUND.
Thank you for your comment and sharing your thoughts Julia! I can imagine that not speaking/understanding the language of the country you live in is limiting what you get to experience there. Thank you for your recommendations, and good luck improving your Bosnian! ✨
Helpful and encouraging, particularly the points about staying steady and realizing it's not always our fault when we don't make a sale. I've never heard anyone actually say it out loud. Most sales people seem to believe they have the power to make people buy and that you're a second class citizen if you can't. I often find myself believing them. In my industry, music, it's really hard to be successful, maybe even impossible, but I'm gonna stay steady another day 😊.
Thank you for sharing 🙏🏻.
Thank you for commenting Zach! It *is* indeed so easy to believe what others say about sales and success, and the narrative that if we only to "the right thing" we too will be hugely successful is so engrained in our conversations. I'm glad I was able to offer an alternative perspective for you. Keep going, stay steady and share your amazingness with the world! ✨
Regarding it not being our fault if we don't make a sale.. I totally agree. It blows my mind that people think they are actually in control of so many variables they actually have no control over. That's why as a web designer and marketing strategist I don't sell guarantees about income. I simply set up systems and strategies that make it possible. What one does with that is beyond what I can do. It doesn't matter how much money I have in the bank. What are my clients doing with what I helped them set up/deploy?
It's not about avoiding responsibility, but not making promises we can't possibly keep. Just because someone is a proud owner of a new website I build for them or takes my course doesn't guarantee anything unless they take action. (Reminds me of the health and fitness genre)
I absolutely agree Julia! We can't offer guarantees or promises and that is fine--and seeing clients doing amazing things in the world with what we helped them with is so fulfilling ✨
I agree with calling it a slow season. I am constantly reminding myself and my biz mentoring clients that every business goes in cycles of ebb and flow, busy and quiet. Thanks for helping dispel the shame around what is perfectly natural and normal.
Thank you for your comment Stacey, I’m glad to hear my post was useful to you ✨
I read "Old in Art School" by Nell Irvin Painter. Covered so much territory about aging, art school, the art world, being black in the white art world and so much more!
Thank you for sharing the book Lora, it sounds very interesting!
This is so true and it has definitely been liberating for me to decouple my worth to sales or my efforts to the same. However, when your business is your sole source of income, and you’re in a quite sales / client season. The lack of income (and the lack of control over it) adds it’s own stress 🥴
Yup, it absolutely does! In a quiet season the voice of "I'm doing something wrong!!" is so so loud, I know. The only thing we can do is to keep leaning into trust (and accepting that it's normal to feel stressed out about slow seasons). Rooting for you!
Of course. And hope that there are other financial resources to keep us a float / pay for basic necessities 🥴
I really appreciated this honest and frankly sobering take on sales. It's so true, sometimes we can do everything "right" and it doesn't lead to the results that we want. Thanksl for sharing!
You're very welcome Amanda, I'm glad it was useful to you! Thank you for commenting ✨
A helpful reminder of what we can't control!
I'm glad it was helpful Faith!
Such a useful perspective, Astrid
Thank you Katie, glad you liked it!
I wish I could see DUNE on a big screen. (Long story.. I live in rural Bosnia.. there's more to it than that but I don't feel like telling that story) I LOVE big, epic sounds. I'm a huge metal fan. (All kinds of subgenres) and of Hans Zimmer. I've been immersing myself in not just the Dune soundtrack but metal versions as well. I've also been interested in the sound production of these films.
In addition, I LOVE geeking out on a variety of topics. Mentour Pilot for aviation accident investigations. Sabine Hossenfelder for quantum mechanics and general science. Tornadoes and storm chasing. (It's that time of year) I've been learning a little bit more about coding (CSS) and need to study some more Bosnian as my skills are stuck at around A2/B1. (I live here so it's important)
I've also subscribed to Brilliant. Sometimes I need something light to snack on because my brain gets tired, and I'm generally drawn to sci fi and fantasy. I also enjoy Stevie T on YouTube, even though it's generally not my brand of humor. There are some other odd YouTube channels I've binged on.
Edit: I am not into gaming, not because I don't enjoy it, but because A. My current laptop sucks and B. I know I would end up spending waaaay to much time gaming.
Generally I'm not the stereotypical "quiet and gentle" introvert. As an INTJ I'm more likely to really just prefer to be with my own mind than hang out with people. I think some of it has to do with the fact that most of my face-to-face conversations are in Bosnian and require a LOT of mental thought, even for small talk. I often get invited to a lot of gatherings in the summer months, and by October it's empty here and I'm in complete bliss.
Then I can watch and read what I want. I find that I crave more and more time to immerse myself in nerdery and big, fat, lush, textured SOUND.
Thank you for your comment and sharing your thoughts Julia! I can imagine that not speaking/understanding the language of the country you live in is limiting what you get to experience there. Thank you for your recommendations, and good luck improving your Bosnian! ✨
Things that keep us going, right?