I've been thinking about sales

I love eating. I always have. I worked out very early in life that getting good at cooking was a good idea for someone who loved to eat.

I also love to spend. When I first started my practice, I realised I was going to have to get good at sales so I could maintain my joy of spending.

Not only good at sales, but good at selling me! Selling a product and selling yourself is a completely different ball game. Like me, maybe you had some previous experience at selling things - I had sold clothing, sportswear, skincare - all kinds of consumables. Maybe you have previously sold someone else’s IP - a program, a diagnostic or a course?

Selling other people's creations is easy. They are easy because they are not a reflection of you.

The minute YOU are involved, things start to get more complicated! The complications come from our fear of “what will people think” - being judged is one of our greatest fears. If there is a perfect time for it to show up, it will be when you are trying something new!

Selling yourself well requires mastering a few simple steps.

The first sale is always to you.

If you are not excited or lit up about what you are offering, then rethink it. When I ask students about their latest cluster, I can always tell if it will be successful or not from the way they talk about it. If their voice pitch changes and their eyes light up, I know they have a much higher chance than if they sound like they couldn’t care less. If you are convinced that what you are selling is worthwhile, it will be easier to convince others.

Know your stuff.

How much is your program? How many people is it for? What does a participant get? How will it help? Who will it help? What problem does it solve? Write the whole thing out and practice saying it out loud. Run it past people - make sure it is easy to understand and buy. Practice pitch. Have imaginary conversations in your car, in the shower, while walking your dog! The smoother the delivery of your offer sounds, the more confidence people will have in you - the more confidence you will have in yourself.

Understand their world.

Do your research. In my opinion a sales meeting should not be a first meeting. Ideally, you have already had a conversation, have learnt something about your potential clients world, and the problems they want to solve.

Prepare for your meeting.

Take some time to reconnect with the challenges your client is facing. Moving from compassion for my clients situation to conviction that I have a solution for them always sets me up for a better sales meeting.

Know your boundaries.

It's important you identify your preferences. What's your ideal number of participants? What days of the week do you prefer to deliver on? What time of day do you prefer to deliver?

Get out from behind your desk.

It is tempting to hide behind a desk or a website…. Get dressed up and get out and about! Booking a day of sales meetings, getting dressed up and presenting your best self to the world is much more effective than sitting slumped at your desk in your slippers!

Manage your energy.

Desperate is not attractive. Even if you are down to your last dollar, be careful that this energy doesn’t leak out! Give yourself more chances of success by being early, being organised, and being the best version of you.

Be clean.

The person you are selling to should know that you are there to sell to them. It’s more powerful to walk into a meeting knowing why you are both there. Prequalifying that they are interested before the meeting will give you a higher chance of a sale.

Ask for the sale.

I am shocked by how many people forget this bit! Ask for the business. We all have a fear of rejection and sometimes leaving with a casual “I’ll be in touch’, seems less risky than closing with “would you like to lock this in”.

Detach from the outcome.

Your job is to present a clean and clear offer to your client. You are giving them an opportunity to buy you. Do the thinking, do the work, make the offer, and then let go. I find the hardest thing to do at this point is to shut up! Let them think, ask questions and then decide.

Selling is your job.

Just in case you think that you can hire someone else to do this for you - don’t! Your job as a thought leader is to think, sell, and deliver. No one else can sell you like you can. Most of us love thinking about, and delivering, our IP. You need to embrace sales. You are here to make a difference. The world needs you and if you don’t get out and offer your work to the world, you will always be a secret!