Many women entrepreneurs, even if they are good at what they do, don’t know how to sell and that impacts their business negatively. If you are one of those people who don’t like having sales conversations then today’s Wealthy Wednesday episode is just for you. My guest Shirlene Reeves breaks down the complicated sales process into easy to understand financial principles. As a former realtor, Shirlene has been familiar with the trend of never meeting clients without a sales script and being under the constant pressure of making a sale, and she feels that things have changed and now we have to change our practices accordingly. Her specialty is educating coaches and entrepreneurs about the secret formula of transforming their businesses through increasing their brands’ visibility, selling from their hearts, thereby increasing their income stream massively. So, the tips and sights discussed in this episode of the Wealthy Wednesday Show will teach you how you can find your ideal prospects and connect with them, generate and lead sales conversation, and convert those leads into sales and pure profit:
Marketing First; Sales Later
People usually fail at sales because their efforts are untargeted and haphazard. Shirlene describes that people have a bunch of ideas and they sort of run ahead with them without having a structure and plan in place. They get out the flyers, build a website, get business cards printed, start going to all kinds of networking events and start handing out their business cards randomly, hoping someone would notice and something would stick. What they end up discovering down the road is that a lot of money has gone down the drain and yet their businesses still haven’t taken off, as none of the prospects have turned into clients. We need to understand that Marketing and Sales are two important pillars of the business which support each other. Thus, it is absolutely important to build a solid business structure, get the word out there about your business. Leads have to come first through having a good marketing infrastructure in place, and then sales would follow. Shirlene says that being able to exchange a lot of business cards at the end of a networking event is not what determines sales or marketing success but it is the quality of leads, the meaningfulness of exchange with the right prospects that eventually get the word about you and your business out there, attract leads and convert them into clients.
Be Authentic
The popular notion is that you need to be very aggressive at selling and you should always have a sales script or a sales pitch ready. However, this doesn’t seem to work for everyone, especially if you are heart-centered and spiritually-inclined entrepreneur. People can recognize fakeness and self-serving agendas from miles ahead. Even if this self-serving approach works; it’s a short-term gain, and you are likely to get a onetime order and certainly no permanent clients or referrals. Shirlene says that when you think with your heart, you sell with your heart. You would be authentic and won’t need a sales script. Your authenticity would evoke a need in customers and they would feel compelled to get to know more about you. So, even if the customers go away after an introduction, even if they walk away with an offer, they would come back to you, they would negotiate with you; if they are struck by your authenticity, they would go to lengths to be able to work with you.
Understand Your Customers
When you are selling to strangers, you sell to them blindly and that’s when and why you are likely to fail. Shirlene reminds us that it’s a different world out there now and no one wants to be sold; they want to be lifted but they don’t want to be sold. So, a heart-based entrepreneur needs to invest enough time in understanding your target market. Make the effort to know them well, love them, and care genuinely for their unmet needs. This effort would give you genuineness and authenticity and get you noticed among the crowd. Engaging with your leads meaningfully can help you understand the areas your prospects are lacking in; the things they want to have; the things they are looking for; and the things they want to achieve in their businesses and in their lives. Once you would be able to realize where your clients are coming from and what unmet needs and desires they have, you would be able to successfully match your service to their needs.
Learn Your Customers’ Language
Customers have a different language and sellers have their own language, and both fail to understand and connect with each other at a common point. I feel that making a sales conversation is like a waltz, with step-wise progress and momentum. Both the partners need to build camaraderie and trust before the relationship would thrive. Shirlene says that as a service provider you need to understand your customers’ yearning but also their pain points, their specific language. She advises us to learn the language, the specific words your clients are waiting wanting to hear and then fill the gap accordingly. And this language can only be learnt by conversing with your prospects in a heart to heart manner. I also have to remind you that before this can happen, you need to do your own homework and know which problem your service is supposed to solve. Without this knowledge, you would have a hard time selling your service.
Converse with Your Customers
In order to make a sale, it is really important to converse with your customers, get to know them and their needs better way before you attempt to sell them anything. Shirlene advises women entrepreneurs not to bombard their prospects right away with what they do. Instead, they should just introduce themselves briefly and then take the time to find out more about their clients by talking to them, listening to them, asking them intuitive, thought-provoking questions, such as
“So tell me a little bit about your business and how you are doing these days?”
“What do you want to achieve?”
“What do you need right now to make this happen?
Building on what Shirlene has said, I feel that good conversations can open that door that leads to a sales conversation and then ultimately to a sales conversion.
Compel rather than Sell
You cannot pressurize people and talk them into buying something. You need to make people aware of their needs, present a compelling evidence of your worth and value in the paradigm of their needs, a promise to uplift them. Shirlene’s mantra is “Compel rather than Sell.” She recommends that you can do this by asking emotive, evocative questions from your prospects like:
“When you see others doing well, having so much money then how does it make you feel?”
“What is that thing lacking in your business right now?”
“What do you need to take your business to the next level?”
Then you can perhaps say:
“What if I could show you a way where you could glean your income, take it to the next level? Would you like that?”
She says that when you say all this and when you see your prospect nodding his or her head, following your lead then that is the opportune time for you to ask them to set up an appointment with you and get to know more about your specialty. This connectivity need would ultimately lead to a sale.
With the right vibes, connections and words, the sales process can be cool and easy, it can flow with ease, so that you can bring your message out in the world with grace. I need to remind you that selling is not a demeaning job; it is an empowering process. You just need to bring your heart, soul, knowledge, soul to your selling and make it shine.
As a Mystic Wealth Creator, I have been teaching heart-centered, spiritual women entrepreneurs the art and science of wealth creation and make an impact on the world through their businesses. If you want to know more ways you can strengthen your wealth vibe, gain the necessary confidence to lead and master sales conversation and maximize your wealth then book a one on one discovery session with me.
You can also get hold of my book “Magical Money Manifestation” from Amazon today and learn the mastery of wealth creation.