During an exhibition we would get an impression of what was selling well and what was going a bit slower than we predicted.
We’d perform a stock take each month and this is what we learned:
Just because it seems like a best seller doesn’t mean it’s selling well.
In other words, we were often wrong. We believed one thing and the numbers proved something different. We were always surprised. Our favourite artists often weren’t the best sellers, even if we felt like they were. Sometimes artists sold a large amount and then completely stopped, but we remembered the run of sales so the best seller idea stuck. Most of the time there was an artist or two who had been steadily selling and suddenly they were revealed as the star of the month and a real best seller.
Numbers don’t lie. (Well maybe they do when they are long and complicated, but simple numbers really don’t lie.)
Stock take yourself
A personal audit can reveal a great deal about what’s really working and what, actually, is not selling well.
How often do you think you are doing something you love or that is good for you? Now check how often you have actually, in real life, done it.
How often do you think you are doing something that is actually bad for you? Now check how often you have, in real life, done that.
Classic examples
This one really annoys me because I am a poor sleeper: “I can survive on very little sleep! I go to bed really late all the time.” Yes, that’s true, except you spent 3 hours asleep on the couch before you stumbled to bed and you always sleep in late on the weekends, so actually you are sleeping at least 9 hours a day.
A personal one: “Swimming is one of my main hobbies!” I did not swim for months.
Feelings, nothing more than feelings
If you have a feeling about something, it could be just that; a feeling. Not a fact. There is always a surprise ‘best seller’ and it might not be the one you would choose.
Don’t forget, this can work both ways; you might feel like you are treading water when actually you are much closer to being a best seller than you think… all those quiet steady actions building up… Just keep doing what you are doing!
Perform a little audit on yourself. If you spent more time or money on things or people that you really enjoy or are important, what would your life look like then?
So tell me; what’s your best seller?
How do you feel about that?
Kim
Co-founder, The Clean Sheet