How to consistently win new clients, without being pushy. Be a leader.

We follow leaders. So why should we be anything but leaders in our sales conversations?

Having spent several years working with hundreds of business owners, one of the biggest concerns I have found they have when conducting sales conversations is that they will come across as pushy or 'salesy'. This is a valid concern because applying pressure to people to work with you will almost certainly leave a bad taste in their mouth and ultimately lose you sales most of the time.

That being said, what I often find is clients becoming too passive in their sales conversations. Through fear of coming across as pushy, they become vague and wishy-washy. They do not come across as leaders. This will lose you just as many sales being passive, as being pushy.

So what is the solution? Display leadership.

Great leaders don't force you to do things and at the same time, they're not passive. They blend the right amount of direction without applying too much pressure. This is exactly how you want to handle sales conversations with potential clients.

Once you establish that there is a good fit and that you can help your prospect, gently direct them to the next step in your sales process. If that means asking for the sale, simply ask them "would you like to do this?". If that means scheduling the next meeting, then open up your calendar there and then, ask them "how is your schedule looking this time next week to continue this conversation". Gently directing your prospects to the next step in your process is a crucial component of serving them. You should always be displaying leadership in service of potential clients, to both help them find a solution and maintain momentum in doing so.

If somebody needs your services and is interested in your solution, then you are not serving them by just "sending over some more information". We all know that when we do this, things are likely to go cold as business and life happen. Instead, lead potential clients to the next step in your process, confidently, assertively, yet without pressure or attachment to the outcome.

On the same coin, if there is not a fit for you to work with a prospect, lead them away from your service. Tell them you don't think you're the service provider for them or point them in the direction of a different solution.

When you have this kind of integrity in your sales process, I promise you will not come across as pushy or salesy, instead you become a service-focused leader that makes a meaningful positive impact on your customers' lives.?