What Leaving Corporate Taught Me About Selling Yourself

https://youtu.be/LzucqfEMfD4

When I left corporate after 15 years, there were plenty of things I knew would change. One of them was obvious: I would have to find my own work.

As a Fractional CMO, advisor, coach and speaker, there is no large company automatically putting projects in front of me. I need to meet people, talk about what I do and occasionally convince someone that I am the right person to help.

I thought I would hate that part.

A few months in, it has turned out to be one of the things I enjoy most.

The reason, I think, is that selling feels very different from what I imagined. Most of my business development so far has involved conversations. Someone tells me what is happening in their company. And I'm very curious, we so talk about the problem and sometimes I know someone who could help and sometimes I know I can help myself.

Eventually someone has to ask what I charge, and someone has to decide whether what I offer is worth paying for, but the part before that feels surprisingly natural.

Perhaps that is because good selling is less about convincing someone to buy something and more about understanding whether there is a useful match. And that is a version of selling I can live with.

Actually, apparently, it is a version of selling I really enjoy.