How to Sell What People Wanna Buy (10 Shortcuts I Use All the Time!)
Are you selling MEANS not ENDS? If your stuff isn’t flying off the shelf like hot cakes then I bet this is part of the problem.
People don’t want to know how to EAT RIGHT…
Or how to EXERCISE…
Or how to MARKET…
Or copywrite/build a website/make an ecourse/Declutter/save money/communicate better ETCETERA!
They want their problems solved.
They want to FEEL something.
And KNOW they can reach their END.
Now.
So stop selling them the bloody tools and give them the end they want!
Like this –
10. Start by asking.
What do your people REALLY want? No, they do not want a pretty website/to make more money/to get in shape/etc. That’s the surface stuff. The more skilled you are at getting BENEATH that and understanding what they REALLY want, the more you can tie your OFFER back to that true motivation. It takes time to get to know someone well enough for them to reveal their TRUE desires to you. Or, you can start by just asking. Like this:
“Can you tell me why that is important to you? What do you REALLY want, that (getting a pretty website/making more money/being in better shape) would bring you?”
9. Ask again.
Of course some people like to play a little coy, and they’ll still keep it surface level. They might say “I want things to seem more professional”, or “I want to be able to pay my bills with ease”, or “I want to be able to travel”, or “I want to wear clothes I feel hot in”. When people say this sort of stuff to you, they’re lying. Okay, not lying but definitely not telling the truth. What they really want is to FEEL something.
Like freedom.
Or choice.
Or pride.
Or a sense of control.
Don’t know what they want to feel? Ask ’em! Like this:
“So what is that really about then, how would it make you feel to achieve that ________ (insert thing they said they wanted)”
8. Don’t be afraid to go deeper.
Someone saying “they want to feel good about themself”, or even that “they want to feel they have choice” is still not the REAL reason. You need to ask them what they want THAT for. Do it like this:
“So why is THAT important to you then?”
And the killer –
“Why is that really REALLY important to you?”
You have to be willing to PUSH people to tell you the real reason. You’ll know when they do because YOU will feel it, and you’ll BOTH have this ‘aha’ moment. That THAT. That is what it’s really about. THAT’S what really matters to them. Which could be freedom of expression, or never having to dance to someone else’s tune, or a better life for their children, or creative expression, or simply the fact that they see themselves in a light they’re currently not letting shine. Whatever it is, you’ll know and so will THEY.
7. Why don’t they have it yet? What are the fears telling them they can’t?
You need to know this stuff, or else no matter how shiny and beautiful YOUR offer is, they’ll just hit back with the same old fears and excuses they’ve always used for why it won’t work for THEM or why they simply can’t have it yet.
So ask –
“Why aren’t you there yet?”
“What has held you back up until now?”
[pq] Hint: do NOT sell something, especially something involving your 1:1 time, to anybody who does not take PERSONAL responsibility for why they aren’t yet where they want to be. If their pattern is to blame others then guess who they’ll blame next? You. [/pq]
6. Now it’s time to sell.
But instead of selling ‘websites’ or ‘business coaching’ or ‘marketing skills’ or ‘weight loss’, what are you selling?
A dream, baby! You’re selling that THEY CAN LIVE THE LIFE THEY REALLY WANT, and be the PERSON they truly want to be.
You’re selling FREEDOM.
Or CHOICE.
Or ADVENTURE.
Or PERSONAL POWER.
Or a whole big mix of it.
My personal 1:1 coaching clients don’t work with me, for example, because of the STRATEGY or TOOLS I teach them. They work with me because I help them to achieve the FREEDOM, CHOICE, ADVENTURE and ALIGNMENT they desire in business and in life.
Because they want to BELIEVE IN and then MAKE REAL their ability to live a life 100% on their terms, and to hell with what the rest of the world thinks.
Because they want me to help and also PUSH them to do this.
So if I tried to convince someone to work with me based on how I have the latest sales and marketing skills up my sleeve, can you see how that would be interesting but nowhere near as COMPELLING as “I will help you to get over your shit and into ALIGNED action so that you can create and live EXACTLY the business and life you want, totally on your terms”?
What are YOU really selling?
And are you really selling it?
5. Push on the pain point
Don’t be afraid to remind people of the pain they’re currently in.
If you want to HELP them then sometimes you need to get them out of their own way.
I had someone recently turn down an offer to do private coaching with me, even though she had many good reasons for doing it, and wasn’t happy with where she was in her business and life.
My reply was simple –
“No problem. I understand if you prefer to stay where you are now.”
She signed up within minutes.
It’s not like I had to be MEAN. But don’t get me wrong – I will be, if it’s called for. Because selling with LOVE does not mean telling people that it’s OKAY for them to not change where they are now.
Is that going to get them to where they want to go?
So remind them.
Of the pain.
Of the anguish.
Of the gap between where they are now, and where they want to be.
4. And then show them.
Be MEGA open about how awesome it is ‘over here, on this side’. Where you have the answers. Where things are WORKING. Where you’re moving past self doubt and shit is HAPPENING.
