Welcome to Episode 4 of THANKS FOR THINKING, the music business podcast centered around self-reflection and proactivity for thoughtful music production professionals. I’m your host, Carl Bahner.
Today’s topic: Sales Anxieties.
As freelance creatives, we are perpetually in a sales cycle - whether we realize it or not. Sometimes, that fact is pretty obvious - like when we’re talking with a potential client about an upcoming project. Other times, it’s more subtle or indirect - like our social media posts, the content we create, and even the biography on our website.
But the truth is - many of us have a visceral distaste for the sales process. For some, the mere thought of the word “sales” conjures images of a sleazy used car salesman, trying to pull a fast one on the little old lady who doesn’t know any better.
But why?
Why do so many of us feel stressed out, intimidated, or even frozen by the sales process?
Are we afraid that people will think WE are just like that sleazy used car salesman? Are we afraid that maybe we’ll FEEL like one?
I mean, the sales process itself isn’t what makes somebody sleazy - it’s their selfish intentions and disregard for the customer’s best interest. THOSE are the defining factors - and caring about what your clients truly want and need is already enough to be fundamentally “sleaze-proof.” But fears aren’t always rational.
Another common fear that I’ve helped many of my coaching students to face - the fear of raising our prices. Even if we know that we can provide amazing results and memorable experiences for our clients, we’d sometimes still rather charge less money just to “get the gig.” Many of us knowingly undervalue our skills and experiences in order to avoid hearing a potential client say that awful, horrifying word: “no.”
Personally, I’d argue that the fear of raising our prices is actually the manifestation of a deeper, primal fear of rejection. Not just the rejection of our services, but the rejection of us, the service providers.
Many creatives, myself included, have fallen into the trap of falsely equating our self-worth to the price people are willing to pay for our services. When they say “no” to a proposal, sometimes we interpret that as if they were saying “you, personally, are not worth it.” It’s a misinterpretation that is entirely in our own heads - but if you’ve ever felt that way, in the moment it feels completely real and seemingly “obvious.”
This particular topic will be getting its own future episode, but I wanted to include it today because I’m guessing it may strike a chord with some of you.
So let’s take a few moments to think about the parts of the sales process that make us feel uncomfortable, intimidated, or maybe even outright terrified.
Today’s reflection question is: what part of the sales process causes me the most stress, and what can I do to overcome it?
Find a comfortable spot without distractions. I’d like you to spend the next few minutes thinking about your own sales anxieties, and what you can do to tackle them head-on. Don’t worry about setting a timer - when the music stops, we’ll move on to today’s action item.
So once again, today’s reflection question is: what part of the sales process causes me the most stress, and what can I do to overcome it?
I’ll be back in a few minutes.
If you need more time, hit pause and come back when you’re ready. I hope you were able to find some insight into how you can bring a little more confidence into your sales copy and client interactions.
Now, let’s take what we’ve discovered about ourselves and apply it.
In order to complete today’s action item, all you’ll need is a word processor or a pen and paper.
Today’s action item is: write an “elevator pitch” that showcases your unique skills and perspective.
If you’re not familiar, an elevator pitch is really just a concise, persuasive sales pitch. Short enough that you could hypothetically say it to somebody during a 20-30 second elevator ride.
Keeping your ideal potential client’s best wishes in mind, write a short, attention-grabbing description of who your target audience is, and why YOU can help them solve their problems better than anyone else.
Try to keep it concise and honest, but don’t sell yourself short. Your unique passions and perspective enables you to bring something special to every project you work on. Try to put that “something special” into words.
Alright, time to get started. I'll be back in a few minutes.
If you need more time, hit pause and come back when you’re ready.
Now that you have a simple-yet-effective elevator pitch that showcases how you’re uniquely qualified to solve your ideal client’s problems better than anyone else, keep it handy for when you need a little confidence boost. Sometimes we need to pitch ourselves… to ourselves.
Also, you could repurpose the elevator pitch to use on your website and social media profiles. The wording may need to be adjusted - like shortening it to fit the character limits of different social media platforms - but the main ideas are already figured out, and that’s the hard part.
I’m hoping that today’s exercises brought you some clarity on how you can go through the sales process while feeling confident, excited, and absolutely not the least bit sleazy.
I hope you learned something about yourself today. Maybe it was something small, or maybe it was a significant revelation. As far as I’m concerned, any growth in your self-awareness enhances both your business and your life.
If you found this episode helpful, please like, subscribe, and share this with someone you feel would benefit from exercises like these. You can join our Discord Community using the link in the show notes, connect with me on social media at @carlbahner and @thanksforthinkingpodcast, or reach out directly to info@carlbahner.com
Until next time - Thanks for thinking.