When I moved to Los Angeles several years ago, I had to start over again. I went from working as a Key Makeup Artist to working in sales. For two years I worked as an outside sales rep for a major fortune five hundred company and I hated every minute of it! The entire time I felt like I was spinning my wheels. I just wanted my makeup career back, but I was a slave to the steady paycheck. I felt like I was wasting my time selling someone else’s services when I could be selling my own. That’s when the light bulb went off in my head: it’s all sales and marketing. It doesn’t matter if you are a carpet cleaner, a freelance business consultant, or a makeup artist; you still have to sell and market your services. How is anyone going to know how great you are unless you sell them on it? As much as I hated working in sales, it taught me a lot about business. The product or service may change but the sale remains the same. That’s when I began applying what I learned working as a sales rep to getting work as a makeup artist.
So, here is some business and marketing advice from a former sales rep:
1. Set monthly goals for yourself. This means that you decide how much money you need to make each month as an artist.
2. Once you determine your goals, set a plan on how you are going to achieve them.
3. Every smart sales rep knows that it’s a numbers game. This means that the more people you contact, the higher the chances are that you will sell your services.
4. Start by making a list of people you would like to have as clients. Then cold call the companies to find out who hires for hair & makeup. Get their contact information and continue to follow up with them at least on a monthly basis.
Remember, “no” doesn’t mean “no forever,” it means “no for right now.” So never take no for an answer. Just keep asking for what you want in a different way until you get a yes! Make this a part of your daily/weekly routine and eventually you will get to where you want to be, I promise. It just takes persistence and patience!
Makeup Maverick
http://www.hmartistsnetwork.com
http://www.mymakeupart.com
Monday, September 15, 2008
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