Oh my goodness, I am in sales.

If you'd asked 23-year-old unmolded-piece-of-clay me what I wanted to do I would have had no idea. But, I definitely knew I didn't want to do sales. Sales is just so sales-y. It requires a suit, and a 'pitch' and absolutely worst of all, rejection. I mean, my dad is in sales, and I am not going to do what my dad does. Duh. Aww, 23-year-old Adam.

Oh God, what have I done?

Therefore, I became a "creative." The first time I was referred to as a creative I loooooooved it. Now, I think it just kind of sounds smug and exclusive.  Nevertheless, becoming a creative allowed me to avoid sales for the rest of my life. I was free! But, then I had to go and start a business. Big mistake.

Small business owner or not, turns out pretty much everyone is in sales (Except for the guy who cleans up the poop behind the horses. He cleans up poop). If you need something in business, you must employ some level of sales to get it. Sales does not mean Cutco knives. But, God bless those door knockers. I respect the heck out of anyone who can take that level of rejection. Which is the real reason I avoided sales in the first place- rejection. I was scared of it. I was scared of it because rejection sucks. It makes you feel like a loser. And, no one wants to feel like a loser.

But, I am not a loser. I'm a small business owner with something worth selling. I believe in our product and I am proud to sell it. We help other businesses understand and refine their brand, build beautiful marketing materials, launch informative websites or even design posters that might just be considered artwork.

Sales is not cold-calling (However I did my first cold call to a local brewery yesterday, and guess what? I got a meeting. I was JACKED UP! I mean, so jacked up I started dancing. Which is not entirely unexpected for me). A turning point for me was listening to Glen Jackson, owner of one of the best ad agencies in the country, Jackson Spalding. I'm paraphrasing, but in a post he said, "we're all just selling trust." Which makes so much sense. I am not going to explain what that means because I think we all know that's exactly what that means. Do I trust this person to do what they say they're going to do? It's black or white.

And, that's when I knew I could do it. Because, I know people can trust me. And, if I get rejected, well, good, it'll just thicken up this skin a bit. Anyone who knows me, knows I have a pretty sensitive metaphoric epidermis.

A wise man told me don't be afraid to ask for the sale. So, if you or someone you know is launching, refreshing or changing directions in their business and they would benefit from working with a creative agency like ours, please put us in touch. My name is Adam Faust, and I am the director of sales at 5 + 8. I am also the director of taking out the trash, the director of reaching for high things in the storage room, and the director of rinsing out Paulina's old oatmeal when she leaves it in sink to "soak."

Email or call me anytime.