Like most entrepreneurs in the IT business, you sound very creative. You also sound organised, which is very promising.

Would it be right to say that actually talking to clients or prospects about possible sales would be something you put off?

If that's the case, I'm not going to tell you "just do it!" But what I would say is to practice speaking about the value of a project as the client might talk about it.

The easiest way to practice this, I find, is to do it with businesses where you have no skin in the game. In other words, describe someone else's business as a customer would describe it.

Little hint. If you have past happy clients, you could ask them to describe for you what you did for them, in their own words. They'll probably get it wrong, but you'll be amazed at how something that you thought was routine turned out to be life-changing in their eyes. That sort of feedback will give you the encouragement you need (and it could serve as a great testimonial, as well).

I'm an IT infrastructure guy in Sydney (more software than hardware) and I've had to learn the value conversation, rather than talking about my skills, experience or services. It's exactly the way to relieve some of the pressure you may be putting yourself under.

I'm now teaching other owners of small IT service businesses how to do this. It's a quick and fascinating conversation technique to learn.