The Fierce Business Babe Podcast Ep 327: How to Sell in DM’s

Today, I am diving into a question that I get asked all the time. How do you sell in the DM’s? I will be sharing how I have been able to grow my business without having a sales call in over two and a half years by selling in the DM’s. We’re also going to chat about what selling in the DM’s can look like for you and your business and some tips and tricks for selling in the DM’s.

How to Sell in the DM’s

BY: MELISSA LIN

Welcome back to another episode of The Fierce Business Babe Podcast.  I'm really excited to get into today's topic because it's one that I get asked about a lot and a topic that can increase sales conversions in your business. I'm really excited to just share ins and outs about how I do this, what I sell in the DM's, and how it can be easier than it may feel right now if you've tried it for yourself in your business. I get a lot of questions from clients and my audience about how I sell in the DM's and how I'm able to do it very easily. I’m excited to dive in today because it gets to be easy for you whichever way you're selling in your business. If you’re selling in the DM’s, through messenger over on Facebook, through the message service on Tik-Tok, whatever platform you’re on, it can be easy. It’s also not the only way to sell. I've done my fair share of trying different sales strategies and sales calls in my earlier days. I've done hundreds and hundreds of sales calls, however, I haven’t done a sales call in over five years. Anytime I mention that over on Instagram I get so many questions, so I wanted to record an updated podcast on the episode that has been my most viral episode to date. 

There are so many reasons why I've shifted into selling in the DM’s. We have a few other ways that we sell as well, however, we've moved completely away from sales calls for many reasons. One of those reasons is because as technology and social media have continued to evolve it's become much easier to sell in different ways. This also really supports my lifestyle and the life I want to live. I've sold courses in the DM's, I’ve sold individual packages, private coaching, group coaching, up to twenty thousand dollar packages in the DM’s without actually getting on the phone, and you most definitely can too, if you want to. There really is no right or wrong way to sell. There really is no right or wrong way to grow your business. There are so many different ways that can work. 

My goal for my clients is to always help them find a way that feels so good and aligned to them. I believe that you can sell easily on sales calls, you can sell easily in the DM’s, you can sell easily via email, by any form of communication. At the end of the day, sales is sales and it’s all about serving. I'll be getting into so much of that in today’s brand new episode. We're going to be diving into this brand new episode where I will be chatting about how long I've been selling in the DM's, what I've been selling there, what's selling in the DM's can look like, tips to sell in the DM’s, and so much more. 

How Long Have I Been Selling in the DM’s?

Let's get into today is a brand new episode. The first thing I want to get into is how long I've been selling in the DM’s and what I've been selling. I actually started playing around with selling in the DM's back in the earlier days of my business, so around 2014ish, that's when I really launched my business. I was still at my full-time job back in 2014. I was working full-time as a chemical engineer and started my business on the side, like many of you may be doing right now. Selling in the DM’s was really, really supporting me because I was able to sell during my lunch break or at the gym. I was able to sell on my 15 minute break between things. It was very flexible for me since I was so busy and trying to grow my business while still in my full-time job back in 2014. So I started playing around with selling in the DM’s back then and I was able to sell quite a bit in the DM’s, however I did want to practice on my sales skills. I hopped on so many calls and did so for quite a few years. We stopped doing sales calls about 5 or 6 years ago now. I still sell in the DM's today and I actually love it. I absolutely love selling. I thrive in selling because I truly believe it's serving, and we'll get into some of that today. If you’ve listened to any of my other sales podcast episodes you have heard my mindset around sales and how to start shifting that. Mindset is the most important thing around sales. We first get to really believe that selling is serving. 

So again, selling the DM's is one of the main ways we sell. We also sell through funnels and through emails. I haven't hopped on a call in over 5 or 6 years. Could I have a sales team that does sales calls for me? Of course I can, and a lot of business owners do. I can also sell in the DM’s just as easily by truly connecting with those in my audience, adding value, and selling to those that are interested in working with me. Personally, I love having the flexibility to ve able to sell from my phone without needing to get on a sales call or setting time aside for XYZ on my calendar, because I set that time aside for clients. 

