By Angela Bickford
Originally guest posted on The Work at Home Woman

I hear this all the time. In fact, I said this at one point.

As a writer, I said I wasn’t in sales. As an editor, I said I never had to sell. As a teacher, I never imagined I ever sold anything. Even as a business owner, I still don’t think of myself as a saleswoman.

But I am…

And so are you.

In fact, the truth is, we’re all in sales.

How, you ask? Because, from the day we started talking, we became a salesperson.

A few weeks back, I went to a conference for one of my jobs. I met some fellow writers who also work for my boss, and we got to talking. Somehow, the topic of copywriting came up. I mentioned I didn’t feel as successful at copywriting (essentially, writing that sells or markets something), because I didn’t like sales, nor did I feel it was a strength of mine. They laughed, kindly of course, and then asked me, “What do you think you’re doing when you put on make-up before you go out?” I paused…

I knew they were right. We sell ourselves every day. When we put on our fancy clothes, do our hair, and make ourselves look good. When we share an achievement with our friends or send out our resume. No matter what we are doing, when we are trying to get attention, get people to like us, get people to buy from us, get a job, or get a fantastic deal on something, we are stepping into the role of salesperson. Whether it be selling our skills to get a job, our looks to get a date, our personality to gain a friend, or a product for our business, we’re all in the business of selling.

This little piece of knowledge, and that one conversation, has changed the way I look at the sales aspect of my business. Selling used to be my least favorite part and the one I was least comfortable doing. Now, I’m a bit more comfortable when trying to close the deal and make the sale. I know it’s a necessary part of my business and I approach it a bit more naturally now. Instead of getting nervous and dreading something I used to think wasn’t a natural thing for me to do, I tell myself that it’s just like putting on make-up or sending off my resume. It helps me to make the sale when I know it’s nothing different than what I do in my everyday life, and that I am, in fact, a natural!

What do you think? Does putting it into this perspective help you think of sales differently? Maybe, just maybe, it will help you pull out the natural salesperson inside you.