How To Sell Without Feeling Salesy!
How to sell without feeling salesy | The Visionary Method
Are you an entrepreneur who struggles with selling your services? Do you feel salesy and icky when you have to promote yourself?
If so, don't worry – you're not alone. But don't let that stop you from succeeding.
There are a few things you can do to sell without feeling salesy or icky.
In this blog post, we'll discuss 3 of them. So read on for tips that will help you feel more confident when selling your products or services.
Focus on Relationship-Building Rather Than Sales!
Think about the best salesperson you've ever met.
Chances are, you remember them because of the way they made you feel, not because of what they sold you.
Great salespeople don't focus on making a sale; instead, they focus on building relationships with their clients. And that's the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur: relationship-building.
Sales will come naturally once you've established trust and rapport with your clients. So put your energy into developing strong relationships, and the sales will follow!
If you aren’t sure where to begin when it comes to building lasting and meaningful relationships on a weekly basis, here are a few ideas.
Set up 1:1 calls with people inside of your existing network, as well as with people who you want to form a relationship with! You can access our Visionary Relationships Matrix here as a starting point >>
Connect and converse with your Social Media Community!
Host an industry meetup where you bring together your peers who are in a similar line of work as you. You could discuss business, growth strategies and what’s working now. It’s like a peer share or mastermind, but it also acts as a great relationship builder!
While you are building those connections, if you begin to feel salesy, take a step back. You probably haven’t been granted permission to present your offer to them.
2. The Easiest Way To Be Less Sleazy is to Focus on ‘Buyer Safety’
If you’re selling a service in the $100’s or $1000’s, it’s vital that you prioritize Buyer Safety.
Buyer Safety is simply the art of ensuring that your buyer never feels pressured or pushed into making a decision or purchasing.
Unfortunately, most marketing we encounter these days is based on using Harmful Techniques to persuade buyers into making a purchase. This is often done using Scarcity, Urgency and other Fake Tactics.
But here’s the thing, nobody wins when a buyer is pressured into something.
The buyer has remorse almost immediately and there’s a high probability of them requesting a refund, and the seller feels icky.
Hence the need to prioritize Buyer Safety!
Have you ever been part of a sales funnel or webinar where the host pressures attendees to buy their service or product? That is an example of a situation where unsafe principles are being used, which might lead to feeling “salesy” or “icky”
I first learned about this concept from a very successful and wise entrepreneur named Simon Bowen. He said…
“Every sale required the buyer to make some sort of change and with change people feel unstable or people feel scared. Therefore, selling creates fear as if they are going to buy your product, they are going to be making a change. You are asking them to make a change, so they feel unstable, when you are being too salesy you will make them even more scared and even more fearful. And, they won’t buy from you at all.”
So, here are some ways you make some feel safe vs unsafe:
Let clients experience your service vs. Pressuring them to ‘buy before they try’
Sell through your presence, not pressure vs. Showing up half present, just worrying about ‘the pitch’
Empower the buyer with all necessary information that they need to make an informed decision and give them time to decide vs. Skimming through the details and then telling them they have ‘24 hours to decide’
Even if you just make a few of these changes you’ll feel great about selling and your imposter syndrome will melt away.
And remember,
You’re never an imposter when you show up in service of others ;)
3. Selling Has an Energy That Comes With It - Is Your Selling Energy Positive or Negative?
There's no question that selling has energy to it.
It's palpable, and it's one of the things that makes selling so exciting.
But what if your selling energy is negative? What if, instead of excitement, you feel anxious or stressed when you sell?
Negative selling energy can be a real drag on your success. So how do you make sure your selling energy is positive?
Here are a few tips…
Bring yourself to your highest state!
Identify how you can show up at your highest state for your zoom calls or on your discovery calls, because the energy which is shared between you and the client is extremely important!
It can be the difference between a client feeling ‘icky’ after chatting with you or feeling confident in working with you!When I need to bring myself to my Highest State / Peak State, I will…
Get a quick, heart-pumping workout in
Wear an outfit that makes me feel confident and most like ‘myself’
Bring my laptop to a bright, happy and inspiring place
The Easiest Way To Be Less Sleazy is to Focus on ‘Buyer Safety’
If you’re selling a service in the $100’s or $1000’s, it’s vital that you prioritize Buyer Safety.
