5 Reasons why you feel awkward promoting your business
Note: This post was originally written as a script for a video. There may be some minor grammatical errors.
Hi imaginary friend, it’s me, Leigh and today I’m thinking about…
Why it feels sooo weird and awkward and uncomfortable to promote your own work. I feel like this is a very common experience amongst business owners, especially creative entrepreneurs, where we’re selling something that is unique to us. Whether that be our art, or a unique coaching program, or a product that we designed. Any business where you’re playing a pivotal role in the creation of the service or product, I think it’s really common to feel kinda awkward when it comes to actually marketing and selling your offer. And it’s something that I don’t think is as much of an issue if you’re like dropshipping on Amazon, or reselling stuff on Ebay. And I think that’s so fascinating, like why is it easier to promote and sell other people’s work, or products that we had no hand in creating. But then when it comes to our own creative ventures, it just feels awkward to talk about too much. We don’t wanna be “salesy” or annoying. I think a lot of us have this image in our heads of like a sleazy car salesman and of course we are actively trying to avoid being that guy.
But obviously, if you’re trying to run a successful business, you gotta be able to sell. You have to be able to talk about and promote your work. And not only that, but you want to be able to talk about it with confidence and excitement, rather than just kinda awkwardly posting a photo once on social media and then never talking about it ever again. When I say it like that, it’s so obvious, right. But, I’ll be honest, this is something that I’ve struggled with a lot in my businesses. And I think it’s such a mindset issue that even knowing what you “should” do doesn’t necessarily make it easier to actually do it. Like when I had my jewelry business, I knew that I probably “should” market my work a bit more actively on my e-mail list but I just felt so shy and awkward about sending people e-mails even though they voluntarily joined the list. It took all of my emotional energy just to even post pictures on Instagram with the most boring basic captions, and I would only ever e-mail my list when I had a big event.
I’ve learned and grown so much since then, and I’ve been able to adopt some mindset shifts that make marketing feel a bit more authentic and natural for me. So I wanted to make this post to help any of you that can identify with this struggle.
I think for most people this is purely a mindset issue, and that’s actually great, because we can change our minds! And so I wanna identify some of the reasons why you might feel like it’s hard to promote your work. And my hope is that if you can relate to any of these reasons, you can start to shift your beliefs to a more positive and productive mindset.
01. You haven’t sold your offer to yourself yet.
I think this is actually the most common issue. If YOU wouldn’t really buy your thing, it will feel super awkward to try to tell someone else that they should buy it. [ This, on the surface level, seems sooo obvious, but honestly, it’s incredibly common. I see coaches that are struggling to sell programs that they themselves probably wouldn’t invest in. I see service providers that feel uncomfortable about their pricing because they don’t know if it’s worth it.” And you might, like, as a reflex, you might be thinking, “ah that’s not me, I know my stuff is good.” But make sure that you really do. You really feel confident that whatever your offering is valuable. You really believe that you can fulfil the promise of your offer.
Because if you really, truly believe that the thing you’re offering will help people, it will make their lives better, then isn’t it more sleazy and unethical to like, hide it, and never talk about how you can help them?
02. You feel like people don’t really need the thing you’re offering.
So it feels really pushy when you talk about it because deep down you think it’s kind of frivolous. I see this a lot with product-based businesses. Like, it’s not that deep, you’re not changing people’s lives, you’re just selling, like a planner, or a necklace.
But I feel like that’s such a disservice to the actual value that you’re providing, which leads to the next reason that selling feels hard:
03. You’re not focusing on the value you offer.
I wanna make this concept as simple as possible, because otherwise I could just spend the entire rest of this video talking about offers and value. But the main point I want to make is this, no one is actually very interested in like, the specific thing you’re selling. I know that sounds weird, but stay with me. For the most part, generally speaking, people buy stories and feelings, not things. What people want is the result. They want the transformation. They want the feeling. One analogy that I’ve heard that I really love is that if you’re selling water to thirsty people. They don’t really care about the material of the bottle, or the chemical properties of H20. They just want something that will quench their thirst. And you might be thinking, “ah that’s not true, I actually do care about the materials and where things are made.” And yes, but I’m willing to bet that what you really care about is still a story, or a result, how it affects you.
