How to make sales when your bandwidth is running low

When a big launch is too much, do this instead

Hi, I’m Sara and I’ve been happily running my own creative business for a decade. I’m all about helping other creatives navigate business and life in a way that means we can make money without burning out, wigging out or dropping out. I love being a business owner and how we can shape our creative lives through this work. If you’re growing a business as a personal brand and you enjoy conversations that help you understand this bonkers but brilliant journey we’re on, you’ll love it here.

Have you ever had a voice note from a friend so perfectly timed it feels like they can sense your big emotions from miles away?

It’s January 2024 and I’m sitting in the hairdressers getting my hair done and I am FREAKING OUT. Why did I think this was a good idea? Writing a book is a whole new scale for judgement, criticism and 1 star Amazon reviews. What possessed me to put myself out there in such a way?

I wanted the launch to go well and I’d been planning my promotion for months. Getting a book out into the world is like a marathon. As a new author with a small audience, it would be hard work, they said. Give it everything you’ve got type situ. The party marked the beginning of a launch campaign chock full of book promo, guest articles and podcasts that would keep me occupied for 6-12 months. If I didn’t give this my all it would flop. And then my book containing everything I knew about increasing sales for your creative business, might not increase sales for my creative business. Imagine! As I sat in the hairdressing chair, the sense of all that could go wrong was overwhelming.

Andrea’s message lit up my phone at just the right moment. Her familiar voice and excitement coming in, like a big warm hug, just like always.

“Have the BEST time tonight! Enjoy this huge moment, wahhh I’m so proud of you!”

That’s what the people who have known you for decades will do for you: they cut right through that inner critic, remind you of the shared experience you’re about to have, won’t let you miss the opportunity to celebrate. Friends always get it. I instantly relaxed, and a smile of nervous excitement crept over my face as I thought about all the people braving the elements to join me.

I didn’t know that 2 weeks later, Andrea would be dead and nothing would go to plan, after all.

42 wasn’t just the age I became a published author: it was also the moment I waved off my friend in the crematorium to songs we’d been listening to since the nineties. It didn’t feel like we were old enough to be saying goodbye in such a place. The only numbers I could think about were to do with age, memories and experiences I wouldn’t be having any more of, with her. Book sales were wayyyyyy down the list of what was taking up space in my brain.

This isn’t a post about the cruelty of cancer or friendship loss. It’s about how to navigate making money and keeping your business afloat when you don’t feel like showing up for a big launch anymore.

Because we are all doing business alongside life. Curveballs are part of the deal. Pandemics, health scares, children, burnout, periods of anxiety, not feeling like you want to be visible even without being able to put your finger on why. Next up, perimenopause. Life is always lifing so when your plans get shelved, you need a fallback. How to get through periods of lesser bandwidth without the whole thing grinding to a halt. The last thing you need in hard times is to add a new problem into the mix: stress over how to pay yourself (and your bills).

Since none of us are operating our businesses in a vortex, I want to talk about how to keep the lights on, even when your capacity to show up is dimmed right down.

How to show up when your bandwidth is down

It always helps me to remember we get to set our own standard around what’s required. If you can’t make it to your desk, don’t. If you need to clear your calendar, do. And if it helps you to spend a few minutes doing a sales activity in your business that you know will create income you can rely on all month, that’s fine too.

I’ve heard new mothers speaking about “pulling up the drawbridge” to conserve energy while they recover from birth and tend to themselves and their babies. I like this for business owners, too. Doing only what’s absolutely necessary, and nothing else.

What’s the minimum action that needs doing to keep the lights on in your business? There is a big difference between core action and “busy work”. For me there are only two core actions: sales activity and client delivery. If I do these two things well, everything else can wait. Sales activity can be done in a few minutes a day, and as long as the calls on my calendar are combined with plenty of space for rest, I can do it really well.

Standing in your power doesn’t look like soldiering through tough times or “show up regardless”, it's doing what you need in the time you have. Knowing what can wait, while maintaining your ability to pay your bills.

Whenever the thought of a big launch is just too much, do this instead.

Choose the easiest promo option available

This is not the time for doing anything that feels stretchy, fancy or new. Promoting your business needs to be simple. What do you find easiest to do when it comes to talking about your work? If it’s writing, write, if it’s video, speak, if it’s podcasting, do that. Whatever you can do without overthinking, double down.

Say what you need to say in a way you can do with your eyes closed. I can get caught up with designing graphics, whereas talking to camera takes me a fraction of the time. What feels most easeful for you? Do that.

Minimise creating anything new

This means messaging, products, content, anything! When you’re back to regular bandwidth you can go back to creating shiny new things if you want, but right now, let what you already have take centre stage again for a while.

Recycle what you have. I bet you already have a sizeable body of work online: signpost to it! Got some blog posts that haven’t seen the light of day for a while - show us! Have a fantastic FAQ page on your site, send us to it! Been on a load of podcasts as a guest? Create a playlist and share the link!

Swap big launch activity for small, repeatable action you can fit into your day

Sure, some days even that will be too much. But on the others, look at where you can spend a few moments talking about what you do. Set a timer and let yourself create for 20-30 mins max.

Small pockets are much more effective than one big sprint. Whatever you can do will help your audience stay warm, ready for when you’re able to sell to them again. Doing this serves two purposes - one: it gets you into creation mode which can change up your whole day. And two: a simple message that greets your clients and only took a few minutes is better than a whole big email campaign that would have taken hours and hours so it never got done.

When you don’t know what to say, say this

Your audience only needs a few things on repeat to make easy, aligned decisions. When your mind goes blank, its useful to have some inspo in your back pocket. Here are some ideas for what to talk about in your next post, email or podcast:

• What’s your intention for the people who buy your book, product, service? Leading with intention rather than perfection has helped me out SO MANY TIMES!

• Remind people of the core themes of your work. This will serve you better than creating fancy posts ever will.

• WHO WHAT WHY: who is the product for, what does it do for them and why does that matter to you?

Full-on launches are not required, you can do perfectly well without. The lights don’t have to be on full beam, but it helps if you know how to keep them from going out. Doing what I could in small pockets of time has enabled my book to be bought thousands of times so far, and this month it has made it to the finals of the Business Book Awards! All without the big launch plans I thought I needed.

I advocate for everyday ways to make sales that don’t take as much time or resource because often, that’s a better fit for real life. Its why I wrote ‘More Sales Please’ in the first place! The best sales action is the one you actually do.

My mini-guide Sales Made Simple is out now and it’s the perfect reminder for what to focus on when your bandwidth is down. 10 actions to increase sales that you can do in a few moments a day. And nothing else!

When, things go to plan, you can show up in the good energy and have big fancy launches if you like. When they don’t it’s OK to change course. If you’re in a season of struggle, I hope it helps you to know I have been where you are. You will get through it, and it’s OK if you need to dim your visibility. Put yourself first, do the minimum and nothing else. It’s more than enough.

Sara x