The Sell Pill: Why selling is the skill creatives need in a downturn.
Selling: you either can, or you can’t, right? False.
The idea that certain people are born with a selling persona is a misconception. It can be learnt and mastered, and by harnessing a method built on empathy, mutual understanding and collaboration, it’s possible for creatives and marketers to boost their selling confidence. I know, because having worked with many creatives who have mastered selling, it’s a skill that can be learned.
Ad budgets are set to dip, and with UK inflation rising, the creative industries are feeling the bite. Understanding how to sell to, and influence stakeholders, is critical for creatives and marketers alike, to unlock growth on both sides of the table, in times of economic growth and uncertainty. Creativity needs investment, budgets need defending, and brave ideas need buy-in. After all, creativity can solve business challenges and be a force for growth.
Selling is a core skill that matters at every level of the industry ecosystem, from creatives successfully hitting briefs to agency leaders pitching for investment. Shouldn’t every creative have the confidence to sell well? And shouldn’t we embrace selling as a must-have skill, so the entire industry knows how to sell creativity’s value to secure investment?
Why do creative people hate selling so much?
If it’s not how you make your living, selling can feel daunting, stressful, and conflict-creating, and can mean dealing with lots of ‘NO’s’. And for creatives, their work is who they are, so every no can feel personal. But this fear of selling can be overcome, by taking a different approach. Creatives can use the same skills that make them great at their jobs, like creativity and empathy, to sell their ideas.
Try walking in someone else’s shoes.
Selling to someone with confidence can be simply about trying to walk in their shoes and identify their unique needs. The best relationships are built on authenticity, logic and understanding, and that goes for partnerships and collaborations too. Clients, customers, teams, and managers will all be experiencing their own turbulence, so bringing more empathy to the table will help you align your pitch to their needs.
Sales: it’s not just for the ‘suits’
In our industry, selling can be dismissed as a skill only for the ‘suits’ siloed away in sales teams, and removed from the creative process. But high-performing salespeople are client-obsessed. They know how to focus on individual needs and how they can always add value. And, they’re creative too! Creative techniques can be a growth driver and will add value to any sales organisation that embraces them, so sales and creative teams can learn a lot from each other.
Yet selling is still not seen as a core skill for agency creatives. Forbes Agency Council highlighted must-have skills for agency professionals, citing agility down to authenticity, but the skill to sell didn’t make the cut. Isn’t it time that changed?
Amid fierce competition, creatives need to sell ideas
As ad spend contracts, and brands cut back, creativity risks losing investment. This will increase competition among creatives to get their ideas heard. So they’ll need to sell better, with greater confidence, and really get behind the challenges of the brief to stay ahead.
There’s a body of research out there clearly showing that businesses that invest in creativity see a higher return and ignite greater innovation and commercial success in the long-term. New research by Kantar and Warc shows that advertising that is creative and effective — demonstrating long-term creative results — generates more than four times as much profit. But so much more can be done to actively SELL the value proposition of creativity to brand and business leaders.
At this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, we’re hosting an interactive workshop along with Lucien Etori of R/GA to unpack the behaviours that translate into successful interactions that can sell products, ideas, and people. Because in times of uncertainty, an empathic approach is a right formula for selling creativity and forging relationships that will flourish when times are buoyant again. Creative ideas that cut through to consumers, can be the make or break of a brand, so how can the industry learn to really sell creativity and boost investment?
Author: David Clayton, CEO & Founder, True & North
