You work really hard at getting folks in front of you, just ready to have that ‘enrollment conversation’ but what happens if you aren’t 100% confident in knowing the right way to sell. Do you have a way that will allow you to stay powerful and charge the fees you’d feel good about?

Because what I’m talking about is waaaaay beyond just having a script and learning the right words to say.

In fact, I’m pretty sure you are making some mistakes in this area.

We all do. And the mistake which is very likely killing our sales is usually under the surface and sort of unconscious, so it’s really tricky to find and deal with.

So today let’s talk about it. Let me pull back the covers and shed some light on what may be happening if you are a heart centered service provider who has a bit of a challenge from time to time when it comes to being powerful in the selling conversation.

Because as good as you are at your work, if you can’t sell it….you got some problems!

I guess I should set up the context for all of this first. We are starting the conversation at that very moment when you have a prospect say “so tell me how I can work with you.” Or maybe if you are a coach they have inquired about your rates and you are now in that follow up meeting. You have shared what you do, the two of you have ‘done the dance’ and now’s the time when they say, “Tell me how much it’s going to cost me.” THAT IS THE MOMENT this problem occurs.

I liken this ‘dance’ to being on a tight rope. Each of you stepping forward and backward, checking out the energy, balancing and seeing if things can progress with them saying yes to becoming a client. But what often happens is that if you for a moment have doubt that they can pay, wonder if you are charging too much, or have a glimmer of questioning that you can help them, it all comes tumbling down.

Yeah, your mindset is the piece that gets you in trouble here.

And are you ready for me to reveal one of the biggest mistakes that you may not even know you are making?

Ready? It’s that you are choosing to keep your prospect comfortable by not leaning more fully into the selling conversation. You may be doing this over taking a stand for their greatness by NOT staying strong and focused when you hit those objections.

I’ll give you some examples –

You feel like its ‘tacky’ to ask them to buy.

You love what you do and are great at it, but hate to think of yourself as a ‘sales’ person.

You don’t want to challenge them when you see they are giving up on their dreams.

You go weak when you have to discuss price and just wish they would ‘get’ what you do and buy.

You don’t know what to do or where to go when they say that they can’t afford you.

You can sell the heck out of the lower priced offerings, but shrink in offering bigger ticket ones.

Sound familiar?

If so, you aren’t alone! Just know that most heart-centered service providers feel this same way.

Let me give you a few tricks to shift this.

1. Own your value! If you know without a doubt that your services ROCK, it’s easy to sell. If you understand how hiring you will solve their problems, serve their life, and make a huge difference in their world, it’s not at all hard to stand firm in your price. How do you do this? The obvious is to ask past clients what kind of results they got from working with you. Dig deep. Dive in and find the ‘lifetime value’ that your work has given to them. And a great way to find this is by downloading my free “Inner Marketing Ebook” which will help you get you crystal clear about your value and make it much easier to sell your services.

2. Know what your triggers are. Is it asking for more money? Maybe it’s when you start hearing their story of struggle. Or perhaps it’s when the person you are chatting with seems like they have it more together than you do. Once you identify what the ‘thing’ is that will trip you up, you can move on to step 3. I like to say that much of the work needed with business owners is to “dig, excavate, and renovate” so this is the place where you want to dive in and learn what happens in your mindset in that selling moment. You may want to think back to the last conversation that you didn’t close and notice where you got uncomfortable. Remember, you can only change what you can identify, so get that shovel out and start digging! (And once you dig, you need to renovate not only how you approach the selling conversation, but you need to have a plan to follow to make it work for you.)

3. Make a plan to handle your ‘stuff.’ If you know where you are likely to break down and back down, it’s then a great idea to use role play, rehearsal, visualization, and mentoring to get you past that part. The main thing here is to SELF-SOOTHE. Meaning, when you hear those little voices in your head that are kicking you out of the game, you must have a strategy for how to deal with them. I teach this all the time, but to nutshell it…imagine that those inner voices are just trying to protect you. If you hold that space, it usually changes the nature of it.

4. Make a commitment to LEARN TO SELL. You have to master this skill. No way around this. Once you decide, you can then go about filling the gaps that are keeping you less than confident and missing enrolling those perfect clients for you. Stay tuned for more information on this very subject. I will be hosting a call: “Secrets to Enrolling Clients Without Hype or Pitch So You Can Be Serving Without Selling” on March 14th.

5. Get support. Hey, this stuff isn’t rocket science, but because its inner game and personal, it’s pretty hard just to read a book or listen to a teleclass to improve on your skills here. Best option? Get some coaching! All great athletes and performers have coaches, so if this is an area you want to improve it, make the investment in yourself.

Know that you CAN shift things. It’s possible to love the sales conversation. Possible to feel confident, comfortable and really powerful. And I’d love to show you how!

What’s the link between love and business?  And is there one?

Let me share an article I wrote a couple of years ago that I want to share with you in honor of Valentine’s Day.