Please Join Me (Down in the DUMPS)
Friends, if you are not in the mood for a maudlin, whiny post from me, please move on to someone cheery like Bill Farquharson or maybe some more cute kitten videos on YouTube.
Because I am feeling down. Like, no business, no clients, no printlove, no deals.
For the last 4.5 years, I have been extremely blessed to have been kept as busy as I wanted to be. By virtue of this blog, my association with Bill and his Short Attention Span Webinars, and all you fine folks out there, I had all the business I could handle.
Until this month. And then it all went away. And I was faced with a very daunting situation that I hadn’t faced in a long time.
GASP! I was going to have to PROSPECT. Make cold calls. Reach out to people and ask for work. And can you guess what happened next?
Nothing. So this cold calling thing was NOT going to be a walk in the park. And I know I don’t have to tell you that.
So here’s my plan.
- I’m going to practice what I preach. I’ve created a prospecting plan with multiple touchpoints and a powerful message with an offer they can’t refuse. (no blogpost of mine is as great without a classic movie reference, right?)
- I am going to stay positive if it kills me. Because feeling bad FEELS BAD! Do I really need to say more about this?
- I WILL NOT QUIT. I have been in this business for over 20 years. If I quit now, there is a large part of me that feels like a lot of it would have been for nothing. Which isn’t really true, but come on. What would I do if I wasn’t doing this? Would I go to medical school at 45? Blood! (YUCK) Plus Grey’s Anatomy ruined medicine for me.
- I will keep re-inventing myself. I will come up with new ideas that will make me relevant, necessary, and indispensable to folks like you.
- I will come up with the most kick-ass presentation for GRAPH EXPO this year that those of you who come will talk about it for years to come, and those of you who miss it will kick yourselves with regret for the rest of your lives.
So there you have it. Just writing this piece has helped me to drag myself from the dregs of despair, so thanks for reading and always being there with and for me. And if you need some help getting yourself out of the dumps, I am always here for you, too!
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Blogger, author, consultant, coach and all around evangelist for the graphic arts industry, Kelly sold digital printing for 15 years so she understands the challenges, frustrations and pitfalls of building a successful sales practice. Her mission is to help printers of all sizes sell more stuff. Kelly's areas of focus include sales and marketing coaching, enabling clients to find engagement strategies that work for them and mentoring the next generation of sales superstars.
Kelly graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science and, among other notable accomplishments, co-founded the Windy City Rollers, a professional women's roller derby league. She is also the mother of two sets of twins under the age of ten, so she fears nothing.
