If you can sell successfully, why aren't you selling other things?

[Jason Chong]

Why are you not an insurance salesman ? (or rather, a financial planner etc)

My question is for those who're doing pretty well selling/marketing their casual games/products. Why are you not selling insurance or anything else, if you can sell/market your products/games successfully.

Aren't these skills applicable in the insurance industry as well ?

The reason I am asking this is that from what I know, insurance and financial related services can be a big money business.

Also, people I know who were ex-cg artists or game programmers, are going into the 'sales' line, with insurance and financial services being one particular industry.

If you can sell, why do you choose selling your games, instead of selling other products/services that I mentioned, where it's possible to get more money than selling your games?

People I know totally gave up on their 'passion' such as coding games, doing 3DCG and going fully into these insurance/financial related sales, with the primary motivation, the money.

[Oaf]

Because there's more to life than money?

[cliffski]

Because with games I can 'Own the product'. As in REALLY own it. I can design, build and sell. With anything else, I'm selling a product that might not be how I want it.
If I could paint, I'd be selling paintings. The beauty of being the owner rather than a salesman, is you get the whole pie, not just the sales commission.
I've come to belive that owning everything really is the way to go. Working for someone else only helps make the owner of the company rich. Employing lots of people spreads the control and the profits too thin. When you own it all, thats when the money rolls in.

[Tom Cain]

In my experience, marketing and selling require two different skill sets, at least with the examples you've listed. I built a career out of marketing through media but I could never be a good salesman. I don't have the interpersonal skills. I don't even like talking on the phone. :)

[mahlzeit]

On a slight tangent: It might be useful for indie game developers to take a salesmanship course. I believe you are wrong if you think "I could never be a good salesman" because it's just another skill that can be learned. And your business will benefit from it.

[illume]

salesmanship is easy...

True = 0;
False = 1;

[EJSainz]

Even though I'm not still selling, my objective is to sell my games so I can make more games. If I could live without having to sell my games (let's say I could eat stones and drink air) I would still make games, for making games is the purpose.

[arcadetown]

Games sell why.
Sell porn online easier and good $$.
Money is a soulless pursuit.
Satisfying games are.

[papillon]

Well, selling porn *used* to be easier. At the moment, it's probably easier to set up a newbie games site than a newbie porn site. There's too much competition! :)

[eppskevin]

Also, selling also requires belief in the product you're selling. When I'm developing, obviously I believe in what I'm developing, most of the time, anyway :). It's easier to sell your dream than to sell someone else's.

[Jason Chong]

Thanks for the replies, I thought so as well.

It seems nothing can make you sell/market as passionately unless it is your own product/game.

I guess this is what I was trying to slap myself silly to realize.

Few can invest that kind of passion in sales and marketing in your own products except yourself. Only you yourself are most likely to believe in your own products, and the psychological factor can strongly motivate you to excel in selling/marketing them.

Wish there's a way I can communicate this to my friends who's given up what they do best to sell other things where the motivation is primarily money and not driven by any bit of passion.

[DFG]

I am not sure how great of a salesman I am but here is my answer;

1 - I love games.
2 - Not a ton of competition compared to the other markets you mentioned

A marketing director of a Big :) company in this industry asked me a similar thing recently and I gave him the same answer.

I agree with some of the above statements. It would be really hard to sell stuff you aren't passionate about.

[Indiepath.T]

I came from a selling IBM software to this, I much prefer this and no, it's not the same.

[arcadetown]

Well, selling porn *used* to be easier. At the moment, it's probably easier to set up a newbie games site than a newbie porn site. There's too much competition! :)
Couldn't you say that about games with 5 million new sites per day running the Reflexive/Trymedia titles? Where there's a will and angle there's always a way. A buddy from consulting days started doing porn just this year, working only moderately hard, and already making some figures that took me a few years to achieve with games. Casual games to be $1bil industry by 2008... whoppie still tiny tiny business compared to porn, gambling, and other industries. Answer still stands, other pursuits wouldn't be satisfying.

[joe]

If you can sell, why do you choose selling your games, instead of selling other products/services that I mentioned, where it's possible to get more money than selling your games?

There are 3 reasons: 1st) Because games are great fun, 2nd) because games are great fun and 3rd) of course, because games are great fun :D


I could never be a good salesman. I don't have the interpersonal skills. I don't even like talking on the phone

I guess, you never have read one of Brian Tracey's books :)

[Mark Sheeky]

I've come to belive that owning everything really is the way to go.

Good slogan. When you're as big as Disney, remember to put it over the steel doors of your vast and imposing headquarters building :)

Back to the OP: Contrary to popular belief, financial products and services aren't very exciting. Saving the universe from aliens, and/or creating virtual worlds is more exciting.

Mark

[Savant]

I think the underlying point was why not save the world from inferior insurance for a few years, build up some cash reserves, and THEN worry about the aliens in a stress free environment.

[Ricardo Vladimiro]

I am the worst salesman in the world. On the other hand, my day-job consists in selling solutions. It works rather well because I tend to establish good relantionships with customers and because I believe the solutions I design and put a lot of time and passion in it.

I couldn't ever be a salesman or something like it. Selling a product is not the same thing as selling a solution.

When it comes to games, it all boils down to the passion. I really love the work I'm doing and if I don't believe an idea or a design document I started to write, I won't make it. I tried to make an FPS once. The engine was point and click and the only fun part was the storyline that I had to write... never passed the first room.

If I ever make it to the game business and leave my day job, I won't be able to sell anything else. It's not the games I'm selling, it's the fun.