The Fierce Business Babe Podcast Ep 290: 5 Ways To Improve Your Sales Pitch
Today, I am diving into everything you need to know to take your sales pitch to the next level. If you are looking to learn how to improve your sales pitch and increase your conversion rates, you won’t want to miss this episode.
5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR SALES PITCH
BY: MELISSA LIN
Welcome back to another episode of The Fierce Business Babe Podcast. Today’s episode is all about selling, sales, and tways to improve your sales pitch, so let's get into it. We're going to be getting into reframing some of your stories around selling, ways to improve your sales pitch, tips to improve the conversion after your pitch, and so much more. If you've ever been on my Instagram stories, you know that I love, love, love talking about selling because selling is serving. You're able to help more people as you continue to sell. Selling is something that we do every single day, so we're going to talk all about it today.
REFRAMING YOUR SELLING MINDSET
The first thing I'm going to really get into is to reframe some of your stories or your mindset around selling. Something that I believe to be true is that selling is serving. You, most likely if you’re listening to this podcast, have an online business. The way that you'll be helping others is first by letting them know that you have a program that can help them, right? They cannot work with you or buy from you if they don't know about your offer. It all starts with your mindset around sales. You cannot be good at sales until you change your beliefs and stories around sales because they really do affect how good you are at selling. I can tell you from my own experience that my first few sales calls I did when I first started my business in 2014 were definitely a hot mess. I also didn't feel good about selling. I read directly for my script that I had and it just didn't feel good to me the way that I had everything set up. I was also very, very nervous and I also thought it was kind of sleazy. I didn't have a great mindset around selling back then. I didn't really realize or believe that selling was serving. I've definitely shifted so much of my mindset around selling since then. I would not have this incredible business if I hadn't shifted my mindset, so it starts with your mindset around selling.
For example, if you believe that promoting is bad, sleazy, or gross, you will subconsciously avoid doing it. You won't be selling much at all, which means you won't be able to sign clients, you won’t be able to make money, and you won’t be creating that impact. You will avoid posting on social media, you will avoid showing up on stories. I want to share with you that there are so many different ways to sell in your business, dozens and dozens. We teach our clients so many different ways to sell. We sell in many different ways every single day all across our platforms. I want you to know that you can sell in a way that feels good to you. As you start to really work on some of those stories that you have around it, you will as well. Selling does not need to be you hopping on Instagram stories every single day saying, “Hey, I'm a coach, come work with me,” or sliding into someone's DMs without ever talking to them before and telling them right away, “I have this program, let me know if you want more information.” There is so much missing if you’re doing that. I cannot tell you how many of these I receive every single day in my DMs from people who have no idea about anything about me, my personal life, or where I’m at in my business. There’s no trust there, and that’s definitely something we’re going to talk about as we get more into some of the ways to improve your sales pitch. Again, that does not need to be how you sell. There are so many other ways to sell and I would not recommend those two things that I had mentioned. That's not going to feel good and your audience is not going to enjoy that either most likely.
Another quick example on how to shift your sales mindset is, if you think you're ripping people off that your services aren't worthy enough or that you don't want to promote, if you feel that and believe that, when you do hop on a sales call you're going to avoid everything. You're going to avoid handling objections because, deep down, you think they're right. It truly is like a dog sensing the storm. People can tell, they can feel your energy, they can see your energy if you’re doing a sales call on a Zoom call. Back when I was doing sales calls they were Zoom calls because I did a lot of screen sharing and mapping out what their business could look like, what the ROI could look like, and so much more of that. I also wanted to know who the person on the other side of the screen was. I personally prequalify anyone who comes into my private coaching, Mastermind, or group programs because it is an experience for everybody and I want to make sure they are a good fit. It gets to go both ways and that’s something that we’ll definitely talk about today as well.