It's so nice to be able to help answer any questions right there in the DM’s, and pretty quickly too, within a few hours, versus me needing to wait three to four days, or even longer, to hop on a sales call because of schedules and calendars and things like that. It’s much quicker for me and much easier as well. I also get to be more involved in the sales process and be the person to actually chat with my potential new clients, as I do want to get to know everybody coming into my programs. I want to make sure they're fit for me, for my program, for my containers, and then also that I'm a great fit for them as well. Most of my programs at this point are some type of group or hybrid one-on-one and group, so I do want to make sure they're going to be a great fit for the rest of the group as well. Again, I absolutely love it. If you haven't tried it, I definitely suggest giving it a go. 

Selling on Social Media

Most of my programs at the moment are rolling enrollment. This means that we welcome new clients into our programs every single week and clients can also hop in at any time throughout the year. What we typically do is we'll have special bonuses, pushes, sales, and things like that throughout the year, so I sell the DM's and typically through a few different avenues. I want to share that with you because I want you to start to think about different ways that you can be selling in your business. There's not just one way. It's not just you hopping on Instagram stories every single day and saying, hey, I’m a coach or a service based business, “hey, I’m XYZ and you should work with me because of these reasons, here's what I have available.” We don't need to do that every single day. We can get creative on social media. We also want to create different permission slips, and I'll share why in just a minute. 

A few avenues that I love selling through and ways that I sell in the DM's are through these next few items. I always have some type of call to action in my captions on Instagram. They're not always sales call to actions, so do keep that in mind. I rotate them based on what else we're doing on Instagram stories. We like to switch off different things; selling in stories one day, selling in the captions captions the next day. We do have a strategy there. I do have call to actions in my captions to send me a specific word to learn more about various programs. If clients are looking to start their online business, if they are starting to think about what type of business they’re going to start, what their niche is going to be, or what their offer could look like, I may have my call to action in a caption. I may say, “send me a DM with the word Academy for information on how to apply and work with me to start and scale your business to 5K months.” That's what we support our clients with inside of the Fierce Business Academy. If the theme of my content that week is scaling to $10K months, then I may have a call to action about that in my caption saying, “If you're looking to take your business to the next level and scale to $10K a month with ease, then send me the word mastermind via DM,” because that's the program that helps clients cale to $10K months. If I'm looking for clients to scale to multiple six figures, I’d have them send me the word “scale” for my program Fiercely Scale. I like to tie the word they send me with the program name because, again, that is creating more awareness of the program name or the result of the program. That’s one avenue where we have people come to us via the DM’s. 

I also have prompts on my Instagram stories to send me a message to learn more. We’ll do graphics or me speaking into the camera after a live training or mini training on Instagram stories that I've done. We also have applications on our website and in my Instagram bio on the sales pages to submit for each of my programs. I also pre-qualify people who are interested in the DM’s with a few questions to get to know them, where they're at, what their biggest struggles have been, and what they’ve tried.This gives me a good sense of where they’re at and if they’re coachable or not. If they’ve already been in a program, what worked? What didn't work? I really want to get a good sense of what type of client they're going to be because, again, it gets to go both ways. You get to find folks that are going to be fit for you and that you're fit for. 

Quick side note, I recorded a podcast episode about this, all about clients that you should not hire and that you should not work with. I go into some red flags and some examples from past clients that I've worked with that I did not offer an invitation into the program, even though their applications looked great. There are a few examples for you and things that I've learned. I highly recommend you listen to it if you want to get a sense of things to look for, how to prequalify, and what questions to ask, because you can definitely prequalify in the DM's as well. So I'll get a good sense of that and then send an invitation to my program if I feel they are a fit and if spots are available. I like to create different permission slips because some people are going to prefer to send you a DM and some people are going to prefer to just submit an application without even talking to you at all. 

What Selling in the DM’s Should Not Look Like

Let's get into more details of what this can really look like and what selling in the DM's can look like. I want to share with you what it can look like and also what it should not look like. I get so many messages every single day from people that I’ve never even spoken to that are pitching me their programs, so I do want to share what it should not look like. It should not look like you sending out mass messages about your offer in the very first message. This is such a big no-no. I would never recommend talking about your program in the very first message you send somebody. I probably get 10 to 12 spam messages per day where somebody will message me. They won't even use my first name, sometimes they’ll use my Instagram handle. They won't even use my first name and they pitch me their offer without knowing what I’m working on, where I am in my business, what I need support with, and so on. They haven’t even taken the ten seconds, not even ten seconds, to go grab my name from my profile. For me personally, it is such a turn off. I would never buy from that person, ever. 

