There are plenty of advantages that come from this dynamic – you are passionate about your business, you work long hours and will do anything to get the job done, you are willing to make sacrifices for your work, you are loyal to your customers and clients. But there are also disadvantages – you rarely take breaks, you tend to lose your objectivity when talking about business matters, you do it all in your business and often have difficultly delegating and letting go. One other significant disadvantage, particularly for small business owners who are not sales savvy, is the need to be able to sell your products and services. And because you personally are so intertwined with your business, this means selling yourself. This makes many small business owners uncomfortable; it often feels unnatural. But if you are not advocating for yourself, you can’t expect anyone else to do it for you. The good news is there are ways to sell yourself by being proactive about exploring new opportunities, forging new relationships and positioning yourself in a positive light that eliminate any apprehensions you may have about sales. Here are a few ways to comfortably adopt a sales-driven mindset without feeling like you’re selling out. These simple actions can help you sell your business more effectively without having to adopt harder hitting sales tactics that may make you uncomfortable. And the more you do these things, the easier it will be for you to be proactive about promoting yourself and your business.
