We back to our marketing funnel, taking on Stage 3&4, which is opportunity and making the sale.
Stage 3 can take a myriad of forms depending on your business. How you present the opportunity for people to buy will likely require a lot of listening to the Spirit and trial and error. I can give you some ideas to start with.
The obvious place that this can happen is your website. However, this may or may not be the most effective way to go about it. What is considered a good conversion rate on a website is 1-3%. (Hint - don't let this be your ceiling, mine is between 6-7%) A good conversion rate from a free introductory session, live event or so forth is from 30-90%. Your website alone, especially in the beginning when you have little traffic is probably not going to cut it.
Let me just say, that I'm not diminishing having a web presence. Your website is a great way to sell in your sleep or when you're otherwise preoccupied. People also like being able to research you on their own time. It demands very little from you, so building something that converts well and gets traffic is important.
For the here and now, especially if you have a service-based business, you gotta get out there! Webinars, workshops, speaking engagements, or free or discounted initial appointments can help you develop that "know, like and trust" factor.
People don't want to buy from a business. They want to buy from people they know, like and trust. They will generally choose those 3 factors over greater qualifications, or cheaper prices.
Street Cred vs Ed Cred.
Many people have an internal battle over their credentials or lack thereof. They believe that they have to have a degree to be taken seriously, or that they have to be already successful in a field. While there are certain areas that require degrees or other sorts of paper proof in order for you to legally operate, there are generally other less expensive, less time-consuming ways for you to establish credibility. I believe Papa asked me in the beginning of this to steer you away from any unnecessary certifications.
One reason this may be, is that when an authority certifies you as something, you are obligated to operate by their standards. This is to encourage uniformity and maintain their good name. This is a good thing, unless you get revelation to do things differently. Whether this is a positive change or not, you will have to step out from under that certification or else be operating in rebellion. I now have certifications that I don't talk about.
Del (the owner of this site we're sharecropping on) has also brought up that taking the time to "search the matter out" rather than passively accepting what you're taught, results in greater ownership of your expertise. You'll be speaking through your own authority on the subject, instead of parroting your teachers, and perhaps not having full understanding.
I believe Papa's intentions here are to take us all places beyond where others before us have gone. To travel along the waterways of the Spirit where we can flow without restriction of man's regulations and customs.
So if you don't have a degree or certification what can you show?
â—¦ Your track record
â—¦ Your experience
â—¦ Social proof (testimonies, reviews, endorsements)
â—¦ Confidence
â—¦ Being direct
â—¦ Good grooming and dress
â—¦ Overall professionalism
â—¦ Your work in print (book, blog, articles, newsletter)
I use books to demonstrate my credibility for Freedom Flowers. It's one of my better sales tools. Amazon is it's own search engine, and it's full of people looking for solutions to their problems.
Imposter Syndrome
Who am I to talk to you about imposter syndrome? I mean, who do I think I am? It's not like I have overcome this and am this huge authority like Tony Robbins or something... Who in their right mind would listen to me?
Imposter syndrome is actually a thing in the secular world of entrepreneurs. We know it as the enemy yakking at us. I actually like that someone put a specific name on this particular brand of accusation, so I'll go with Imposter Syndrome from here on out. What it is, is the voice that says that you're a fraud, you have no real authority in your line of business and when you get found out, you'll be ruined, so don't be acting like you know anything, ABOUT ANYTHING! Hush...
It affects us all. If you think you can earn your way out of it, you'd be mistaken. As soon as you get the piece of credibility you thought you needed, it morphs into another accusing and demeaning thought. You might think it only affects people that don't have the right education, or experience but that's not true. They have their own internal battles.
That doesn't mean you give up on getting the right experience, education and up leveling your skills, however. You do that because you are pursuing excellence, not because you'll finally feel that you've arrived. If anything, more knowledge has the opposite effect, showing you how little you know.
But if you're waiting for this tipping point where you "feel" totally prepared and competent, you might never start a business, or charge what you are worth, and you won't own your voice or fulfill your purpose. Beyond that, you're doing the world a massive disservice by not fully showing up.
In case you think this is humility, here's how you know. Imposter Syndrome will stop you from doing what you need to. It shuts you up —and down. Humility lets you show up and be imperfectly and transparently you, moving forward in your call. Humility comes with gratefulness for opportunities, Imposter Syndrome comes with feeling undeserving.
So suck it up buttercup! You need to recognize where that voice is coming from and that it's an indicator of you being on the right track.
You also need to shift focus from yourself and go help the people in the way that you're called to. This redirect will help you immensely to bust past it.
