How to turn conversations into sales

Most women are conditioned to sit quietly and let their work do the talking. We believe that if we build it, they will come — they being ideal clients, donors, partners, and more.?

But in reality, people primarily focus on their needs and wants, leaving little mental space to guess or figure out what you do or why they need to engage with you.

In business, drawing attention to what you do and why it matters is not rude. Speaking confidently and earning the spotlight makes the difference between your organization surviving and thriving. And this is true across the board, whether you’re raising funds for a worthy cause or selling services to sustain a business.

In this blog, I’m sharing my best tips to expand your comfort zone and drive conversations that turn into sales.

Increase conversions in four simple steps

Own your expertise

If you’re anything like the women I know, I bet you’ve minimized your accomplishments, forgotten to mention your degrees or experience, and downplayed your accomplishments at one point or another. It could be when someone asks what you do or as a knee-jerk reaction when you receive a compliment. Most women do this out of habit, which may seem harmless, but in reality, you’re diminishing yourself and slowly chipping away at your self-confidence.

The first step to increasing conversions is to work on self-confidence and embrace your expertise. Start by using self-affirmations and practice power poses. Next, find evidence to support your qualifications by reviewing previous accomplishments and having a “success” folder to collect positive feedback and successful projects. You can also request testimonials or endorsements from previous clients, coworkers, or partners.

Develop your brand

Your organization likely has a set brand that includes colors, logos, and messaging. But have you taken the time to craft your personal brand? Your personal brand is a combination of elements that make up others’ perceptions of you. It encompasses your signature colors, imagery, and intangible elements like your messaging.

Your brand messaging allows you to speak about what you do in a way that makes sense to your intended audience. And being intentional in its development gives you a framework to talk confidently about what you do.

A basic brand messaging kit includes mission, vision, and values; a description of what you do; your value proposition; a one-liner, which is a short statement outlining what you do and whom you work with; and an elevator pitch, which is a longer version of your one-liner that provides context about your services and why working with you is the right choice.

Create a sales process

Let’s say someone expresses interest in your offer. Are you prepared to manage the conversion?

A systemized sales process allows you to run on autopilot as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Your sales process must be tailored to your offer. It won’t look the same for a service provider vs. a nonprofit leader. But the main goal is to drive your prospects through a journey.

Your sales process needs:

A defined offer

It may be tempting to customize your offer based on your prospect, but in reality, offering too much can confuse prospects and prevent them from making a decision.

A defined package with clear deliverables makes it easy to increase conversions. One way to make the package feel more custom is to provide different tiers and optional add-ons or replacements for prospects.

A clear process

Usually three to four steps, depending on your service. Your first step is the call to action — booking a discovery call, applying for an audit, or similar action on your prospect’s behalf to determine if you’re the right fit.?

The second step is the planning phase, where you gather the necessary information and create a plan. And finally, the third step is to deliver your service or product. Sometimes, there are additional steps like research and revisions, so keep your audience and services in mind when creating your steps.

For each step, create the necessary templates and automate anything you can. For example, use Honeybook or Dubsado to schedule discovery calls, set up an onboarding email sequence that walks your client through the process, and build an integration via Zapier that connects your project management software with your CRM to create a folder for each new client. The goal is to make the process scaleable and remove the admin work from your hands so that you can focus on interacting.

Leverage your network

Building business and personal relationships is part of what makes us human. We thrive when we connect with others — and doing so from an authentic place, aiming to provide value, enables you to grow, learn and thrive.

Beyond your growth, networking allows you to tap into groups that move in the same circles you do — and usually have the needs your service satisfies, which increases your reach and amplifies your voice to semi-qualified audiences who are more likely to convert.

This is your friendly reminder that sales aren’t dirty

Many people consider “sales” a dirty word because they associate it with feeling sketchy, pushy, and uncomfortable. They think things will just work out — the perfect client will waltz in, and the donor will eagerly throw their money at them — if only they stay in their lane.

But that’s hardly the case. If you don’t tell people what you do, how can you expect them to reach out when they need you? Speaking up is the only way to be heard. And it starts with self-confidence and a plan. If you’re ready to break out of your shell and find your voice to drive a conversation into a sale, schedule a consultation now to learn more about our unique approach to building your brand and marketing what you do.