If you’ve been following along with this blog series, you’ll know that I’ll be sharing Step 2 of five in the system I’ve created to help people SELL without feeling SALESY.  If you need to catch up, click here to get the details about my personal story that have prompted me to write this article.  You can also click here to find out what I discussed in Step 1 which is all about owning your value and why that’s so critical.

(In fact, here’s a call I’m offering on June 2nd about this subject – register at http://www.happyinbusiness.com/coming-events/how-to-sell-without-feeling-salesy/)

To continue the conversation:

Step 2 – CONNECT WITH THEIR DREAMS AND DESIRES. This is the piece that is so critical to start with. Most people make the mistake when someone says, ‘what do you charge’ just to launch into giving prices. NEVER do that if you can help it! Here’s why…if you have not gotten your prospect sold on their own dream, when you roll out the fee, they will just be looking at the amount of $ it will cost versus the amount of life they will get. In this stage I take quite a long time to really flush out what my prospect wants. Here’s an example:

Client:  I want to grow my business

T:  Great, what does that look like?

Client:  I want to be earning $100k by next year.

T:  Ok and if you earned $100k, what would change?

Client:  I’d be able to outsource more and spend more time with my kids.

T:  Cool, what would you outsource?

Client:  I actually hate all the writing I have to do, so I’d be able to hire a copywriter.

T:  What else?

Client:  I’d get a new computer and update my website.

T:  And if you had that, what else would change?

Client:  I’d be taken more seriously because my site would look better.

T:  What would that allow you to do?

Client: I’d attract higher paying clients and be seen as an expert.

T:  And how would that feel?

Client:  That would mean the world to me.

T:  So you’d be able to spend more time with your kids, have a business that really put you on the map, have technology and a web presence that reflected your brilliance….anything else?

I would keep going, doing the deep dive and the reflecting back till this prospective client is SALIVATING at how cool things can be.

But it’s important to notice that ‘earning $100k’ isn’t enough of a goal. You have to know the WHY of the goal in order for it to be juicy enough to invest in hiring you.

Before you have a conversation with another client, you’ll want to know and understand the next 2 steps I’ll share in my next post.  These are really key to the whole process.   Click here to go to the next blog post where I’ll cover more.

In my last blog post, I laid out the scene that was the beginning of my coaching business.  Crappy leads and even crappier results when it came time to sell those prospects into my services. I have since learned/created a system for selling and owned my value…and those two things have made all the difference!

In an effort to help those who might be struggling to find their selling stride, I’ll be sharing the 5 steps that make up my system. (In fact, you can listen to this live on June 2nd when I’m dong a webinar based on these principles.  Register for that call at http://www.happyinbusiness.com/coming-events/how-to-sell-without-feeling-salesy/)

When you learn this and really integrate this, you will not only feel confident in the selling conversation, but realize you have a DUTY to share your wisdom, knowledge and expertise with your prospects.

Step 1- OWN YOUR VALUE. Sounds silly, but if you don’t know the gifts you bring, the changes you create, and the lifetime shifts that are possible when working with you, then when that ever important, “So how much do you charge” question comes, you are at risk of backing down. What happens here? Beyond not having the selling system and confidence, I have found that heart-based service providers tend to bog down in getting in their prospect’s financial situation. (“They don’t have the $, so I’d feel guilty asking for my full fee.”) This, my dear readers, is NOT yours to worry about!!!

How to find the value you bring?  ASK!  Since this mainly lives in our blind spot, you’ll need to check with your clients. The very first client I ever signed up (after those 41 failures, lol) was a woman who came to me as a stay-at-home-mom with not even a vision. We took her from that to a licensed landscape contractor bringing in over $300k in 2.5 years. When I asked her what she got from working with me, the answer she gave SHOCKED me. I knew what I THOUGHT we had done and how I had helped, because in my mind we had gotten her business started, worked on team/leadership stuff, mindset issues, etc. But what she said was, “As a result of working with you I know I’m 5 years ahead of anyone else who would have started on the same day.  You shortened my learning curve by YEARS.” The reason I share this story is because I HAD NO IDEA! Really. It never occurred to me until I asked. And once I had that little testimonial, my confidence sky rocketed. So just doing that one thing can make a huge difference in your ability to ask for the sale. But you’ll have to ask and ask and ask deeper questions. Here’s an article I wrote awhile back about using testimonials to help you formulate how to ask the questions a bit better.

Stay tuned for my next post where I’ll walk you through a sample conversation that is key to truly converting prospects into clients.   Click here to go to the next post in the series.  And I’d love to hear how you go about owning your value.  Did you use testimonials?  Ask your coach or clients?  What has worked?  Please feel free to share.