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Creative Entrepreneurship and the Importance of Sales: Insights from Daniel Priestley

Jul 12, 2024

Creative Entrepreneurship and the Importance of Sales: Insights from Daniel Priestley

Key Takeaways

  1. Love for Work and Harsh Realities

    • Creative people often love their work but need to be good at sales to sustain it.
    • Successful creatives have a sales process attached to their work.
    • Myth: Great work will sell itself. Reality: Successful creatives are also good at selling their work.
    • Acceptance: Necessary to avoid being a struggling artist.
  2. History and Evolution of Sales

    • Legacy idea of sales (1970s-80s): Unethical practices with used cars and stockbroking.
    • Modern high-end sales: Found in luxury and professional markets (e.g., LVMH, Bentley, luxury real estate).
    • Sales today: A high-quality experience rather than forceful personality tricks.
    • Importance of disqualification: Great sales process disqualifies unrealistic clients.
    • Misconceptions: Good sales ≠ Exaggeration; Introverts can be excellent in sales.
  3. Sales Process and Mindset

    • Sales Rhythm (LAPS): Leads, Appointments, Presentations, and Sales.
    • Importance of Regularity: Like fitness, sales require a consistent rhythm to optimize.
    • Numbers Matter: Track LAPS to find areas for improvement or volume.
    • Leads Generation Tactics:
      • Online assessments (e.g., 'Are you leveraging video effectively?')
      • Discussion groups
      • Introduction events (e.g., 'Introduction to Branding')
      • Registration of Interest forms
    • Steps for Intro Events: Assessment, qualification questions, warm outreach, and transition to one-on-one appointments.
  4. Structure of Sales Conversations

    • Framing and Rapport:
      • Framing: Presentation and environment matter (e.g., assistant for scheduling, published work).
      • Rapport: Building chemistry and trust through common interests, listening, and needs.
    • Permission Asking: Transition into structured discussions after Rapport.
    • Structured Conversation:
      • Where are you now?
      • Where do you want to be?
      • What’s in the way?
    • Example questions: Future Vision, Key Moments, Current Challenges.
  5. Insights, Method, and Solution

    • Share Insights: Offer high-level observations on the client's situation.
    • Methodology: Outline steps and process.
    • Solution: Package offering tailored to client’s needs and situation.
    • Invitation for Pushback: Engage with client’s reservations to solidify trust and solution.
  6. Psychology of Sales

    • With or Without You Energy: Confidence that comes from abundance mindset and professionalism.
    • Professionalism in Sales: Treat sales as a profession requiring training, technology, and tools (e.g., CRM).

Resources and Tools

  • ScoreApp: Online assessment platform for generating leads and sales insights. Offers templates and AI-integrated solutions.

Final Thoughts

  • Impact of Professionalism: Better sales lead to fewer sales calls and more focus on creative work.
  • Authenticity in Sales: Importance of being genuine and transparent in the sales process.

Actions:

  • Review this material regularly to reinforce the concepts.
  • Apply tactics like LAPS and structured conversations in your creative business.
  • Consider using tools like ScoreApp for generating high-quality leads.