📣The A.S.K. - The Sales Conversation

I’ve mentioned in previous POWER News my last job 7 years ago was ‘selling air’. I mean that in a very literal sense. Of course, I was so excited to get the job…desperate too. I was broke and had a baby to care for.

I thought, “This is going to be easy! Selling advertising for the most lucrative radio station in town…easy peasy!” I mean, in my mind, every business would want to advertise with KZ106! And there were some very successful sales reps for me to learn from.

Door to door, business to business…day in, day out. I simply could NOT sell air!

At the time, I couldn’t understand why. I used the script. I asked lots of questions. I listened. I made sense of the offer. And…I went home defeated every day.

During training, I joined Deana, the top rep, for a sales call. She seemed to talk about everything but radio advertising with the prospect. It was close to time to go home, and I just wanted her to get to the point so the work could officially close for the day.

Without realizing it, Deana taught me something very valuable about sales. She never sold anything! She didn’t need a script. She listened, not for an opportunity to sell, but for the experience to know the prospect. She genuinely listened, detected the problem, and offered a solution. That’s it.

Deana’s clients looked at her as a valuable resource and…a friend. They knew, liked and trusted her.

I see the same struggle that I had selling air with my clients, and they are ‘selling’ something they are passionate about. 

One of the biggest reasons sales is so uncomfortable is the fear of rejection. It’s a valid fear when you need the sale to pay bills and take care of your family.

10 Tips for Overcoming Fear of Sales

First, you must always keep in mind that not everyone wants or needs what you have. That’s not rejection, that’s simply the differences in people.

Second, to be authentic with the offering of your service or product, it takes practice…a ‘no’ is the practice you must have to be really good at what you do.

Lastly, when you truly have a conversation, even when your prospect declines your offer, you’ve left a footprint that will return in another way like word of mouth.

As a coach, of course, I had to create a ‘cheat code’ for my clients and for you, my reader.

My clients love what I’m about to share with you!!

THE A.S.K.! It’s the Sales Conversation!

Add Value: Story vs. Resume

You know people do business with those they know, like, and trust. While your resume may be impressive, do NOT share it with your prospects. They might also find your resume to be impressive, but it does not create a relationship with them.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to just be yourself. To be yourself, dig deep and uncover the story that illustrates why you do what you do. Share your heart, The Real You, with your prospect. Relax and share.

Ex. “I’m a Life and Business Coach and I started this journey about 7 years ago. I was selling air for a radio station, with my day starting at 4am and really not getting home with my baby until about 7pm. Not only that, but I was barely getting by, living paycheck to paycheck. I knew there just had to be a better way. I was determined to find that better way and teach others how to do the same. Coaching allows me to do that. Helping others to live their best life, whatever that means for them, is what inspires me as a coach.”

It sounds very conversational and it’s true. It takes less than 60 seconds to share who I am, what I do, and why I do it. People want to have conversations with me because everything I said is authentic.

Seek to serve: Seek to know vs. Seek to profit

Listen, truly listen, to your prospects. Get to know them. If they are taking the time to share with you, you most likely did a good job of sharing a bit of yourself. So, continue the relationship building and listen to them for the purpose of knowing them, seeing them for a person you're getting to know and not the electric bill money.

While the ultimate goal is to gain a client or customer, true ‘servers’ will always gain. When serving someone, be a resource even if it means you miss out on the immediate sell. Gather information for the purpose of solving their problem.

One of my dearest clients came to me by word of mouth from a seed I planted (Didn’t even know at the time I planted the seed!) 10 years ago, long before I even started my coaching business! Connecting people and being a resource for others is still sending me clients today…clients I did NOT have to go looking for.

If you don’t have what they need, but you know someone that can help them or you have some insightful ‘nuggets’ to share, give it to them. When you serve others from the heart, you will receive the same from someone or something else.

Keep it super simple: Overcome objections – Time, Money, Influence

There are three main objections when offering your product or service. Time, money, & influence. Most of the time, more than anything else, your prospect is feeling fear; fear of making a bad investment.

Even after building a great relationship, there may still be objections. That’s ok. Work through each one. Keep in mind how fearful you’ve been at times and treat them with kindness and understanding as you overcome their objections.

Time. If you’ve had a great discussion with your prospect up to this point, you know much about their day, routine, and their pain points. When time is the objection, mirror the pain points back to them.

Ex. “I understand, I know you are very busy. I get that you are miserable at your job. I understand that more than anything. I hear you when you say you are tired of living paycheck to paycheck. Taking action is the only thing that changes all of that. I know you would really like for your story to be different this time next year. If we don’t do this together, what changes for you?”

The reality is, everyone is busy. But how much time is your prospect spending on social media? What shows are they hooked on, donating valuable time to viewing? How are they spending their weekends and evenings?

Help them find time while reminding them of what it will mean if they don’t.

Money is always a touchy subject, as you well know. You’ve read this far because you need more sales which equals more money. I have bought courses to continue my education a few times when I had NO MONEY so I know the money objection CAN be overcome.

Folks get very resourceful when they need what you have. If you’ve built the relationship well up to this point, sharing what you do, what you have, and why…the prospect is still talking to you, they feel they need what you have, so you must deliver it to them.

Discuss cost of inaction. In sales it’s great to share all they will get, all the benefits of your product and service through your story, but there’s something to be said about reminding your prospect of the pain points of what it will cost them by not taking action.

Ex. “If we don’t take this step together, what happens now? Will you have to close your business if you don’t get the help you need? Are going to try to get a job and go back to working for someone? What about all that you’ve already invested in your business, will you just lose all that?”

Help your prospects with ideas of ways to pay for the product or service you’re offering. I know when I’ve really needed to come up with extra money to pay for my education, I was the queen of selling my stuff on Facebook Marketplace. Several years ago, before Marketplace, I sold tons of items on Craigslist!

Your prospects may have access to a line of credit, the ability to get a loan, credit cards to utilize, friends or family to borrow from, or stuff to sell. When they know you can help them, they will find a way to get the money if you remind them of the cost of inaction.

Influencers can be the deal breaker. A husband or wife, a parent, a friend, life partner, sibling, mentor…all these people can be influencing your prospects decision. Everyone has made the mistake of listening to someone around us that has never done what we are trying to do. That makes no sense, but we do it anyway. Keep in mind your prospect is doing the very same thing.

Offer to include the influencer in the next scheduled conversation. And yes, you must build the same kind of relationship with the influencer.

“You aren't battling your ability to stick to a diet, execute a business plan, repair a broken marriage and rebuild your life, hit your goals, or win over a bad manager- you are battling your feelings about doing it. You are more than capable of doing the work to change anything for the better, despite how you feel. Feelings are merely suggestions, ones you can ignore. To change you must do the same, you must ignore how you feel, and just do it anyway.” 
― Mel Robbins

Hey, you aren’t the only one on the planet struggling with sales! So don’t beat yourself up.

I know how difficult it is trying to build your business and learn how to be effective in the marketplace. That’s why I wrote an ebook, Mind Your Own Business: 6 Steps To Building Your Dream Business From Scratch.

You can snag a copy here!

I'm teaching sales, marketing, detailed checklist and ‘how to’s’ for pre-opening, launching, maintaining and sustaining your business, in my book. 

No pressure. My goal is to serve you to effectively build your own business with a success mindset.

Remember, the Real You is, was, and always will be Written in Stone!