You may have heard it said that God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Hang onto that one. We've got a whole book of examples of people who were not initially looking like all-star material but stepped out in faith because they trusted God. We have that. Secular entrepreneurs don't.
Imposter Syndrome is most definitely a spiritual battle. And by the way, business is most definitely ministry, assuming your motives are right. Imposter Syndrome may have an intriguing name, but when you boil it down, it's the same ol tactics, and we can use our same ol weapons. Fire away.
So to reassure you about sales, let's redefine sales as service. Sales doesn't need to be pushy, creepy, manipulative or slimy. Sales can provide value to the prospect and help them to identify what they want/need and whether or not you can meet that need.
In order to sell without the sleaze, two premises have to be in order.
1 You have to 100% believe that your product or service makes a positive difference.
2 You have to operate from the perspective that not everybody is meant to be your customer. You may be selling something that would benefit everybody on the planet, but the majority would be a waste of your time to convince. Go after the low hanging fruit we defined in your niche.
Your job is not to convince anyone to be your customer. Your job is to help them identify what they want, and then determine whether your product or service is the best means of getting there. That will mean that sometimes, they need to go somewhere else.
Let's get back to #1 for a minute. Believe in your product. If you don't, you have 3 options.
1 Go sell something else
2 Improve the product
3 Deal with your limiting beliefs
If you don't believe in what you're doing despite positive feedback and your people getting results, then you will sabotage yourself in the sales dept. Go back to the head trash exercises with this belief. In addition, prioritize getting testimonials and feedback. Read and reread those daily until it sinks in.
If you believe those two things above, you may proceed.
The Presentation
This can be one on one, to a group, scheduled or spontaneous or a free consultation. It's best if you develop this to provide lots of value for the recipient of your pitch. Respect their time, put something in it for them, regardless of whether they buy from you or not. This makes it 10 times easier to get them to agree to being sold to. It's a great way to establish the know like and trust factor as well.
A good example is a complimentary consultation. I'm going to go into this in detail.
You need to advertise this on your website with at minimum, an opt-in box. It may even be your hook for getting them on the mailing list. Or you may make the offer to those who have expressed enough interest to get on the mailing list. You might give current clients "coupons" to give their friends. You also might want to have appointment booking software on your site to make this as little work as possible and lower the barrier to getting the appointment.
Other ways to set this up are personal connections. Don't just hand out business cards, ask for theirs and then follow up with an invitation. You actually do have to ask. If they say no, but seem moderately interested, schedule a later date to reconnect with them. "No" often doesn't mean never.
For coaches and similar service type people, this is not to be thought of as a sample session. This is more of an introduction to see if this relationship is a good fit. You'll want to articulate something of that sort up front in the appointment. Being upfront about how this is going to go down will put them at ease. You'll say something like "My agenda today is for you to get a lot out of this conversation even if we don't wind up working together. If it seems like we're a good fit and I'm confident that I can help you, I'll invite you to become my client at the end of the conversation and we can sort out the details then. Does that work for you?" Make it clear that you ONLY want to work with people you know you can help.
From there, you go over what it is they are wanting. Dig in and help them get clarity. Direct the focus to one main issue, you can't go over all their problems in one sitting. You will be ineffective. If you can help them have a breakthrough in one area, they'll be thrilled with you.
Ask them to identify the obstacles they face in relation to this particular issue. Brainstorm with them on strategies for overcoming. Make suggestions, refer them to helpful resources. If your product or service is what they need, say so. If not refer them elsewhere!
If all is going good and you would like to work with them, and feel that you can make a difference, personalities jive etc, talk to them about how you would continue on from here if they were your client. Focus on the benefits instead of the features. The benefits are your results, and features are the "how". How is always an afterthought.
Flat out ask them to sign up with you! Don't beat around the bush. You're not being pushy here, nor are you needy or manipulative. Nothing to be ashamed of. Just extending the invitation. The only reason you wouldn't do this is if you don't want to work with them. You don't have to take everybody that comes along. If you sense trouble or that they will be a drain, wish em well and on to the next.
Now you need to handle their objections or concerns. Again, this does not need to be a hard sell. Your job is to help them remove any obstacles to getting what you've already established they want. If they give you a very direct no, then wrap it up and move on.
Essential Homework:
1 What factors can you use to demonstrate your credibility? What is a good credibility enhancer to work on? Post below.
2 Ask Papa how to present your opportunity to buy to people. Do you need to do some public speaking? Do you need to get on youtube or host some webinars? Are you better in print? Can you come up with a way for people to experience you so they can know, like and trust you? Post strategy below.
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