[ANNOTATIONS 195] Content vs Sales Skills: What Actually Grows Your Business

The edits and insights that got cut from episode 195 of EDIT HISTORY

🧠 Key Takeaway: Strong sales skills – NOT content – as the key to business success 

On episode 195 of EDIT HISTORY, Ruby reflects on her early business success and emphasizes that strong sales skills, not content, were the real reason she signed clients within days of starting her business. 

✨ Cheryl commentary

Ruby showed us that strong sales skills can sometimes compensate for inconsistency in content or marketing. Instead of relying on quantity or fighting unpredictable algorithms, focus on recognizing and seizing sales opportunities. 

For instance, this could look like being able to talk to someone and, on the spot, being able to identify the person’s problem, solve it, or offer a solution, and then make an invitation to explore this further through a discovery call, for example. 

Or, here’s another example: If you’re introducing yourself, tailor your introduction to the person you’re speaking to. 

For instance, if I’m telling someone that I’m a podcaster and I know that the other person is in the early stages of their business or content creation journey, I might want to add something like “There are so many entrepreneurs who have brilliant things they want to say, but they don’t say it because they’re terrified of what people will think. That’s why on my podcast, I talk about XYZ.”

Sales isn’t just about content about your offers and then tacking on a CTA at the end. That’s just one way of doing sales.

Instead, sales can also look like seeing the opportunities around you, building the confidence to act on those opportunities, and initiating meaningful conversations that could open more doors to opportunities.

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Here are 3 key takeaways that didn’t make it into the final episode:

🎙️ Cut 1: Content is still essential, even if you’re great at sales.

Even with great sales skills, Ruby explains why content is still crucial for nurturing a wider audience when she can’t be “in the room” with everyone.

Even with sharp sales skills, Ruby emphasizes that content still plays a critical role in her business. Content acts as a nurturing tool, helping new audiences enter her world and stay connected to her brand, without her needing to be “in the room” all the time. 

Not every buyer is ready immediately; some need more time to build familiarity and trust. Thoughtful content allows Ruby to meet her audience wherever they are in their decision-making journey, and frees her up to focus her direct energy elsewhere, depending on the season her business is in.

✨ Cheryl commentary 

Beyond simply showcasing expertise, content can also address the very human hesitation that so many potential clients feel: “Maybe I can just try a little longer on my own.”

We’ve all been there. We will see a product, program, or service we know could help us, but hesitate because we think we can “figure it out” ourselves for a little longer. Your audience feels the same way.

When I think about people who are considering joining 1:1 Podcast Coaching, I know many of them truly want the transformation I offer. They believe in the process. But they might still be telling themselves, “Maybe I should just keep trying to make it work on my own first…”

And here’s the truth I would offer them: Just because you can do something alone doesn’t mean you have to.

As a coach, it’s my responsibility to show, through my content and conversations, why there’s tremendous value in working with someone who can give you a second perspective and stretch you to think bigger, deeper, and more critically. 

Behind the scenes, I think deeply about how to set my clients up for success. I’m not just coaching session by session. I’m building processes, systems, and checkpoints to ensure that by the end of four months, every client sees clear, tangible progress toward the body of work and goals they’re dreaming about.

There is an immense amount of behind-the-scenes work I put in to equip my clients with the skills, mindset, and momentum they need to thrive, even beyond our coaching container. My job is to make sure prospective clients know that when they work with me, they’re working with someone fully committed to both their experience and their results.

At the same time, coaching is a two-way street.

There’s tremendous value for the client in committing to themselves at a higher level, too. When you work with a coach, you’re not just investing in expertise, you’re investing in a new standard for how you show up for your own dreams.

That’s why in every coaching relationship, I have intentional conversations like:

• How can we ensure you get more of what you want over the next four months?
• How will both you and I show up to make that happen?

Because my role isn’t to let you slack on your goals. And I don’t want you to let yourself slack either. I want you in the coaching container fully engaged and fully invested – Because there is tremendous value in showing up for yourself.

Ultimately, that’s what I aim to communicate in every piece of content and every sales conversation about my 1:1 Podcast Coaching program. Not just the logistics of the program, but the deeper value of partnership, commitment, and the transformation that happens when you’re truly all in.

And the same goes for your content, too.

Your content isn’t just about sharing tips or sounding “consistent” for the sake of it. Every post, every email, every podcast episode is an opportunity to start these conversations long before someone ever books a call with you.

It’s an opportunity to show your commitment to your work, to your future clients, and to the dreams they haven’t yet fully claimed for themselves.

When you treat your content as part of your client experience and NOT separate from it, it naturally becomes an extension of your sales process.

It plants the seeds of trust, belief, and possibility before you ever say, “Here’s how we can work together.”

🎙️ Cut 2: Your intent shapes your language (and your impact).

