Susan L. Farrell, Author

You Don’t Like It. Are You Sure?

dreamstime_xs_68280848I have never liked sales.  At least that is what I have been telling myself for years.  I like sales in that I like people to buy my books and speaking services.  I do not like trying to make the sale, however.  I don’t like sales and I’m not good at it.  Or so I have told myself repeatedly.  Something happened a while back, though, that has made me question the accuracy of what I have been telling myself my entire career.

I attend many book shows and conferences to sell my books.  Generally, the procedure is that the author is responsible for setting up her table, making the sales, collecting money, and packing up her stuff at the end.  This particular conference had an area set up as a book store with volunteers collecting the money.  All the authors had to do was drop off their books and collect the unsold ones at the end of the event.  The organization sent a check to the author later for the books sold.

At first I thought this was a great idea.  It meant that I could attend conference sessions instead of sitting at my table all day.  It also meant that someone else would be doing what I didn’t like—selling my books.

What I realized at the end, however, was that I missed not selling my books myself.  I missed not talking with the people that came to my table.  I missed not trying to find how my books could help them, or those they knew.  I also discovered that no one at the book store was going to try to sell my books.  They would collect money, but no one was trying to sell any of the books there.

I missed not selling my books.  Did that mean that I actually liked selling?  Did that mean that what I had been telling myself all these years was wrong?  Was it possible that I actually liked sales, but had convinced myself that I didn’t?  Maybe.  I’m still assessing the situation and the ramifications.

I think the most important question is “why?”  If there is something that we do not like, it can be very beneficial to ask ourselves why we don’t.  We may find out that there really isn’t any reason that we don’t like it, we have just convinced ourselves that we don’t.

Also, sometimes we may start out not liking something because it is new to us and so we aren’t that good at it.  It’s important, though, to regularly evaluate if how we feel has changed or if we are telling ourselves the same old story out of habit.

What things do you not like?  Are you sure you don’t like them or have you just convinced yourself that you don’t?

Share

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Scroll to Top

Sign Up for Susan's Newsletter

Get the newest information on self-empowerment. You have the power to become the person you want.