“Here’s the thing about creatives services, Brad. If you work really, really hard, learn everything you can and advance in your career, you get to be a sales person!” ~ Jim Farris (my dad)

I’ve talked to many agency owners, and with one exception, none of them wanted to be salespeople.

But when you own an agency, you are the most effective salesperson your business has. Even if you hire someone with a thousand times more sales skills than you have, you will be better at closing deals than they are.

So if you want to grow your agency, the sooner you get comfortable in your role as Chief Sales Officer, the better!

What does it look like to get comfortable with that?

1. Prioritize your business development work

If you are the Chief Sales Officer in your business, you can’t keep putting off the outreach, and follow-up work you know will bring in more business. Yes, it’s easier to spend time with your team. Of course, it’s more satisfying to sit down and bang out some copy, or pop open Illustrator for a quick design. But you have people for that. No one else can do the BD work as well as you can!

2. Hone your skills

You’ve spent hundreds of hours getting good at being a creative, what would it look like to spend some time getting good at business development?

Who do you know who’s agency is killing it? Ask the owner how they learned to sell! Find some good books on sales that deal with the market you are working in. This is a skill that can be mastered.

3. Celebrate!

Don’t hide your sales successes, celebrate them! Tell your team every time you close a deal. Buy take out from your favorite restaurant for your family.

By celebrating your successes you can shift your identity and mentality from someone who “hates to sell” to someone successful at business development!

Is selling hard for you, or have you “made the switch”? I’d love to hear what helped you get your head around the idea that you were the best salesperson your firm could have. Hit reply and let me know!