So the first thing you get to do is to really work on your beliefs and your mindset and the stories around selling, then work on the strategies and tactics. If you start working on the strategies but don't feel good about it, it's not going to work. You're going to put all of this work in and think that you're doing everything that you're supposed to be doing, but if you still lack mindset around sales, it's not going to work. Subconsciously you're still avoiding a lot of the sales process. You selling is you serving, you sharing your gifts with the world. You selling is you sharing the solution to somebody’s problems. You selling is you sharing how you can help your potential client move from point A to point B. You’re helping them with this incredible transformation.
IMPROVING YOUR SALES PITCH
Now let’s get into some ways that you can improve your sales pitch. The first one I want to chat about is so, so, so important. This is something that I believe so strongly and it's something that can really help improve your sales pitch and also your sales conversions before you even talk with somebody and that is to add massive value consistently. It is actually a big nonnegotiable for me in my business. I think I chatted about this a few podcast episodes ago. Adding so much value is important because at the end of the day your value is your pitch. If you are adding value every single day, or however often you're able to in your business, and creating some of those quick wins for people, what you’re doing is helping them move forward and they're also able to see how much you can do for them. They’re able to see, “Wow, Melissa is able to help me with this for free, I can’t even imagine what’s going to be inside of her programs. I can’t even imagine how much she’ll be able to help me once I finally trust and take that next step to invest in my business.” So add massive value because at the end of the day that is also your pitch. It will also start to bump up that like-know-trust factor as well. So the first thing is to add massive value. I also believe that the more value you add, the more success that will follow. Continue to show up and add value. Always come from a place of service. I add value every single day, regardless if somebody in my audience is going to work with me or not, because I want to help them. I want to see that impact and help them move forward whether or not we're ever going to work together. So add massive value.
The second thing I recommend if you want to start to improve your sales pitch is to really connect with your audience consistently. What I can tell you is that it is very difficult to sell and to actually convert somebody in your audience if they don't connect with you and if they don't trust you. People, especially in the online space, want to get to know you and trust you. They get to know you and trust you as a friend and as a human first before they’re going to trust anything that you give them in terms of educational pieces to help them move forward or even download your freebie. There needs to be some type of connection there between you and someone in your audience if they're ever going to hop on a sales call with you. They’ve got to trust you and have that connection with you. The way that I recommend doing this is to definitely share things about you. There are a few things I ask my clients to determine if their audience trusts them, a few key things you can ask yourself. Do they know what some of your favorite things are? Do they know what to get you for your birthday? Do they know how to make you laugh? Do they know some of your favorite things that you have?
For example, if you've been around in my audience you know that I have a beautiful, beautiful cat named Pearl. My darling, one-eyed cat Pearl. She is always all over my social media, so you can imagine I connect with a lot of other cat moms and there's such a big trust factor there every time I share with those cat moms. I’ve been sharing my crochet projects I’ve been working on, all my trips I go on, my love for wine and charcuterie boards, and the things that I truly love, because, yes, I love them, and it also helps create something to connect with other people with online in the social media space. These are also things that you would do in person if you were at a wine tasting or some kind of networking event or a dinner with some friends and meeting new people. Connect with your audience consistently because they want to see that. They want to connect with you. In order for them to move forward and like, know, and trust you, they really do need to connect with you. Connect with them consistently and share some of those things that maybe you feel are not unique, or they're boring, or whatever your feelings are about that. People want to see that. I will actually share my morning routine and I also share a checklist every single day of what I'm doing, whether it’s a CEO day, or a content day, or a coaching day for me in my business. I have so many people reach out to me and say, “thank you so much for sharing that with me,” or “hey, I’m doing this too in my business.” It’s something to help connect me with my audience. I highly recommend doing that. It's also going to help improve your sales pitch and that sales conversion. Yes, you can sell, yes, you can pitch your offer, but you also need to convert and the higher that like-know-trust factor is, the easier it is going to be for you to actually convert.