Really ask yourself, what kind of experience would you want if someone was reaching out to you? Personally, I really want somebody to get to know me, where I'm at, what I'm working on, and what my struggles are before even getting close to telling me about their programs or their offer. Take a few moments to go check out somebody's page if it's somebody that you're getting to know and ask genuine questions. Get to know them as a person. This is an actual human being on the other side of that profile that you're communicating back and forth with. Act as you would in person getting to know somebody at an event you’re at. Ask yourself, how would you want to be treated? How would you want that process on the other side to be happening? We're definitely not sending out mass messages without first names or with your program, how much it cost, what's included, and things like that. It's just such a turn-off. I personally don't even respond to them because they haven't even taken two seconds to get to know anything on my profile or look at my profile whatsoever. So again, really get to know them. What are their hobbies? What are they working towards? Start building a relationship with people that you talk to, then see if there's any value you can add. What I love doing is asking if there's anything they’re struggling with as they work towards their goal. I love sending tips or resources their way, regardless if this person's going to ever work with me or not. Amazing if we're a fit if that's the case. Amazing if we’re not. There is an abundance of clients out there, so we’re not worried about that. I do want to be able to add value if I’m able to. That’s a big reason why we are now adding in a second episode every single week here on the podcast. It’s to add value and help move the needle forward. At the end of the day, your pitch is your value. Show what you can support people with, help create that quick win for them. It's going to help them move the needle forward and also help you create the bigger impact that you're wanting to create and get even closer to your big vision. 

Tips for Selling in the DM’s

So let's get into a few more tips to sell the DM’s. I want to get into more specifics on what this conversation can actually look like and how you can start to actually convert or transition your conversation from a normal conversation to a sales conversation. You get to lead the conversation just as you would a sales call, except that it's in the DM’s and it's not on the phone or on a zoom call. A question you might be asking yourself is, who can I send a message to? Who should I DM? If you're in the very beginning stages of your business, huge congrats, I’m so excited for you. I know how scary it can be, but keep going, people need you. What I will say is as you're getting your account started, you get to give out two to three times as much as you're wanting back in. Is this going to be the case forever? Definitely not. 

However, with me for example, even when I still had my old account we were at about thirty-nine thousand followers before we were hacked and started over on the new account, which is the_melissalin. If you haven’t started following me yet, definitely go do so and come say hi. If you want to see Pearl, my amazing and adorable cat, definitely follow me over there on the new account. Anyway, even with the older account where we had some such a huge audience, I was still engaging outwards. I was still reaching out and sending messages to new folks who followed me and people I wanted to engage with because I wanted to get in front of more people. We’re always wanting to grow and get in front of more people. For me to create a bigger impact, I get to get in front of more people. I was putting out many, many, many messages every single day just to get to know people, regardless of whether they were going to work with me. They may go to happy hour that night with their girl friends and be like, “wow, have you guys connected or followed this gal Melissa Lin? She is putting out so much value, you are definitely going to get some value from her.” Maybe this person's going to connect me with a different person. There is an abundance of clients, so keep adding value and get in front of more and more people. 

So who should you DM? You can definitely message new followers that come to your page, people that have shown interest in your polls, people that like your captions or comment on them, ideal clients, people that look interesting. Connection is one of the biggest things that people are looking for these days, especially after these past two years that we've all gone through. Connection, connection, connection. Get out there and go be social on social media, especially with an online business. You get to be online and you get to be social with an online business. 

