Hard Selling Is Bad Business

Hard selling is difficult to take, isn't it?

Sales people incapable of reading what it is you need trying to sell you shit you don't want.

Insurance salesmen do it, banks do it, supermarkets do it, for Christ’s sake even veterinarians do it!

Here they go, forcing the hard sell to unwitting customers. Thankfully most of the time you know when you're being sold to and you can turn away.

However, many people don't and end up buying stuff they didn't intend.

Hard selling is a sure sign that a business doesn’t know it’s customers, doesn’t know its products and services, and couldn’t give a shit either way.

I generally treat it with a long, hard, silent stare. That generally does the trick nicely.

Snuffs it out in a heartbeat.

Now, creative people need to see that all selling is not made equal, you don't have to do it like this.

You have a choice in the matter.

The Hard Sell In Action

We had some experience of hard selling recently.

My missus brought Tilly, our 9-year-old brindle Lurcher to the vet recently for vaccines. She’s going to the kennels while we’re away.

My wife has been dreading the visit for days.

The reason?

The practice has all its staff well trained in the cynical upsell. Suggestions for unnecessary drugs and treatments come thick and fast every visit.

Amongst other things we got to choose from;

1. Scan for a suspected heart condition because “you never know”.
2. Dental treatment because her teeth “aren’t in great condition”.
3. High-grade food because she’s underweight (-1lb from the last visit)

Why are we still going!?

Good question.

Inertia, laziness I’d say. They have the dog’s records and because it’s a yearly thing we forget to move to another vet until the next visit is due, then say;

We should really find another vet…

Now, I understand a business needs to make sales, and I also understand that in some industries there’s a lot of pressure not only to perform but to survive.

But businesses really need to understand that the practice of hard selling over and above their duty to deliver to their customers' products and services in an honorable way, is damaging and ultimately counter-productive.

I know a hard sell when I smell it and it truly makes my blood boil. It shows a distinct lack of professional integrity in my opinion and completely disenfranchises customers.

Businesses who try the hard sell must think their customers are thick as shit, really, it’s so exasperating and unprofessional.

You Don’t Have To Hard Sell

As a creative person you write, you make stuff, you might provide a service and it’s likely you need to sell that service to make a living.

If it’s a hobby thing then maybe money from your art is not so important to you, however, exchanging that thing you do for cash is not only right, but it’s important. It feels good to do so too.

There’s nothing that kills the creative spirit quicker than unfair exchange.

It doesn’t matter whether you make coffee for a living or you paint landscapes, receiving adequate remuneration for what you provide or make is vital.

It’s what helps you and that thing you do grow.

The Problem For Creatives

The biggest problem for creative entrepreneurs is asking for money, I mean enough money, a reasonable payment for what we’ve made.

We’ve kind of got this hang up about money. We think that for some reason we’re selling out, which manifests in a couple of different ways;

1. All Selling Is Nasty

Many small business owners and creatives believe that selling is somehow nasty and dishonorable. We have a negative association with it, picked up from somewhere along the way.

We think that all selling is hard selling and we’re not going down that road. We’d rather starve than put ourselves in that bracket with the cheesy car salesman.

Or maybe it’s that money itself that’s bad. It represents a greedy consumerist society that we have strived so hard to remove ourselves from.

Either way, this negative association with exchanging our creations for cash is not good. Yet, we need to make money. We need to pay the bills, keep the lights on.

2. I’m Charging Too Much

Another way this hang up can show itself is in the idea that we are charging too much for what we make.

We look around at others who are doing similar and we decide to price ourselves under what they charge in the false belief that being cheap will mean more sales.

This is such a damaging idea, one I know only too well. Many creative types fall for this notion and end up broke and cheap.

As soon as we price ourselves under the standard rate we are immediately associated with being the cheapest and people just don’t value us.

What To Do Instead

I’ve been in business for myself since I was 25 and I’ve made all the mistakes in the book, so maybe I can offer something here that helps you see things differently.

First Thing – Value Your Work

Money is a means of exchange, it has no inherent value in itself other than what we have decided it has. Money is representative of wealth, it is not wealth.

Wealth is a mindset, and we either value ourselves or we don’t. If we don’t then we have some work to do to reverse that negative mindset. This might take some time.

If you’re chasing money then you’re chasing a ghost, and you’ll unlikely catch it. And if you do then you’ll probably be hard selling.

However, I don’t believe too many creatives have this problem.

You’ve got to value yourself and your work. Without that in place, you’re flogging a dead horse and you’ll always struggle. The universe will give you exactly what you ask for in that regard.

Second Thing – There’s No Competition

The most important thing creative people need to know is that the idea you have competition is a flawed one.

There is no competition! Unless that is you believe there is competition. If you do then there is.

Know what I mean?

If you think that there is one pie and you need to scrap to get your piece then everything you do in your business will follow from this.

Get out of the idea that you are in competition with anyone and start pricing your work with value in mind. There’s nothing else for it, because if you don’t then you can never truly call yourself an artist.

Our Work Is Unique & Valuable

All work is art in my view, but not everyone knows this. That’s why the world of people are at each other’s throats, scrapping for the same money.

You and I are entitled to receive as much as people are willing to part with for our work. How much we value ourselves will be reflected in what people pay us.

I think our idea of money, work, business, and value needs to change.

How about you?

This Story originally appeared on Storymaker, a Medium publication