Selling suuuuuks!

I said it. I hate feeling like I have to convince, compel, persuade or manipulate people to buy what I got. It feels icky and it prevented me from selling anything, for months.

If I didn’t have the shiny graphic with the rags to riches story attached, I’d end up looking like an idiot or worse...I wouldn’t even get a like on my Facebook post (heaven forbid I didn't get a like).

So, I avoided posting anything at all.

I looked at various routes I could master. And made a sale that didn’t involve sharing my income goals because again, I didn’t want to look like an idiot posting:

 

“I made $100 in 3 months!! Want to find out how?”

 

That was real life, THAT was ALL I made in 3 months and I was proud of it! It took everything for me to crack that income goal (from working for someone else to working/hustling for myself) Damn proud!

 

But truth be told --that doesn't make a sale. It gets congratulation claps.

 

• I researched heavy content marketing strategies of publishing a blog post daily...that wasn’t for me
• I teamed up with a designer to have another referral process of getting clients. (I relied solely on her to refer and she was relied solely on me to refer and neither one of us got a referral)
• I fiddled with SEO and found out how time-consuming that truly is and I certainly wasn't going to pay to have someone change my “alt” keyword in all my pictures
• I attended offline events (Gasp! There’s a whole world aside from online that exist) to organically drum up business, meet people and network
• I even did Facebook ads to get in front of my clients in a place they already frequent (please tell me you’ve seen at least one of them)

 

All of these strategies work and are a great way of putting yourself out there...

BUT (you knew, the but was coming huh?) if you haven't nailed your brand message or mastered your online persona, all of those methods will yield minimal --if any, results.

 

It’s like the lone hamster with her sprain hamster leg, meekly spinning her wheel and remaining in that one spot. Don’t be that hamster, it’s sad, really sad.

 

Your brand's message is your BIG IDEA to put out into the world and how your service/product makes it that much better! (You're awesome, I know)

 

It’s the way you naturally communicate and get people rallying behind YOU.

 

Think about what you do, when you’re not working. Having casual conversations with family and/or friends, do you speak the same way to them when you sell? Probably not, that would be weird --so why do we do it to our potential clients?

 

Once I changed the way I thought about how to sell and began connecting instead, things grew faster. Building influential relationships and showing up in conversations that matter is what got me sales, not selling.

(Ex. Helping out the organizer of a group with her weekly chats, & adding my expertise to the mix. No promoting, just value).

 

The process isn’t instantaneous (you must know this), you have to work at being yourself around your audience and confidently sharing what you’re damn good at.

 

Be annoyingly unapologetic about it!

 

That means no hemming or hawing if you should share or not. The answer is always yes.

 

Know your sh!t and let everyone else know too because adding value to people’s lives is a gift. And your mission is to share it readily. Here are a few ways you can go about “selling” naturally, even if, you rather go skiing down a dry hill in the middle of July.

 

How To Sell, But Not Really

(In 5 Snack-Size Bites):

 

1. Win Their Attention

- Quickly share, what’s in it for them. Remember, add value!

(ex. refer to the title of this post)

 

2. Forget Promotion, Think...PLOT TWIST!

- Storytelling is not just for preschool kids

 

3. Build Your Like/Trust Factor

- Interaction & social proof of your pre-existence

(incl. guest posting, webinars, testimonials, social media communications a.k.a. online presence)

 

4. Let Them Buy a Better Version of Themselves

- Drive action & engagement towards your brand message

(bring them into the big idea & make them a part of the familia)

 

5. Don’t Drop Them

- Over deliver after your “sale” process and you got a client for life! *2 snaps*

(Any way to avoid doing the selling thing is a plus)

Also known as, BEING HUMAN and building meaningful relationships because people share things they love or...hate --nothing in between.