I find many of the people I work with want to generate millions of dollars of revenue over their lifetimes so they can create real, tangible wealth for themselves and others.
The vehicle in which they get to this goal is through owning a small business., which I am 100% here for and in support of.
The reason why I say they want to create this over a lifetime is because my clients and community are driven by legacy, and they understand that what they are looking to create doesn’t have to be done in an instant.
They are willing to pace themselves as long as they can generate continuous forward momentum.
The most important thing to creating this forward momentum is developing and deepening your sales skills.
In the BRAVE society, I was sharing a debrief on what I have been up to over the last 6 months, and how my strategic direction changed when the pandemic hit.
I was sharing my thoughts on business growth, sales, and the amount of time it takes to truly discern whether something is working.
So for all of you who have launched something once and it didn’t sell, welcome to the club.
No need to change anything…just put it out there again and again. Because you need the data.
Inevitably, I get a lot of questions around sales.
Almost every conversation I have with my clients is around selling and sales skills or sales process.
One of the biggest mindset hurdles is around showing up and selling unapologetically while being in integrity.
I don’t know about you, but I highly value being in integrity.
For me, this means that you are living by your values – or as we say in the organizational development world — you are operationalizing your values.
In Dare to Lead, Brene Brown says just 10% of companies are operationalizing their values.
As someone who consults with large brands on this very topic, I can affirm this statistic and deeply understand why…
It’s an incredibly nuanced way of leading, and it takes patience and perseverance.
So while the cost is time, the benefit is better outcomes throughout the organization including in your sales.
Oftentimes when I work with my clients in their small businesses, the focus is on generating revenue and sales. Sales are the lifeblood of any business.
Sticking points for business owners, even seasoned business owners come up around their beliefs around sales — that it’s smarmy, pushy, or icky in some way.
I find that with the advent of selling in an online space, you see how everyone sells and there are a lot of people out there who aren’t selling well, or with a lot of skill.
The amount of random DM’s I get from people completely bypassing relationship building and going straight into an ask is ALARMING.
SO, credible experts like you go “OMG, I don’t want to be like them, look like them, do it that way” And it shuts you down to selling.
The good news is that there is not one way to sell.
I work with coaches, consultants, real estate agents, accountants, lawyers, membership site owners, sales executives, health practitioners, product based businesses and I can’t think of any that sell exactly the same way.
Their lead generation and sales processes are pretty unique and cultivated specifically around what works for them.
Sure, there are basic principles of selling, but those principles can be adapted to work in tandem with your strengths and values.
That’s what I love so much about sales.
It’s a creative process that you get to hone and cultivate and evolve in ways that make you feel good about yourself and how you are showing up for others.
That’s what we are going to talk about today — taking your values and incorporating them into your sales process.
The best way I can demonstrate this is to take you behind the scenes and share with you my values and how I incorporate them into my sales process.
You’re going to hear what my value is and what I WILL do when showing up from this value and how that informs my sales process and presence.
By the way, do you ever wonder why I do a lot of behind the scenes content and bring my clients on the podcast?
Because one of my CORE values is transparency.
This podcast is a part of my sales process.
It’s where I give value and customer education.
What it’s like to work with me. How I can help you. My style. My beliefs.
How I can give you the most transparent view of what it’s like to work with me, my beliefs around business, my thoughts on how I help my clients generate revenue, grow their business, profit, evolve their beliefs and mindsets.
You can probably take away that I’m consistent, focused, results oriented, BOLD in my beliefs, and am a LOVER of all things structure/systems/process. I love a good framework to teach from. I’m a deep thinker.
So by the time people get on a sales call with me, they are really just doing a check in — is she who she presents herself to be? Does she understand my problem and what’s her plan for helping me?
Here’s another way I incorporate my core value of transparency in my sales process or a discovery call meaning we are going to discover if we are a good fit to work together — when you book a call with me — it’s a sales call. It’s not a connection call or some other dubious name.
I’m also clear when I’m selling on social media or to my list.
We have sales cycles and we have periods of time where we are solely offering value.
Leadership is a core value. When you get on a sales call with me, I’m going to lead the call, communicate clearly and from the very beginning let you know what you can expect from our time together. I find this lets everyone relax and have an honest conversation.
I’m fully aware and present to the fact that some people are intimidated to get on a call with me, or maybe it’s the first time when they are articulating what they are struggling with.
It’s not uncommon for people to cry on a sales call with me or admit things they’ve not said out loud before.
My sales calls are my greatest act of service.
It’s my goal that every person who is on a sales call with me is seen and heard. That I ask good questions and make thoughtful reflections around what I’m hearing them say.
I do challenge people to think and feel deeper on a sales call with me, because that’s how I work. Which is back to that transparency piece. I want to be congruent with how I show up.
People will walk away from a sales call with me with greater clarity and what they need to make the best decision for themself.
Empathy –– as someone who has experienced the best (lots of freedom, creativity and the exact types of success that fuel me) and worst of entrepreneurship (crash, burn, bankruptcy), it’s wildly important to me to normalize ALLLL of what business ownership is – the highs and the lows.
That means I listen and get present to what someone else is experiencing. I put myself in their shoes and make sure I honestly acknowledge their journey.
Simplicity and efficiency are another core value of mine. And you might wonder how that gets operationalized in my sales process but it’s quite easy.
I keep the language I use simple and as jargon free as I can.
Sometimes my audience, that’s you, uses language that I don’t use. And then I need to decide if I’m going to use that term in my content and copy.
We also keep our offers streamlined and our communication as clear as possible, so I don’t cause overwhelm. There are people who use overwhelm and confusion as a sales tactic. They intentionally exhaust you and wear you down so you buy the thing.
The last value I want to talk about is generosity and abundance. We have a financial values statement that includes language of how we show up when we sell. I’m going to read the full scope of the statement to you so you can see how it all comes together.
We are good stewards of our money and the money of others. We value our clients and customer’s dollars as much as they do. We treat every dollar we receive with respect and deference.
That means we give back, create jobs where diversity is welcome and integral, invest in the success of others including and unequivocally seeking out businesses owned and operated by black and non black people of color, and save well.
We are committed to generating healthy and sustainable profitability and continuing to operate debt-free.
We are lean in our operating costs, maximize the few tools and systems we use and always look for the most cost effective way of getting something done.
Our mantra will always be one of abundance and thriving. We will face any financial concerns by simply generating more revenue as long as it is profitable revenue.
We will NEVER EVER sell or serve from a place of need, lack, or scarcity because our financial health is always well cared for.
We do this to be at our highest level of service to our clients, customers, employees, outsource providers and the planet. This is how we, as a company, show up as a force for good.
As we wrap up this episode, I want to give you a very simple action to take:
Grab a sheet of paper and jot down your values. Pick 3-5. It doesn’t have to be perfect. If you don’t have values, go with your gut.
Now go through each value and identify what that looks like in a sales process. How does it inform the actions you take? What will you or won’t you do when staying in alignment with this value and selling.
Important links to share:
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