It’s not being boastful.
It’s certainly not saying it’ll just ‘happen’.
But it is reminding people –
Hey. I’ve got something you want. If you REALLY DO want it, you’re going to need to come and get it.
So put up photos, posts, write up the REAL AWESOMENESS of how you get to live YOUR life, and how your CLIENTS do, because they know what you know.
And how SO CAN I if I’m willing to work with you.
3. Call them on their shit.
I love it when somebody calls me on my BS. Don’t you? Most people just accept what you say at face value, maybe they think something underneath but they’re scared to say it! So when someone comes out and tells you you’re lying to yourself, or kidding yourself, or you need to just freaking well TAKE A LEAP, I think it’s quite a shock.
And also a RELIEF.
Because deep down, we all just want someone to tell us the goddamn TRUTH. Stop pussy-footing around with niceties to try and make me FEEL good! Just tell me the HARD LOVE TRUTH that I need to know to get the freaking RESULT!
What are the truths you need to tell your clients – maybe the stuff that you say behind closed doors, or to your partner or friends – that THEY need to hear.
Tip: the more scared you are to press publish or send, the more important it is to do so.
2. Be human
Tell it like it is.
If your life/website/business/body/relationship/wealth/etc (or even all of it!) is awesome then TELL it! Nothing is worse than pretending ‘it’s not that great’, or YOU’RE not that great because you don’t want to brag.
This is one reason I cannot STAND when people get annoyed at women entrepreneurs who openly share their income and success. It is damn INSPIRING to see others kicking goals! So share yours! But also, unless you happen to have in fact evolved to sainthood and are The Perfect Woman, then share your fumbles and downright stupid as well as embarrassing stuff as well.
It’s okay. People aren’t going to NOT want to work with you because you admit the mistakes you make or even the truly ridiculous or awful stuff you do. Also – you don’t have to only share your PAST mistakes. I see this a lot, the whole “I used to do this but now I Have Evolved to the Perfect Woman’ type thing and therefore ‘That is Why You Should Buy All My Stuff’.
Not cool.
Or, I’m guessing, true.
Tell the TRUTH, yes, about what you have achieved and have fought for and are proud of and how you can help THEM to achieve and fight for and be proud of themselves, but also tell the truth about the lessons you are still learning.
Your CURRENT fuck-ups.
Or just the times when you don’t GIVE a fuck, and want to run away and hide.
Do this in your sales pages or processes, your social media posts, your 1:1 conversations, everything.
One of the reasons my inner circle girls are able to benefit so greatly by my constant support and hand-holding is that they also get to benefit from seeing the REAL me, no holds barred.
Would YOU learn from a perfect person, or a real one?
Be the person YOU need, yeah? Speaking of which –
1. Finish with the lesson you wish you knew
What did you REALLY need to know, in times gone by?
The ‘fact’ and ‘strategy’ and ‘how to’ stuff, but also, the MINDSET stuff.
The LESSONS.
The TRUTHS.
What did you WISH someone had have taken you by the hand and given you a GOOD HARD SHAKE about?
Me, I wish I had have known I could make it big by being HONEST.
Not in an ‘I’ve been lying’ sort of way, but in a ‘I was afraid to be the real me’ sort of way.
I wish I could have known that it’s MORE THAN OKAY, in fact ESSENTIAL to say and be and do what you really think, who you really are.
I wish I could have known I don’t have to FILTER myself.
I wish I could have known that I don’t have to do things a way that doesn’t FEEL right just because everyone else is.
I wish I could have known that I can DO THE THING I REALLY WANT TO DO with my business and life, and succeed in the BEST way that way.
I wish I knew HOW to do all of this as well.
How to build brand ‘me’ with BALLS not by constantly seeking permission.
How to be the ONE DAY ME who I longed to be just NOW.
These are the lessons I most needed to hear.
Which makes them the most powerful lessons I can also teach.
Which is exactly why I’m now going to teach them.
To you.
Do you ever look at your mentors or coaches and wonder how they seem to do it all, or have it all figured out?
I know I do.
And for years I told myself – even though I didn’t really acknowledge I was doing this – that they clearly had something I didn’t have. Better luck, maybe, or maybe they were just better PEOPLE. I looked at those who I admired and WISHED I could one day evolve to be like them, but what I didn’t recognise was that I was ALREADY like them, just not as far along on the journey.
I can tell you for a fact – everybody who you admire or look up to has been through the same shit as you have, fought similar battles, had those same moments of wondering if they will EVER make it.
I sure have! For a long time there I seriously started to question what I’d always thought was my DESTINY. Maybe I wasn’t really going to EVER make it?
But, despite the fear and the self-doubt and the VERY many mistakes, I did. And here I am. Completely living and loving my dream business, life and lifestyle. Knowing I am making the difference I’m meant to make in the world, creating true and lasting riches in ALL areas not just financially, and living a life many wouldn’t even dream of.
But you do, don’t you? In your own way of course!
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