I used to work for multinational companies. At that time, I never thought I could go freelance. In particular there was one obstacle that I could never overcome. I could never be as a salesperson.
Here are a few of my objections at the time:
- I could never sell myself.
- I don't like to network.
- I am not a people's person.
- Even if I can relate to people, everything changes for the worse if I need to sell something.
- Selling is being disingenuous, artificial, fake.
- Intellectuals don't sell.
But wait a second. I've been freelancing for 9 years now.
What happened?
I have a confession to make.
Not only I started selling.
I even started liking it.
The realization didn't come all at once.
- You don't sell yourself. You sell your ideas and your methods.
- Networking is by no means a necessity. You can sell without drinking wine or knowing everyone by name.
- Everyone is a people’s person; we all use empathy all the time.
- Selling is a natural part of relating to other people.
- You can sell in a sleazy way (if you're sleazy), in a fake way (if you're fake), or in an honest and ethical way.
- Intellectuals sell (their ideas) all day long. They can use the same ability to sell whatever else they please.
