In this episode, Dave is excited to welcome Russell Nohelty. Russell is the founder of Wannabe Press and host of the Business of Art. Wannabe Press makes weird books and novels for weird people. The company helps people in making the most beautiful and beautifully printed books in the independent market. The Business of Art, helps creatives build better businesses by embracing their inner salesman without feeling negative about it.
It was the latter that intrigued Dave most about having Russell on the show, as one of the areas a lot of people struggle with is sales and selling – even though, discuss in the episode, it should be one of the easiest for people.
Russell is a true Misfit entrepreneur, owning several other business in addition to Wannabe and the Business of Art, and he regularly speaks throughout Los Angeles to groups like the LA Writer’s Society, Scripter’s Network, and at dozens of other conventions throughout the country like ComicCon in San Diego.
www.russellnohelty.com
www.thebusinessofart.com
Russell fell into being an entrepreneur because he couldn’t stand the way the businesses he worked at were run. He went on to build his own companies, but by the time he was 29, he had 4 failed businesses. When he analyzed why he kept failing, he realized that it was because he was not able to sell. He thought he would “build it and they would come.”
So, at 30, he decided he needed to learn to sell and did all sorts of jobs from selling Aflac to advertising to cell phones/plans. Along the way it clicked and Russell learned a few things that worked. As he says, “If you believe in the product and you provide value, then you can sell things without feeling gross about it.” If 2015, he went back out on his own and started Wannabe Press. The Business of Art Podcast sprung from this.
At the 7 min mark, Russell talks about failure and how he learned to overcome it, even after failing 4 times.
At the 15 min mark, Russell discusses sales and why a lot have trouble embracing it…and what you can do about it. He discusses how to remove the fear of rejection and how selling truly is a numbers game – and if you can embrace that, then selling becomes very methodical and much easier.
Russell says 1 out 10 will buy because they love you or your product. There is not much you have to do to get them to buy. Another 1 out of 10 will never buy from you, no matter how good at selling you are. And the other 8 in the middle could buy, but need you to help them understand why they should.
Tips on gaining interest and engagement from 8 in the middle:
Tips on developing a funnel:
How do you talk to more people?
Advice for approaching a Facebook group?
In person?
At the 33 min mark, Russell talks about the importance of following up and the value of a coach and the resources readily available to you today to become a better sales and business person.
Resources to help in sales:
What are the triggers that someone should focus on to elicit more sales? (Top 6)
Best Quote: “Many people think creativity is going to carry them into success and that is not true. Having a great product is the entry. If you can make something fantastic, then you can compete, but that doesn’t guarantee success. What does is the ability to take what you’ve made and to sell it one to one and one to many.”
Russell's Misfit 3: