One of the common traits for us introverted translators is that we don’t like selling. In fact, we might even be afraid of selling. We feel pushy and are afraid of rejection. We just wish that the jobs would come to us so we can focus on translation. Does that sound familiar? I know it does for me.

In this episode I’m talking to a business coach with experience from the translation and localization industry – Andrew Lawless. He gave a popular presentation at the most recent American Translators Associations annual conference on how to overcome the fear of selling. I thought that was a great topic to share with you guys.

Important things mentioned in this episode:

• Why translators are afraid of selling and what we can do about it
• A prospecting framework we can use to make selling easier
• Why we need to get comfortable with rejection and how to do that
• Finding out what type of client we are dealing with so we can adapt our tactics to fit their needs
• Tips on how to close a sales call

Links mentioned in this episode or related to this episode:

• 5-Part Mini-Class on Finding Your Special Personal Power
• Book your free Strategy Session
• Buy a Kolbe A Index
• Team Lawless Website
• The Sales Process for Translators – Interview with Paul Urwin
• 5 Ways to Increase Sales in 30 Days
• The Secret Behind the World’s Greatest Salesman – Or How to Market Like a Farmer

All businesses run on sales. Making a profit is why businesses exist, including freelance businesses. Without sales we would not stay in business for very long. Let’s get over our fear of selling and start offering our valuable services to potential buyers. Instead of thinking that we are sleazy or pushy sales people, start to focus on offering our valuable skills and resources to help customers, we will transform our businesses and mindsets.

Listener Shoutout:

Kembla Translation in Belgium says:

“This is a fantastic podcast that has helped give me the confidence to set up my freelance translation business. Now the business is growing steadily and I am grateful to Teas and all the guests for their inspiration.”

Many thanks to Kembla for taking the time to leave a nice review! I really appreciate it!

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Bio:

Andrew Lawless is a certified High Performance Coach and Finalist for the in Kolbe Professional Award, putting him worldwide in the top tier of executive coaches. He is on a mission to support 1,000 translators to upgrade their careers and level up their lives in six weeks.

Andrew brings a unique blend of experience in behavioral sciences, publishing, digital marketing, and localization. His accomplishments include managing a corporate turn-around of Berlitz in Central & Eastern Europe to transforming the World Bank’s global approach to localizing its analytical work.

Andrew presented his successes with transforming global teams to the Obama US White House and testified before the US Senate on the importance of professional development. He served as a trainer and consultant to the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit where he helped analyze the mindset of hostage takers.

Andrew can be contacted via email or just visit his website to schedule a Perform-at-Peak-Strategy Session.

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