Buyer Safety is simply the art of ensuring that your buyer never feels pressured or pushed into making a decision or purchasing.
Unfortunately, most marketing we encounter these days is based on using Harmful Techniques to persuade buyers into making a purchase. This is often done using Scarcity, Urgency and other Fake Tactics.
But here’s the thing, nobody wins when a buyer is pressured into something.
The buyer has remorse almost immediately and there’s a high probability of them requesting a refund, and the seller feels icky.
Hence the need to prioritize Buyer Safety!
Have you ever been part of a sales funnel or webinar where the host pressures attendees to buy their service or product? That is an example of a situation where unsafe principles are being used, which might lead to feeling “salesy” or “icky”
I first learned about this concept from a very successful and wise entrepreneur named Simon Bowen. He said…
“Every sale required the buyer to make some sort of change and with change people feel unstable or people feel scared. Therefore, selling creates fear as if they are going to buy your product, they are going to be making a change. You are asking them to make a change, so they feel unstable, when you are being too salesy you will make them even more scared and even more fearful. And, they won’t buy from you at all.”
So, here are some ways you make some feel safe vs unsafe:
Let clients experience your service vs. Pressuring them to ‘buy before they try’
Sell through your presence, not pressure vs. Showing up half present, just worrying about ‘the pitch’
Empower the buyer with all necessary information that they need to make an informed decision and give them time to decide vs. Skimming through the details and then telling them they have ‘24 hours to decide’
Even if you just make a few of these changes you’ll feel great about selling and your imposter syndrome will melt away.
And remember,
You’re never an imposter when you show up in service of others ;)
Selling Has an Energy That Comes With It - Is Your Selling Energy Positive or Negative?
There's no question that selling has energy to it.
It's palpable, and it's one of the things that makes selling so exciting.
But what if your selling energy is negative? What if, instead of excitement, you feel anxious or stressed when you sell?
Negative selling energy can be a real drag on your success. So how do you make sure your selling energy is positive?
Here are a few tips…
Bring yourself to your highest state!
Identify how you can show up at your highest state for your zoom calls or on your discovery calls, because the energy which is shared between you and the client is extremely important!
It can be the difference between a client feeling ‘icky’ after chatting with you or feeling confident in working with you!When I need to bring myself to my Highest State / Peak State, I will…
Get a quick, heart-pumping workout in
Wear an outfit that makes me feel confident and most like ‘myself’
Bring my laptop to a bright, happy and inspiring place
Do some research on your prospective client.
We want to make sure that the people we're selling to feel comfortable around us. But what's the best way to go about doing that?
For me, finding a point of connection is always the best way to start.
Whether it's talking about something we have in common or sharing a story, getting on the same level allows for a much more relaxed and productive conversation. So don't be afraid to reach out and find some common ground! It could make all the difference.
P.s. Another way to find common ground is to check out their social media and see what they’ve been up to!
Listen with care, take notes to stay engaged, and empathize with your client
When you're meeting with a client, it's important to really focus on what they're saying.
You need to be engaged and take notes so you can remember their ideas and feedback. But most importantly, you need to empathize with them and show that you understand their perspective.
By doing all of these things, you'll create a positive relationship with your client and increase the chances of having them turn into a paid client!
One of the main goals of your discovery call with a potential client should be to figure out if you are the right fit for them, and vice versa!
To find this out, I will ask….
What do you hope to accomplish in our time working together?Once you have heard their responses, if there is anything that you feel you cannot deliver on it is in your best interest to be 100% transparent right away.
It’s best not to lead a client on and to pitch your product and service, if you are not the right person to work with them.
Saying no to a client is hard, but it just means they weren’t your ideal client. Pass them on, and just know that Karma will deliver you another client in time!
There you have it!
3 tips to sell without feeling salesy or icky.
And if you remember nothing else, just remember to be transparent with your customers about who you are and what you can deliver on.
Your clients will buy from you when they feel safe with you, so if you want to build trust among potential buyers, be honest with them upfront.
If this sounds intimidating or overwhelming for whatever reason, don't worry - we can help!
Apply for Private Sales and Marketing Coaching, to have guidance as you put these principles in action!
Kelsey xo
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