The other day I read a post on HackerNews where someone asked how to set up his (tech) consulting business. He listed a bunch of things he believes he needs to do, last on his list was something about selling.
A couple of commentators pointed out that the list is upside-down: The most important thing — and the one thing you should put front and center is to sell.
Having had my own consulting business, I can attest to that. If you don’t continuously network, seek opportunities and sell, your business will go nowhere. This is not just true for consulting businesses but pretty much any business: You better get good at selling (or find someone who is) if you want to be successful. And it’s not just selling in the narrow and strict sense of the word — fundraising, partnerships, even hiring is all selling. You are selling all the time…
Daniel Pink wrote an excellent book about this: To Sell Is Human. Highly recommended for every entrepreneur.