It's very common to hate marketing.
Most kids don't dream of being a salesperson when they grow up, so it makes sense to resist sales and promotion.
Most entrepreneurs and creatives love the work itself, they love the products and services, they love their customers, but they hate the marketing, selling, and self-promotion that goes along with entrepreneurship. And because they don't enjoy it, they (either consciously or unconsciously) avoid it, and it gets pushed to the end of the to-do list.
They might even rush to outsource it altogether so they don't have to think about it.
In some cases, business owners understand how important marketing and sales activities are, so they force themselves to make it a priority. They feel as though it's a necessary evil, so they learn to tolerate it. This can work for a while, but if you have to force yourself to do something, the quality often suffers. Sheer willpower, in my experience, just doesn't last very long.
If you don't enjoy marketing and sales, your business will suffer for it, in one way or another. Even if you outsource your marketing, you still need to be engaged and involved in building these strategies and making sure they succeed over time.
The real path forward is to find promotional strategies you actually like and sales processes that you feel good about. Because ultimately, if you hate selling, you probably won't sell much.
So, what do you dislike about your sales and marketing process?
What would you change?
What feels off?
Which sales and marketing messages need to be pulled?
Are there any promotional activities you enjoy?
Self-promotion can be uncomfortable. Asking for a sale can be uncomfortable. Money conversations can be uncomfortable.
Instead of avoiding the discomfort, it's important to address it correct it.
When you break down marketing and sales strategies into their most fundamental pieces, it's really just about getting out into your community of customers and talking about your work. It's just communication. And, everybody has their preferred ways of communicating. Communicating is personal.
So, start by thinking about the moments that have gone really well. Have you had any customer interactions that didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable? Do you like spending time on Instagram? Do you like creating videos? Do you like hosting webinars or in-person events? Do you like doing media interviews? If you could design the ideal environment to talk about your work, what would that look like?
Simply put, if you like it, you'll do more of it.
So, if you don't like the way your company is communicating to the market, change it. Don't force yourself to say things that feel off.
Ask some hard questions and come up with marketing that you enjoy.