When speaking critically about industry trends, Ruby highlights that your intent matters more than your wording. If you’re fueled by comparison, resentment, or insecurity, it will inevitably show – No matter how carefully you phrase things. 

Before critiquing or offering commentary, Ruby suggests getting clear on your true intent: What is the through line you genuinely want to share? 

A grounded, clean intention will naturally lead you to language that is thoughtful, sincere, and helpful, not reactionary or harsh.

✨ Cheryl commentary

Before you share a bold statement or opinion, ask yourself: “Am I sharing from conviction or from comparison and reaction?”

Because there’s a big difference between reacting emotionally to what you see… and reflecting critically on it.

Complaining and reacting often sound like:

• Frustration without solutions
• Pointing fingers without nuance
• Making sweeping statements without supporting thoughts

Being critical and reflective sounds like:

• Thoughtfully questioning existing norms
• Connecting the dots between different perspectives
• Offering your own well-considered point of view. It is grounded in experience, observations, or evidence.

When you explain why you believe what you believe, you give your audience something far more powerful than just a statement – You give them a thought process they can trust.

Even if they don’t fully agree with you, they’ll respect how you arrived at your conclusions.

One thing I see often is that creators will intuitively sense something about their industry, niche, or audience… But they’ll stop short at simply stating the opinion.

For example, a podcaster might say, “You need to share your personal story to build trust with your audience.”

While that’s a perfectly valid idea, if you stop there, it’s not the most compelling.

You’re stating a belief… but you’re not showing the reasoning behind it.

Critical and reflective thinking invites you to go further:

• Why is sharing your story powerful?
• What evidence or experience shows this?
• Are there exceptions?
• When might this advice not apply?

When you train yourself to ask these questions, you start producing ideas that feel deeper, richer, and more original.

🎙️ Cut 3: Experimentation builds your content muscle – And sh*tposting helps.

Ruby shares that she’s currently training a new “content muscle” by intentionally lowering the pressure to be perfect. Instead of overthinking every post, she’s practicing what she calls “sh*tposting” – Sharing more freely and frequently to build momentum. 

Platforms like Instagram Stories (which disappear after 24 hours) or TikTok (where content churn is fast) are great places to experiment without the long-term visibility pressure of more permanent posts. Ruby believes that at certain seasons of growth, quantity and speed matter – Not for the sake of being sloppy, but for strengthening creativity, confidence, and consistency.

✨ Cheryl commentary

One of the biggest barriers to growth is waiting for things to feel perfect before we start. We tell ourselves we’re being strategic or intentional – But often, we’re just stalling out of fear.

The truth is:

• Waiting to “get it perfect” usually means you never publish at all.
• The more you post, the less precious each piece becomes… And the less afraid you are to show up.
• Often, your truest voice doesn’t emerge before you start – It emerges after dozens of messy, imperfect posts.

Sh*tposting, as Ruby calls it, isn’t about being sloppy. It’s about lowering the pressure enough so you can actually sharpen your instincts, creativity, and consistency over time

Now, if we zoom out even bigger, I also know that many of us are resistant AF to being bad at something.

For example, my parents often encourage me to take Chinese language classes, since I can only speak basic Cantonese and don’t read or write Chinese. Every time they bring it up, my immediate reaction is to brush it off –  Not because I doubt the value, but because the thought of struggling through a completely unfamiliar skill feels… hard. Uncomfortable. Not “fun.”

And that’s where most of us stop ourselves.

We tell ourselves we don’t have the time or energy. But beneath that, there’s a deeper discomfort:

• Discomfort with feeling mediocre
• Discomfort with starting from square one
• Discomfort with putting effort into something where results won’t come easily or quickly

If things are going well in your career or business right now, it’s easy to think you don’t need to stretch yourself.

And maybe that’s true… For this current season.

I do believe that the longer we stay too comfortable, the harder it becomes to tolerate the discomfort of being a beginner again. Over time, you might find yourself quietly developing a fear of trying new things.

You tell yourself: “Why bother learning something new? Why put myself through the extra work, the self-doubt, the confusion, the feeling of being bad at something?”

Here’s the perspective I want to offer: It’s a deeply respectable, courageous thing to allow yourself to be a beginner again. To be willing to try something. To pursue a new skill.

And truthfully? Most reasonable people won’t judge you for being new at something.

They’ll admire your willingness to put yourself back into the arena where real growth happens.

And most importantly: This is also how you build deeper skill, real resilience, and authentic confidence… Both the kind that comes from always being “good,” but the kind that comes from knowing you can navigate being “bad” without giving up.

All that to say: It’s easy to say we’ll only pursue something if it feels easy, fun, or immediately rewarding.

But real, sustained growth often happens in the messy, uncomfortable middle. The place where you don’t have it all figured out yet.

So, as we move forward from today’s conversation, I hope we can all remember: Don’t let your ego or your resistance to being a beginner block your next level of learning, creativity, or growth.

Sounds good? Awesome. Let’s get to work.