The Set Up:
Retail sales has paid the bills for me for almost forty years. During the mid-eighties, I got out of pharmacy and got into REAL sales. In fact, it was straight commission sales.
Ask those who know, and you'll find out that a job in straight commission sales can be the highest paid job available. It's also one of the highest turnover positions because it's practitioners cannot cut the mustard.
If people are writing books full time, well, they're in sales. Unless they can get into a situation where they get advances on their work, they're definitely in straight commission sales.
My snippet this week comes from a blog I wrote that appeared on my publisher's site, HERE. Maybe the excerpt below will inspire you to read the entire article.
This week's snippet:
Over the years I’ve heard many euphemisms for people in sales: account rep, consultant, advisor, broker, agent, customer service rep, and one of my favorites, vice president.
I’ve crossed trails with many people who haven’t done as well as they would like to have had in their chosen field, simply because they couldn’t sell themselves or their products: accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, ministers, photographers, artists, painters, editors, doctors, lawyers, chiropractors, pharmacists, teachers, nurses, coaches, retail store managers, and the list is endless.
In fact, everyone is in sales -- especially authors.
Everyone is selling something and it’s usually themselves or their skills or services.
Sometimes, we blame our low self-esteem on others: the used car salesman in a plaid sports coat, the door to door brush salesman in a polyester suit, the cosmetics sales lady in an old car.
Baloney.
Name a profession that hasn’t had it’s share of unprofessional perpetrators of perpetual sleaze.
Want to change the perception?
Start with the person you see in the mirror.
What next?
Sample the work of dozens of other great writers representing a cross section of genres HERE.
If you're an author languishing in anonymity, remember the old adages, "There's safety in numbers," and "Sales is a numbers game."
Get busy growing your network of contacts, both in real life and online. (How many connections do you have on FaceBook & Twitter?)
Yes, we are all in sales! These days, authors must know that promotion, even if it seems shameless, is absolutely necessary in order to sell books. No one will go to bat for you unless you go to bat first.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Chip!
Thanks Martha, I agree.
DeleteAuthors need a marketing plan before they write the first word -- at least if they plan on selling their book.
A salesman must first identify their customer's wants, needs and desires, and fulfill that to be successful.
ReplyDeleteAnd what better way to identify those wants, need and desires than by reading reviews, doing book signings, speaking at book clubs -- interacting with readers.
DeleteThanks for the comment, Carrie.
Good points. I spend almost 20 years in customer service. Everyone is selling something and you have to have a certain amount of confidence to be successful at it.
ReplyDeleteI love that last line. So, so true. Great post and snippet!
ReplyDeleteThanks, AJ. I appreciate you stopping by and commenting. Yeah, we can't wait on anyone else to change things.
DeleteI've got a retail background as well and I agree with your points - well said. The books, however wonderful, will not sell themselves. Excellent snippet!
ReplyDeleteDarn it--where are the psychics when you need them? lol Promote, promote, promote...or else go unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteGreat snippet and so true!
What a great way of looking at it. It's very true.
ReplyDeleteI love the perspective you've created in this piece. You're absolutely right, in some way or shape everyone's involved in sales. Great snippet this week!
ReplyDeleteI'm a teacher in my other job and yes, I'm constantly selling--the need for education, the content, the need for administration to support me, the passion of 'we can do this!' to my colleagues. . . I'd never thought of it as a sales job before. Thanks for the reframe.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points, Frank! The last three sentences in particular are great.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point, Frank, but if we focus to much on sales, then we lose the quality of the product - in my case, the stories. The challenge for me is finding the balance between screaming my name, and holding the promise to my readers of delivering a quality product. :)
ReplyDeleteSiobhan, thanks for commenting.
DeleteI agree, it's a balance.
Having a top quality product is important. For articles and discussions of this nature, a top quality product must be a given.
Thanks to everyone for all the great comments. I appreciate each and every one.
ReplyDelete" Want to change the perception?
ReplyDeleteStart with the person you see in the mirror."
Bingo :-) Nicely done!
Interesting observation. It is really true. No matter what you choose to do you really do have to sell yourself to keep/get the position/goal you're after.
ReplyDeleteTrue, we are all in sales. But marketing and sales are not the same, they go hand and hand. If you can market to someone, group, etc., you're not going to sell to them. (Where'd you get the pic of my long lost salesman Uncle? ha ha)
ReplyDelete