Let's get into how to actually shift the conversation from getting to know somebody to a sales offer. Let's say that you've gotten to know this person. They've shared their struggles with you and maybe you’ve sent a tip or two. I personally love sending over one of my free classes or workshops, or a podcast episode. We have so many podcast episodes over many different topics and I really want to be able to help them move the needle forward quickly by sending over some of these free value pieces for them. Then actually ask if they need any help. After they've listened to the episode, or watched the workshop, whatever it is we send over, ask if they need any other help. Ask if they are open to any more help with reaching their goals. If they say yes, what you can do is let them know that the goal they’re looking to reach is exactly what you support your clients with inside of your one-on-one coaching program, or your academy, or whatever program you have available, and ask if they would like to learn more information. Keep it simple. It does not need to be complicated. You do, however, need to actually ask for the sale. I think that's where so many get hung up when selling in the DM’s, on how to transition that conversation from a conversation to that sales conversation. That is how you can do it very, very easily. Again, just chat as you normally would if you were in person. Really get to know what it is they need support with, and then actually ask for the sale. If they want to learn more about your program, you can share right there in the DM’s. You don't need to go back and forth with go apply for this program, then I'll send you an email, then we’ll hop on a call. You can sell right there in the DM's if you want to. You can share the sales page if you have one. You could drop a quick paragraph with some bullet points. You can send a voice message. There are a lot of different ways you can do this. It's not like there's only one way for this to work. Once you share that information about your program, handle any objections right there in the DM’s by text or voice message. Then send the link to purchase right there in the DM’s. Keep it simple. That's a quick layout of how the conversation can go and how you can transition that conversation from getting to know them and then transitioning it into an actual sales conversation if they are letting you know that they are open and are looking for more help. Again, keep it simple and keep it all in there. 

I want to add in as a bonus that there are definitely going to be different ways that you want to share with your audience to let you know they're interested. I was actually chatting with somebody in the DM’s today and she was sharing with me that she doesn't feel like there is anyone in her audience that wants to work with her. She had a decent sized audience, quite a few hundred people. That can fill an auditorium. That is such a great size audience, especially as you're getting started. Something that I shared with her was that for every one person that does reach out and let you know they're interested or that does apply for your program, there are 20 to 30 more minimum that are lurking and waiting for that permission slip. Be creative and create various permission slips, I mentioned this earlier in the podcast episode. Some will want to fill out an application, some will want to message you, some will want to answer a poll, and some are going to want to answer or ask a question in your questions box. Create different avenues for them to let you know they're interested because we want them to self identify themselves, right? We want our leads to self identify themselves if possible. It's going to make things so much easier for you as a business owner. 

Then continue to create awareness around your program. Continue to create awareness around your programs, regardless of if you launch the program twice per year or if it's evergreen. It doesn't matter how many times you open and close the doors or if you do quarterly launches. Continue to create awareness year-round. This is something that we do year-round, regardless if a program has spots open or if we’re even launching that program that month.  Even if we aren’t going to launch a certain program until September, we will be creating awareness around it throughout the year. We will be talking about that program to continue that awareness. I talk about my programs multiple times every single week in my Instagram stories, in my content, here on the podcast, I share client wins often. Do the same. This is you selling, this is serving, and this is you also sharing how you can help others get more of what they want, so go share your gift. That also may be that permission slip that they've been waiting for to finally reach out. If they see the name of your program for that tenth time, maybe that tenth time is the time for them to reach out. They may say, “hey Melissa, I see this program. When are doors opening next? How can I find out more information? I need this now. I'm tired of being stuck where I'm at. I don't want to be here three months from now.” That could be that time for them, so continue to create awareness. 

If you're wanting to learn more about selling in the DM's or sales in general, we support our clients in all of our programs with various scripts for sales calls, DM sales, email templates, and so, so much more. We also provide hands-on guidance. I’ve supported my clients with creating their scripts, shifting their mindset, handling objections and so much more than that, because there's so much more to business and starting and things like that. However, sales is a big part of it, especially as you're getting started and creating those foundational pieces and your sales process. Without sales you don't really have a business, you have more of a hobby. We do want to be generating sales and doing some of those sales activities, and you can definitely do so in the DM's if that feels good to you. So we’re very hands-on with moving the needle forward every single day with our clients and their businesses. Whether you are just starting or you're trying to scale your business to the next level, if you want your sales process to be more hands-off we can definitely. If you want more sales calls or more discovery calls, we can also help there as well. Go ahead and send me a message on Instagram and I can chat with you about which program could be the best fit depending on where you're at right now in your business and how I can personally help you and your business grow these next few months. 

Today has been great, it was such a fun topic. I love sales and anything business-related. We’ve touched on how long I've been selling in the DM's, what I've been selling in the DM's, what this can look like, tips to sell in the DM’s, and so much more. We’re so excited and we will see you next Monday morning in another brand new episode of the Fierce Business Babe Podcast.