Before we get too far, I want to say that I recently appeared as a guest on The Coaching Show podcast. It was a fun time, and I really enjoyed how professional and prepared they were. He had even asked me for some prepared questions, like many interviewers do, and asked me NONE of them- which tells me he really prepares and did his homework.
If you podcast, check this one out: http://thecoachingshow.com/51717-guests-jennifer-louden-mark-silver-m-div-with-guest-co-host-jason-dukes/
Meanwhile… I want to talk about this whole “sales conversation” thing.
The article: The 5 symptoms of when you don’t know how to hold a sales conversation
Years ago, I remember trying to reach someone for help with something in our house. They were the recommended person. We needed the help. I called.
No call back.
So, I called again, a few days later. Still no call back. What I *should* have done is just gone on to find someone else.
Guess what happened next? No twists, turns, or surprises. I just went on and found someone else.
Fed a diet of wonderfully inspiring stories in books and movies, we’re trained to look for the miracles, the surprise endings, where everything magically comes through. The perfect client shows up, and despite a comedy of errors or mishandling, the timing ends up being Divine. You get the client, and happily ever after.
That does happen.
Of course it happens. But it happens very rarely. More usually, the outcome is perfectly predictable: the client disappears, just like I did to the person I called. Results? You don’t get paid.
You don’t have to rely on miracles. You can help with Divine timing, simply by learning and practicing a little bit.
This is why we have to have this conversation.
“Sales” is one of those funny words that many heart-centered people really react to. It sounds gross, for really good reasons, and many people avoid anything to do with it.
Yet, whatever you call it, “sales,” “enrollment,” “talking to prospective clients,” etc, etc… this is the topic you *have* to face if your business is ever going to go anywhere.
Why? Because without knowing how to hold this conversations, organically, but with focus, in an open-hearted way, but without leaving yourself out of the picture, you end up without clients.
Here are the five main symptoms that you could really use help with this topic.
1. You feel really stressed facing these conversations. Instead of at-ease, calm, and grounded, you can get really affected thinking about, and engaging with, potential clients.
2. You put these conversations off. Instead of eagerly calling someone back and scheduling to talk as soon as possible, you can take much longer to get back to someone than you know you should.
3. The conversations themselves seem unfocused, rambling, and often very long. Sometimes they end up being more a social conversation, where you’re becoming friends. Or, maybe you give detailed, in-depth explanations of the work you do, to the point where their eyes seem to glaze over.
4. The conversations tend to end with “I’ll think about it.” And then they disappear. They never seem to get back to you, and the times you do have the courage to follow-up, they are still “thinking about it,” and they never become clients.
5. Only a small percentage of these conversations end up with the person saying “yes” and becoming a client. I’m not talking about those times when it becomes obvious they aren’t a good fit, or otherwise wouldn’t become your client anyway. I mean when talking to someone that you have a good sense you can help, and would love to work with, they don’t come through.
You may not have all of these symptoms, and perhaps you have something about these conversations that’s not on this list.
Regardless, you aren’t ending up with paying clients.
This is really common.
Many, many, MANY people struggle with these conversations. And there are a few reasons.
– There are really bad role models out there. You may have only experienced sales conversations on the receiving end, when someone is either acting like a robot, using a script, or is really pouring on the pressure. You’ve probably not had many, if any, experiences with someone who really could do these conversations authentically, without manipulation, and without any attachment to whether you purchase or not.
– You think you have to be someone you’re not. You think you have to memorize a script, or be an extrovert when you’re not, or have some special personality trait, or a complete lack of integrity, to do it effectively.
– It doesn’t seem like something you should have to learn. Holding a sales conversation is just having a conversation, right? You’ve been having conversations with people for years, decades. Why is this something to learn?
Makes sense. I understand. And yet, there is an art and a structure to them. Let me share some insights.
Three insights about heart-centered sales
Insight #1 – You must absolutely be yourself.
I know this may be obvious, but you have to be yourself. That’s who the client is connecting to. They are going to be working with *you* and so *you* have to be present in the conversation.
Insight #2 – No scripts.
Having a script will undermine Insight #1. So, absolutely zero scripts. We don’t teach scripts, and I don’t think they are effective.
There is a -slight- exception to this, in that there are a couple of phrases/questions where it can be helpful to have an example of how to say it. The most important question in the conversation we do give suggested wording to, but it sounds natural and, of course, can be adapted to make it more you.
Insight #3 – You need structure.
This isn’t an unfocused, agenda-less conversation between friends. Without a structure you waste people’s time. I remember a client telling me, before she learned Sacred Selling, that she had spent 90 minutes chatting with a potential client, and still no definite yes or no at the end.
Never mind my client, did her potential client have 90 minutes to spend like that?
Please remember: time is precious to everyone.
Agenda-less, unfocused time is a precious thing that we all need, and when someone is trying to figure out if you can help them or not, is NOT the time to have that.
All language has grammar, a structure that tells us how to understand the sentence. Without grammar, that first sentence could be written: “understand to the how tells structure that us sentence has language all grammar.” Meaningless and painful.
Structure doesn’t have to take away creativity, personality or true connection. A helpful structure can actually help you access creativity, help you be more yourself, because you can focus more on connecting to the person, and be less worried about what the heck you are supposed to say.
Which brings me to my point
Whether you get help from us or not, please learn something somewhere about how to hold these conversations. It’s beyond critical for your business. It’s also critical for those you’re helping! They want the help! They don’t want to be turned off or turned away. They want these conversations to be easy, natural and authentic, too.
I was *wanting* to hire that person who had been recommended to me. They just didn’t show up and let me. Don’t be that person!
Why not get the help to bring in the clients?
Join us for our Clients & Money program. We teach you this, and so much more.
You can see all the details here:
Click here: Foundations1: Clients and Money
And ask us any questions you want.
With love and care,
Mark
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
P.S. In case you just scanned down to the P.S. the bullet points are: no scripts in sales! Be yourself! Structure helps free your creativity!
You can see all the details here:
Click here: Foundations1: Clients and Money
P.P.S. Not sure if it’s right for you?
If you’re not sure this program is right for your business, take our free Readiness Assessment. You’ll know after you take it yourself, plus you’ll get a personal reply from us.
Click here: Readiness Assessment
