4 ms·

I'm a freelance composer, so selling is just part of my job description. However, I kind of accidentally stumbled upon a good way to get your sales skills up to

by rewgs 5y ago

I'm a freelance composer, so selling is just part of my job description. However, I kind of accidentally stumbled upon a good way to get your sales skills up to snuff: Craigslist. I really enjoying flipping instruments or anything else I know I can make a profit off of. It allows me to "rent" something I want to check out for a while, but still probably make a profit off of. Take a topic you know about or enjoy, find cheaper-than-usual examples of that thing (especially lightly-broken things that just need a bit of TLC), and then flip for a profit. You'll deal with all sorts of weird personalities, as is tradition with Craigslist, but doing just doing it on a regular basis really pushes you quite quickly to get your sales skills up to snuff. It's hard for me to even point to specific aspects of those skills in particular -- it's more a general mindset, an understanding of people's psychology, etc. You just get a feel for it -- or at least I did.

jrvarela56 5y ago
This would be an amazing premise for an online course.
- rewgs 5y ago
  Really? I'm very interested in hearing why you think that.
  - jrvarela56 5y ago
    Most content/courses lack that 'real world' feel where students learn by doing something that interacts with the real world in a way that's meaningful to them. Even project-based courses don't really give students 'real' feedback: paying customers (or users paying with attention) tinkering with creations, asking for things, breaking it, etc. This online sales dynamic you described feels 1) 'real' in that the interactions occur outside the course with customers and 2) scoped and digital-first as to make it easy to curate or coach the student (inputs/outputs seem easy to gather/parse as they are chats/emails/prices/copy/etc). I'd imagine something like: 1. Students select products or themes they are interested in outside the course (example: computer peripherals like, mics/cams/headphones for streaming). 2. Set a budget to get started (real skin in the game!). 3. First purchase, make approach using course tips/tricks. 4. Get feedback from course instructors on form/copy/negotiation tactics 5. Rinse and repeat Would be awesome to streamline like a guided tutorial/checklist as you see more and more cases and can solidify best practices with data from student's results.
    - rewgs 5y ago
      Huh. Very interesting, thank you! You've given me some things to think about.
abcc8 5y ago
I did the same with boutique guitar pedals for a time. Having and using each pedal for a month or so before flipping it ended up usually costing just the shipping amount in the end. It was a fun experience and I was able to indulge the hobby in an inexpensive way.

by rewgs 5y ago

jrvarela56 5y ago

This would be an amazing premise for an online course.

rewgs 5y ago
Really? I'm very interested in hearing why you think that.
- jrvarela56 5y ago
  Most content/courses lack that 'real world' feel where students learn by doing something that interacts with the real world in a way that's meaningful to them. Even project-based courses don't really give students 'real' feedback: paying customers (or users paying with attention) tinkering with creations, asking for things, breaking it, etc. This online sales dynamic you described feels 1) 'real' in that the interactions occur outside the course with customers and 2) scoped and digital-first as to make it easy to curate or coach the student (inputs/outputs seem easy to gather/parse as they are chats/emails/prices/copy/etc). I'd imagine something like: 1. Students select products or themes they are interested in outside the course (example: computer peripherals like, mics/cams/headphones for streaming). 2. Set a budget to get started (real skin in the game!). 3. First purchase, make approach using course tips/tricks. 4. Get feedback from course instructors on form/copy/negotiation tactics 5. Rinse and repeat Would be awesome to streamline like a guided tutorial/checklist as you see more and more cases and can solidify best practices with data from student's results.
  - rewgs 5y ago
    Huh. Very interesting, thank you! You've given me some things to think about.

abcc8 5y ago

I did the same with boutique guitar pedals for a time. Having and using each pedal for a month or so before flipping it ended up usually costing just the shipping amount in the end. It was a fun experience and I was able to indulge the hobby in an inexpensive way.