Is Selling Your Achilles Heel?
I noticed that, like me, many of transformational entrepreneurs - the coaches, creatives, change makers, and service professionals - are stuck in a Purgatory of Frustration.
They feel bewildered that all their training, their passion, and good intentions seem stuck in limbo. And they don't know how to free themselves.
They run the maze of social media, Facebook Live, webinars, Google Hangout, and email marketing and wonder why all those Likes and Follows don't add up to clients and dollars.
It's not their fault. That's what they're being told by the gurus of the industry - get online, get popular, and prosper.
Not so fast!!!
Many professionals online are NOT prospering. They stay busy and overwhelmed with activities that don't actually create prospects who buy from them. Then they wonder why they feel constantly exhausted and deflated.
I speak from experience. I was in that place of suffering and woe, and it was not pretty. It felt awful. I came close to giving up.
Then I discovered what was standing between me and more clients, income, and impact.
You see in our online world, those of us who sell services usually have to make a SALE.
There I said it - the 4-letter word of the transformational world – SELL.
I had to learn to SELL. And you do too.
I used to be petrified to go there. I was NOT going to sell. I was not going to put myself out there to be rejected or criticized. No way.
So my business languished, I felt like a failure, and I certainly wasn’t accomplishing my mission of helping more people.
Does this sound depressingly familiar?
I hope not but if it does, I have some good news.
Selling does not have to be sleazy, manipulative, or money-grubbing.
Sales can be authentic to you and your values. You can have integrity AND sell your services.
In fact that's the only way you'll even consider doing sales - with your personality, values and integrity intact.
To begin to get a different perspective on selling, the first step is to blow up the myth that you have to be sleazy to sell.
Try this out:
Name 3 professionals whose work you admire and whose marketing draws you in and makes you want to know more. They can be in your field or in another field.
Answer these questions about that person:
- What about this person's online or in person presence attracts you?
- What do you admire about this person's body of work?
- What does s/he stand for through her/his business?
- What could you emulate from this person and her/his stand in the world?
To help you get your list started, here are some folks whom I admire in the business world:
- Oprah Winfrey – Media Proprietor, Talk Show Host, Movie Producer, Actress, Philanthropist
- Blake Mycoskie - CEO of Tom's Shoes, Philanthropist
- Amanda Palmer - Musician, Performance Artist, Author
Try it and see what starts percolating in your mind about possibilities for your own service-based business.