And I want to give you a business example, because as simple as it sounds, I think it’s one of the most difficult concepts for new business owners to grasp. It’s one of the most common issues that I see with new businesses, when I look at their marketing.
So let’s take for example, a handmade jewelry business. I love to default to that example because I actually used to run a handmade jewelry business myself, so I can speak from experience. As a designer and maker, I was always kinda focused on the jewelry as an art object. I was focused on the materials, and the design process, and like how much work went into making each piece by hand. But then when it came to actually marketing and selling, I would really struggle to talk about my work enthusiastically, because for me, the exciting part was over. Like, I’m a designer. I designed this jewelry. And now it’s done. Buy it please.
But really, when it comes to marketing and selling, the focus needs to be on the value that you are offering for that other person.
You need to understand their perspective. And back then, I actually didn’t really know why anyone would buy my jewelry beyond them just seeing it and liking it. And I think a lot of product-based business owners fall into this same trap. We think it’s “just a ring” or “just a dress” and it’s not that deep.
But actually, it is that deep. Personal style is one of the most profound ways that people express themselves, and selling a product that they can wear is so valuable. It can completely change someone’s mood, it can help them feel beautiful, it can help them feel more confident. It can remind them of a loved one, it can help them feel connected. There is so much value there, and I think when you realize that real value, and focus on that, it’s so much easier to talk about your work, because it doesn’t really feel self-promoting. You’re not talking about yourself and the cool thing you made. And you’re not trying to convince them to want the cool thing you made. It’s more like you’re offering them a gift, and that’s exciting because you know it’s exactly what they wanted.
Ok so those were the big ones, but I’m not done yet. The next reason I wanna talk about that it might be hard to promote your work is:
04. You feel like you’re taking their precious money.
This is another really common one. And I think it’s so funny, actually. But it’s just like a default way of thinking. Like if you’ve never really worked on your money mindset, it’s very easy to think this way. Because at a societal level, we are taught that money is soooooo valuable. It’s so precious, we have to make as much as possible and save as much as possible. And we have to be super strict about where we spend it. Like, obviously, I’m over-simplifying a very complex topic, but this is generally how most of us see money. So naturally, when we are running a business, it might feel a bit weird when we try to separate people from their money.
But here’s the thing. Money, in itself, is like, not actually valuable. It’s a representation of value. It’s really just like a transitional form of value until you exchange it for something you want or need. And then it transforms into the thing you actually care about. So that could be your rent, or a cup of coffee, or a new car. I think when you look at it that way, it becomes obvious that for the most part, no one really wants money. They want what money can give them. They want the things, they want that sense of security, that feeling of abundance.
But if what you’re offering is actually of value to them, then you are absolutely not taking anyone’s money. It’s an equal exchange. It kinda goes back to the first point. You have to believe in the value of the thing you’re offering. You have to believe that it’s worth what you’re asking for. If you yourself think that your product or service isn’t worth what you’re charging, then of course you’re going to feel sleazy about it!
05. You’re not being authentic.
The last reason I want to talk about , why it might feel awkward being “salesy” is that you’re not being authentic. You’re not being a real human. You’re trying to remember a sales script you got off someone in a Facebook group. I see these scripts all the time and they drive me crazy, because I think there’s good intentions there, but really, this kind of thing is such a band-aid solution. And I’m really not trying to offend anyone here. But if you just say someone else’s sales script, word for word, it’s probably not going to feel authentic and natural to you. It’s gonna feel like a script! And in my experience, scripting works best when you write it yourself. When you really understand what you’re trying to say. And honestly, sales calls and sales e-mails are the most effective when you can just make a real human connection. Because at the end of the day, that’s what we all want. Nobody likes feeling like they’re being “sold to” and that’s why the ‘used car salesmen’ trope is what we’re all trying to avoid. But it’s so authentic if you just harness the energy of how you would tell a friend about an awesome new show you’ve been watching on Netflix, or a beautiful cafe you want to visit. That energy is “salesy” but it doesn’t feel awkward or weird right? It feels exciting, because it’s just a real human conversation. I think when you can tap into that energy when you talk about your work, it is so powerful, and best of all, it’s more fun and easy.
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