I talked to a lot of business owners about how to sell their products and services.
And if I can be brutally honest, I think that there is a misunderstanding when it comes to being a business owner and having a product or service.
The misunderstanding is that you don’t have to sell.
But that’s not true.
If you are going to have a business, have a product or service, you’re going to have to sell that product or service.
And today, I want to talk about some of the ways you can master sales conversations so that you can get better at selling your products to your target audience.
A lot of times I work with clients and one of the things that they will say is that they don’t want to seem salesy.
And I understand that but I think that there is more to that.
Then just the word that meets the eye.
I think that what you’re saying is that you don’t want to be manipulative.
I don’t want to be like that used car salesman that is like selling you a lemon.
You don’t want to be like that.
I just want to give you some of the things that you can do to make selling a lot easier so that when it’s time to make the offer you feel okay when it comes to asking people to buy.
1. One of the first things that’s going to make this a lot easier for you is understanding your audience.
The more that you understand about them, and believing in your product or service helps them with whatever they’re dealing with. This makes it easier for you to sell.
In my case, I teach people how to use video marketing to generate leads and sales and I don’t manipulate people.
I won’t lie to get people to buy my things. I don’t.
I tell them upfront who I am and what I have to offer, how it helped me and my other clients.
So when it comes time for me to sell that thing, I feel total peace about it.
Not because I am the greatest salesman but because I believe in my audience, what they need, and that I have what they need because I have seen my own and my client’s success.
Before you start trying to sell, you have to ask yourself who am I trying to sell it to and why do they want it?
You want to sell it because you want to be able to make money.
You want to be able to make money but you first have to determine why they need your product or service.
For example, if I was going to try to sell a pen, I have to determine what is the need that my audience has.
My audience doesn’t want to have to say everything and they don’t want to have to use hieroglyphics, they don’t have access to a computer, a typewriter, or AI.
They need to be able to write out what they need to do.
Then, because they have the pain point and they have told me, I need a better writing utensil, a better way to capture what I’m thinking, feeling, or need to tell somebody I need a better way.
So when I am trying to sell them an ink pen, I don’t feel bad about it because I know I don’t feel salesy. After all, I know once they get this ink pen, they don’t have to use hieroglyphics anymore.
So it doesn’t matter what your product is, it’s going to be a lot easier.
The more you know your audience, the better.
Therefore, you’ve got to spend time talking to people and talk online and invite them to talk back.
You’ve got to talk in person at events, to your friends about your particular thing, and you’ve got to just get more and more.
Well-versed on the people you’re trying to sell your product or service to their pain point, and then determining how your item is going to help them.
2. The second thing you need to do to be able to sell better is that you have to lead with the value.
You’re not gonna lead with the fact that it is X dollars but with the fact that this thing is going to make it so much easier for them to communicate a message to people, to be able to do their assignments for school or work or any other activity.
Then I will tell them what the price of my product is.
So I’ve gotten their pain point and how this is going to alleviate the pain that they’re experiencing.
By the time I offer the price, it’s not that big of a deal because they realize they have that big pain.
Here’s the solution. How much is it? I’m going to buy it.
Then you’ve got to leave with the value.
3. The third thing you have to do is to ask discovery questions, because until you actually can talk to your audience you get to know what they need.
For instance, when I was thinking about teaching people how to use TikTok, I had my thoughts about what people wanted to know and what would cause them to buy or not to buy.
So as an entrepreneur, I said, “Hey, you use social media to market, and asked what keeps you from using TikTok and what do you want to know about it that you don’t know.”
The more that I asked those questions, I got so many things that I didn’t know people were thinking and feeling.
When it came time to try to sell, it was over because I asked discovery questions.
You have an amazing opportunity to get out online and in person and to ask people question after question.
So when it’s time to sell you know what is going to solve all of that.
4. The fourth thing you need to do is to learn how to listen more than you speak.
Because sometimes when we are in the sales process we feel anxious and we’re just talking.
But the truth is, that the more you’re listening to your audience, they will tell you what they need.
In a group, the more you’re asking the better.
Oftentimes when I am doing a webinar, I talk to my audience and ask a lot of questions.
I encourage them to tell me in the chat what are they struggling with or what they need help with.
The more that I do that, the more that I am uncovering.
So if I’m on a sales call with somebody, then I’m not necessarily just going to talk the whole time about the value of what I have to offer and all this type of stuff. I’m going to ask a lot of questions.
Oftentimes people will email me wanting to work with us one-on-one and before I tell them what we offer, I will send them back questions several times until I get enough information.
Then I can say: “well, I can tell you need help with this and we can help you with that through this and this”
So here’s what we charge for that.
This way they either can take it or leave it cause we have uncovered the problem and I’ve given them a solution and then this is the price for that.
So I’m not necessarily just talking but I’m letting them tell me what they need help with so when I give them my solution and the pricing, if they are ready to buy, then they buy.
5. Another thing to understand is that you have to handle objections gracefully.
What does that mean? That You cannot take it personally.
When they say they don’t want to buy your product or service, or that the price is too much, or anything said about your offer, you have to understand that’s how they feel.
If they feel like it’s not worth the price or they can’t get your product or service at this moment, that’s what they feel.
You have to learn how to handle their objections gracefully and not challenge them.
And the truth is that if you have to strong-arm someone, or to manipulate someone to buy from you today, then you’re going to have to manipulate them to stay.
And what you want is those who have the money to buy, that’s just plain and simple.
Some of my clients have concerns about the price I tell them: well, here’s the deal. I know my product is great. I know it’s going to help you and if you choose not to buy it, that’s okay.
But I’m not gonna manipulate clients to get what I want because that’s just not good business, and that’s not good ethics.
It’s not a great character reflection of my character.
And people don’t trust people who manipulate them, strong-arm them into a thing because eventually, they start realizing they’re being manipulated.
6. The last thing I want you to keep in mind is that the fortune is in the follow-up.
That means that once you’ve been talking to somebody, if they haven’t made a decision, you’ve got to be on a regular follow-up schedule with them, or even if they said not right now, you need to ask them when they think would be a good time for me to follow up with them?
And if they say in February, then you want to put on your calendar, February 1st, follow up with the client about your product or service, and then put in your notes.
Why would you do that? Because fortune is in the follow-up.
For example, we have our abandoned cart series to where if you were going to go and buy and you didn’t, we come back behind and we say: Hey, you look like you were going to buy and we’re checking in with you.
Then if you still don’t buy, we’ll follow up with you in 3 months, in 6 months, 9 months, and then 12 months, and then we just continue the cycle
Because don’t forget that fortune is in the follow-up.
Sometimes the customer is simply not in a position to make the purchase or is unsure about it so waits until receiving the offer again.
So if you have a system to follow up with potential customers then you will get the sale at some point.
For me, I know that every single person I’m connected to is going to work with me at some point.
Why? Because I trust myself and what I offer.
And you should know that every single person that comes to your website and comes in as a lead at some point, they’re going to buy from you.
I hope you found this article valuable and I’ll keep giving you tips on mastering sales conversations.
If you are finding yourself or you need additional assistance, I would love to coach you.
I do private coaching for extended periods of time.
If you’re interested in one-on-one, come and send us an email at [email protected].
If you’re interested in 90-day coaching or six-month coaching, just send an email to my assistant and she will be sure to get you all the things.
Thanks so much for reading.