Why don't we like selling?

We are complicated. We are happy to spend years perfecting a product or service, and then when it comes to launching it, we play small.

And remember, this is our ‘Life’s work’ I am talking about. This is important to us. This work defines us.

Then, and you know this is true, when we see other people doing a good job at selling their thing, we criticise them for doing the very thing we need to learn how to do.

As I said, we are a complicated lot.

But why?

Mostly, we aren’t comfortable with selling because of some of the following reasons:

• Makes us feel cheap.
• Introvert.
• Don’t like to ask.
• Fear of being judged.
• Fear of failure.
• All of the above.

The truth is we have all been there.

I know I have. But I chose not to stay there. I decided to learn how to sell. And, as importantly, be deeply proud of what I had to offer the world.

I want to share that learning in a 2-day workshop down here in far west Wales. It’s called ‘How to write better to sell better.’

Caution.

Contains words that sell.

How to write better to sell better. Workshop.

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”― Octavia E. Butler

I want to tell you about a pitch I made to a famous publisher just last week. Basically, it went along these lines:

1. I am pretty sure I am dyslexic.

2. My grammar is poor. My spelling, no better.

3. I am often late on delivering to a deadline.

I gave it my best shot. It didn’t end well. She still wanted me to write the book.

I tell you that story for one important reason.

Most people think you have to be a great writer to sell well.

You don’t.

You just have to learn how to sell.

Think of it this way.

The New York Times bestseller book list is not a list of the best-written books, but the ones that sold the best. There are tons of brilliantly written books that don't make the list. It shouldn't be that way. But it is.

Built it, and they didn’t come.

This happens all too often.

People spend years tapping away at the computer, building a product, inventing a new way of doing something, and then put it out into the world, and expect the world to beat a path to their door. And, err, it doesn't quite go the way it was supposed to. 

It's called 'hope marketing'. And, it has more misses than hits. Hmmm.

But doesn't the cream rise to the top?

Mostly. 

But not always.

Sometimes, it needs a little nudge.

That nudge is called selling.

Learn to sell.

Uncomfortable truth. Lots of people don’t like to sell.

They don’t like to sell their product.

Their service. 

And they definitely don’t like to sell themselves.

Definitely-definitely, don’t like that.

The elephant in the room.

1, We love our products. 

2, We don’t love having to sell them.

Reframe selling.

Think of all those hours that went into making it.

All those weekends.

Prototype after prototype. 

Years of sweat.

How much love have you poured into this?

Now, tell me this, are you really going to let your customer buy an inferior product because you don’t like selling? Hmmm.

If this is you, you are doing your future customer a disservice.

Don’t play small.

Be proud to sell your great product.

Yes, proud.

You of all people know how great it is.

Avoid the Tumbleweed Launch.

Here are two important points to consider.

1) No one knows you exist.

You make a great product. But the world isn’t holding its breath waiting for you. It doesn’t know who you are. It doesn’t know you even exist. Currently, in the pecking order, you are at the bottom. It’s nothing personal. Everyone starts here.

You will have to make your reputation. You have will have to gain people’s attention. You will have to be as good at selling your product as you are making it. It is your job to get people to know you are on the planet.

2) You are not an artist.

You make things. You make things in order to sell them. The difference between you and an artist is you can’t wait for years to be discovered.

You have to make what people want to buy. This is commerce. This is not art. Selling is good. Employing people is good. Having apprentices is good. Paying bills is good.

Makers are here to make. Makers are here to sell - Van Gogh had to wait till he died before he sold his first painting. You can’t.

Sales, after you die, don’t count.

Great writing doesn’t just make a great book.

It builds brands and businesses too.

If you think about it, a great brand is a great story.

It’s your job to make people feel something for what you do.

So, you may not like it, but you have to learn to sell.

Because this is a busy world.

My story.

Back when I was building Howies, we never really had a meaningful marketing budget.

It was built by telling our stories. One sentence after the other. We sold our viewpoints as much as our product.

We must have done something right. 

I share one story with you. Not to boast. But, to remind you of the importance of the power of words.

PPR (now called Kering group) is one of the best brand portfolio builders in the world. They own Gucci, Yves St. Laurent, Puma and many more. They had highlighted two brands in the world they wanted to buy.

One was Quicksilver. 

And the other was Howies.

That was not achieved by spending lots of money. But spending lots of time learning how to tell our story. And selling it to the world.

If you are interested in learning how to write better, so you can sell better, this two-day workshop is for you. I want to share my learning. 

Hope to see you there,

P.S. Only 35 places are available as I want us to fit around a dinner table. P.P.S. Not many places left as I write.

"What if I train them and they leave?".... What if you don't and they stay?

This workshop is for you if:

• You have a/work for a direct to consumer brand
• You're a start-up who is bootstrapping it
• You're an existing brand that wants to grow
• You own/work for a creative or marketing agency and want to offer your clients more solutions
• You run a lifestyle business and want to go to the next level

This workshop is not for you if:

• You don’t want to grow
• You can’t lose that fear of selling
• You are not willing to do the work to improve
• You are happy to stay as you are

You will learn:

• How to construct your thinking
• Why the headline is key
• How to write better headlines
• How to re-frame your headline
• Why long-form works better, even in a busy world
• How to think in terms of lists
• What the key components are to your sell
• How changing a headline gives dramatic results
• How writing to sell requires a different format
• How to learn to write 10-20 headlines for each communication
• How to re-purpose content you have already written
• Why you don’t have to be a great writer to sell well
• What emotional outcome do you want the reader to be in after reading this?
• Why prolific beats perfection
• How to write it. Then optimise it.
• The importance of making it scannable
• The importance of short sentences. And paragraphs.
• The art of call to actions.
• Emotion is powerful. But emotion with a structure is more so.
• How to develop your voice for your brand.
• How to define your audience by the problem they want to solve
• How to construct your angle.
• Why you should take imperfect action.
• What time of day should you write?
• How to go from zero.
• What emotional state do you need to be in?

Yup. It's gonna be a busy two days.

How to sell this course to your boss?

• You are going to learn how to sell better.
• You are going to learn how to build 'the voice' of the brand.
• You'll be able to teach the 'Hook-Story-Close' framework to your team.
• Because you were at the inaugural one, you will get free lifetime access to the online course when it is released later in the year.
• Your boss will see a difference almost immediately.
• It shows they want to invest in you.
• 
  

How to 'Not' sell this course to your boss?

• "Hey, I got these new skills and I am off to start my own thing. But thanks for paying for the course. You are the best."

The details:

How to write better to sell better.

• ￡550
• April 2nd-3rd. 2020.
• Only 35 places.
• This two-day workshop will take place down here on the farm, in west Wales.
• Food included. But accommodation is not.
• Thursday: 10am-5pm. (Communal dinner 7.00pm-10pm)
• Friday: 10am-5pm.

Your coach is me.

I joined Saatchi and Saatchi at 21 years old. After a decade or so, I left advertising to build his own brands. I have built brands from nothing with next to nothing just by understanding a few basic rules of how to sell his story.

Without a big marketing budget, I learnt to build my brands. 

I learn how to sell, one sentence at a time.

Next steps.

Books available from Do Book Co here.