What they don’t tell you when you start a business…

Whether you’ve decided to become a coach, write a book or set up your practice, you want to help others with your gifts and experience. You’re excited to finally do it the way you know it needs to be done.?

Perhaps you were in a corporate environment, not able to fully explore your gifts, or perhaps you were given strict guidelines on how the work should be performed.

Either way, you yearned to be free of those shackles and now you’ve finally done it!?

You’ve hung up your shingle and you’re off to the races.?

You’ve packaged your wisdom into programs to serve your clients and you can’t wait to share your important message with the world because you know it can make a difference.

Making a living from this work will mean true fulfillment.

But what nobody told you is...

None of it matters if you don't know how to sell.?

That’s right, actually ask other human beings to give you money ????, in exchange for the goodness you want to give anyway ??.

We all know this intellectually but the reality of it can hit us hard.

I was in business for several years when a coach asked me “so, what do people say when you make the offer?” “The what?” I thought, a little disoriented by the question.?

And then it hit me like those 30 ton trucks they use for testing the resistance of car frames…?

Errr… I had not actually ASKED for the sale, ever.?

So if the thought of asking someone for money in exchange for your help makes you want to bury your head in the sand and never come out, you’re not alone!?

Many people will tell you “get over it, take a course, get a sales coach, practice”.?

I did all of that and even became so good at it that I was hired by a company to do sales calls!?

But even when the sales process is mastered, it is rarely an activity people fall in love with. I don’t think I’ve ever met an entrepreneur who wouldn’t prefer to have sales taken off their plate entirely!

WHAT IF YOU COULD?

Well, actually, you can take sales off your plate entirely.

Yes, I do mean no sales calls, no pitching your services, no convincing someone to buy from you.?

You can have your ideal clients knocking on your door, get referrals, and have media opportunities come your way, without soliciting them.

Someone asked me recently “How do you teach your clients to convert LinkedIn leads into paying clients without a sales call?”

Well, I practice what I preach: I have a thriving business and I don’t have sales calls. So how do I do it?

There are 2 complementary aspects of this to consider:

• What I do outside of calls?
• What I do when I’m on a call?

And I’m not talking about a sales call or a strategy call, just conversations, whether networking or just chatting or a call to help someone out with a question they have.

Part I: What I do outside of calls

So outside of calls, I share my mission, my values, and my approach to LinkedIn widely, and I share my knowledge in my content all the time. (I have added some of my most popular “how-to” posts in my featured section if you want to see examples of this)

When I am in networking meetings, sitting in on presentations or participating in various communities, I offer tips when it’s relevant to the conversation taking place, and I answer questions people have about LinkedIn. I always help however I can.?

People (non clients) often ask me questions via LinkedIn direct messages or by email, and I help them out. If the answer is too long for a DM, then I offer to get on a call. During the call I help answer their question and usually offer them a few extra tips. I don't bring up my offers.

Sometimes they will ask what it looks like to work with me. And sometimes they become a client, either then, or sometimes much later. What I know for sure is that they tell others about me.?

If and when those people I’ve helped, or others they referred, decide they might want to work with me, they ask me to get on a call to discuss what that looks like.

Of course those are then sales calls but since they are at the request of the prospect, the energy is very different. And even then, I ask a lot of questions, first to see if I can truly help them, but secondly to decide whether I want to work with them.?

Part 2: What I do on calls

I do a lot of networking calls and, as I mentioned above, I get on calls to help people when they have a question. I always ask a similar set of questions, whether I am networking or helping someone. This allows me to deeply understand the person in front of me and to offer useful suggestions and connections.?

If they were already interested in working with me before we got on the call, then they ask about what I offer. Sometimes they realize as we talk that they could benefit, and then they ask about my programs. If they're not interested, then it doesn't come up. And I always offer to get on another call if they ever need help or have questions.?

After the call I send an email with a couple of resources and I share a link to my website, sometimes pointing them specifically to a program we discussed. I usually get a thank you email in response, and sometimes they tell me they’re ready to work with me.

None of this feels like selling because I am only responding to others’ requests to work with me, i.e. clients knocking on my door.?

So if you feel like you are constantly chasing leads and it makes you feel yucky, if you feel this tug of war inside yourself between wanting to help people and wanting to make money - you’ve been told that selling is service but it still feels uncomfortable - and the idea that once you get leads from LinkedIn you’re going to have to sell to them, then I want you to know that YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE SELLING, EVER AGAIN.

But you do need to structure your communications and your engagement on LinkedIn in such a way that people ask to get on calls with you and you need to have a process for them to arrive on those calls ready to buy. That is how I teach my clients to convert LinkedIn leads into paying clients without selling.

If you want to learn how to optimize your use of LinkedIn while staying true to your values, subscribe to my email list here .

See you in the next Connection Matters Column, or in your inbox!

Sophie

PS: When it comes to selling, what is your #1 challenge? Let me know in the comments.