What roles are you avoiding in your Woodworking business?
In the first installment I took you through some of the often overlooked mental requirements for selling your woodworking online.
Surprising, wasn’t it? This time, let’s take a look at the roles you’re going to have to adopt if you’re going to sell your precious work online or even in real life for that matter.
A lot of woodworkers (yours truly included) start out thinking that it’s enough to just love to make things and that passion and superior craftsmanship would be the only tools needed to make a terrific living in woodworking.
Fast forward some years later, and you have a totally different scenario.
You’re either convinced that there’s no way to make money doing what you love, or you’ve reserved yourself to the idea that in order to make a living, you have to take on less-than-stellar work that doesn’t excite or satisfy you in any way.
More often than not, woodworkers find themselves in one of these scenarios because they’ve ignored the vital roles that must be adopted in order to really succeed in business.
While this is certainly not an exhaustive list by any means, I am going to hit on what I believe are the top 3 roles that are ignored, or fearfully avoided by a lot of woodworkers.
Marketer
This is a big one. I’ve heard a lot of woodworkers say things like, “I’m a woodworker, not a marketer, so I don’t understand marketing at all. I shouldn’t have to.”
I used to work in my shop with those exact words running through my mind. Is it any wonder why I didn’t make great progress the first five years? Is it any wonder why you haven’t either?
The marketer role is one you’re afraid to assume because you feel inadequate, unlearned, or have been turned off by sleazy marketers in the past.
Well, it’s time to fear it no more. In fact, it’s high time to embrace it because, if you are going to make a living or even a supplemental income with your woodworking, you’re going to have to get comfortable and confident with who you are and what you have to offer. That’s what you’re communicating anyway – who you are and what you believe.
For most of you, the problem lies in your understanding of the word marketing. In the beginning, most of you probably think marketing is advertising. You immediately think of newspaper ads, radio and TV commercials, full page magazine spots…and that leaves you dwelling on the crippling costs involved. Well, advertising can be part of marketing, but it’s really only a small fraction that you can choose to implement.
Marketing in it’s simplest definition is communicating your core message to the people who are seeking that message.
The marketing role is the backbone of your woodworking business. Virtually everything you do is a form of marketing because virtually everything you do communicates a message to people.
Your design, construction methods, wood choices, preferred finishes, and even finished photographs are all a part of your marketing message. All of those aspects communicate something about you to potential buyers. So, since you are already marketing (even though you aren’t aware of it) why not embrace this role and begin to hone these skills as passionately as you hone your woodworking skills?
I promise you’ll like the difference this mind-shift makes.
Salesperson
I think, by far, this role is the most avoided and detested out of all of them. Why? Because you have told me so on numerous occasions.
Run the word “salesperson” through your head and pay attention to what happens.
I’m betting most of you kinda threw up a little didn’t you. It’s because we’ve all had bad experiences with plaid suits pushing junk cars, insurance policies, and other not-so-stellar items or services. Sales isn’t sleazy, people are. But, like anything else, the past should not dictate your current reality or forthcoming future.
Sales is important, no make that crucial, for your success online. How else do you expect people to buy? They have to be convinced that your product or service is the one and only thing that will make their life better. This does not mean deceiving, slick-talking, or pushing them into doing something they didn’t want to do in the first place. That is not selling. That’s scamming. BIG difference.
What I’m talking about is learning your ideal client’s needs, wants, likes, hopes, desires, and loves. Then, you present the offer that provides that for them. Yes, again I’m over simplifying, but it sounds a bit more noble now, doesn’t it.
Take the initiative to begin learning how to be the salesperson for your woodworking products. Who better to communicate the beautiful benefits of experiencing your work, then you, the maker? Like anything worth doing this is a skill to be exercised daily.
Study, observe, and DO great sales tactics and techniques. You’ll be very pleased in the long run.
Writer
“Writer?! I’m a woodworker. I’m not going to write anything!”
Before you let this ridiculous phrase stick in your cranium, let me just remind you that we are talking about online sales here.
Online as in the Internet, as in websites with content, product descriptions, sales pages, and lest we forget blogs. If you’re going to sell your work online, then your primary method of communication will be writing. It’s the material people read when they come your site. It’s the blog posts you’re crafting for your ideal customer. It’s even the content of your About page.
You will, I repeat, will be spending a great deal of time writing if you are going to put any serious effort into making money online with your woodworking. It’s essential.
Solid writing skills allow you to show the benefits of your products in the least amount of words. It gives you the ability to touch people’s hearts and minds with your core message that in turn, ignites their hidden flame of desire to own the product around that message.
Like you I loathed the idea of writing and learning to be a stellar writer. Nowadays, I’m seeing it differently. That’s why I’m taking great strides to become an effective communicator through the written word. The benefits just make too much sense to not do it.
Stop Avoiding to Start Succeeding
These roles are the Big 3 that I see avoided time and time again in existing solo woodworking ventures. Doing this is certain death.
You won’t make real progress in online sales without adopting and embracing them. You can certainly hire out each of these roles, but in the beginning I believe it’s vital you learn them intimately first.
For those of you in the “I wish” stage of selling your woodworking online, it’s important to gain a true perspective on the necessity of these roles for your soon-to-be business.
As many of you know, I’ve been on a quest to turn around the last 5 years of my woodworking business faux-pas. Part of that involved confronting my avoidance of these roles.
As I have changed my mind about them over the last 18 months, something very surprising happened. I became downright fascinated with learning them as best I can. Now, I get as excited about the latest marketing article as I do about this month’s woodworking magazine!
Selling is no longer a concept that turns my stomach. Instead, it’s an opportunity to learn more about my customer and deliver what they need. And that’s the secret. Change your mindset about these roles, and let them become as intriguing as learning to make a housed sliding dovetail key.
These roles are simply just another set of tools and skills to learn. The only difference is instead of the end result of a finely crafted piece of furniture, you get a finely tuned business. I promise good things ahead. When you stop avoiding these 3 roles, you stop avoiding your success.
Are you avoiding these roles? Why? Why not? What other roles should be included on this list?
If you want to learn the real secrets of selling your work online, check out the Woodworking Can Pay your Bills E-course.