Let's move into the third point. The third way to start to improve your sales pitch is something you should do during your sales conversation. Whether you're selling on the phone, on a group sales call, in the DMs, wherever you're having this conversation with your potential client, point the flashlight at them throughout the entire conversation. This is a two-way partnership, whether it’s a client coaching partnership or service partnership. Keep in mind that you're also choosing the client. Yes, they’re choosing you, they may be interviewing a few folks and seeing if it’s a good fit for them, but you also get to see if it’s a good fit for you. I mentioned this at the beginning of today's podcast episode, I prequalify everybody. We have an application form to fill out if you want to be considered for one of my programs, coaching programs, masterminds, or one-on-one. The reason for this is because I also want to see if it’s a fit for us. Are you somebody that gets the values of my company and also the other women inside of my programs and my containers? I always, always, always want to make sure that it's a fun experience and also a safe container for everyone coming in. I personally prequalify and it’s definitely something to keep in mind as you're having this conversation. Keep the flashlight on them.
If you are on your sales call, or if you’re selling in the DMs, and you're worried about saying the right thing and how you sound, then the flashlight isn’t focused on them, you’re worried about you. That’s the opposite of what we want to do. We want to focus on them. Ask them about their struggles. What is it that they've been trying? What is it that they feel has prevented them from moving from point A to point B? What are they looking for in a mentor or coach or program? Point the flashlight on them and put the focus on them, right? Ask them those questions instead of you getting in your head and worrying about whether you're handling the objection the right way or whether you set the price too early, or if you left enough of a pause. That’s you focusing on you, let’s turn things around and focus on them. I promise you that you're going to learn so much about this person and really be able to share with them and show them if your program is or if it is not a fit for them. If you're learning things about them, you can then share, “yes, my program, The Fierce Business Academy is a perfect fit. This is actually exactly what we support you with inside of the program.” Then you can start to go into more of the sales pitch of what's inside, how you feel you can help them, and what you see possible for them. That’s you pointing the flashlight on them.
The fourth thing I would say is lead the conversation. If you are hopping on a sales call, lead the conversation from the very beginning, let them know what’s about to happen. Give them some kind of direction. For example, if you’re on a sales call and you’re just starting say, “hey Melissa, it’s so great to connect, I’m so excited. I know you already applied for our program, this call is really just to get to know each other a little bit more and see if you have any questions. Then we can go ahead and take the next step together if it feels like a fit both ways. You may receive an invitation to our program if it feels good both ways, if we both feel like it’s a fit.” Lead the conversation yourself. Let them know the agenda of the call so they have an idea of what's about to happen. Lead that conversation, regardless of how you’re selling. If it’s in the DMs, if it’s on a sales call, same thing.
The fifth way to improve your sales pitch is to have fun with it. People can feel your energy, same with your sales. Just as I had mentioned with your sales mindset, people can also feel whether you want to be there on the call with them or not, so have fun. Something that I would always do before sales calls was dance around to some of my favorite songs. I’m a huge Backstreet Boys fan, if any of you other ladies are as well let me know, let’s go to a concert together. I would sometimes go on a walk if it was nice out, if the sun was shining and really get into that energy and the state of being prepped for that call. I believe we just released a podcast episode all about how to prep for a sales call, so it’s definitely something I recommend listening to. It was just a few episodes ago, so definitely check that out if you’re going to be getting on some sales calls anytime soon. Add lot’s of value consistently and add it often. It's a huge non-negotiable for me. We add value every single day on our platforms. Connect with your audience consistently, do it often. Remember to point the flash light to them and focus on them. Ask about them. Lead the conversation and have so much fun. Really envision the possibility for them and also the possibility for yourself. Envision yourself guiding this person through this transformation you’re about to help them with. Really envision all of those things.
IMPROVING YOUR SALES CONVERSION
I want to leave you with a few bonus tips to improve the conversion. I had mentioned that, yes, you are out there selling, however, there's more to it. You can talk about your offer, you can share about your offer, however, you still need to convert. Maybe you’re on a sales call and they say they need a little bit more time. Okay, no worries. Give them space if that's what they're looking for, and also we get to actually convert. There are few tips I want to leave you with to help with conversion after you have the sales conversation. If people are given forever to spend money, they will take forever to spend money. People feel safe with money, it makes sense, we’re human. Create some type of urgency. Give them some type of time frame. If you’re on a sales call you can say, “let me know within the next 48 hours if it’s a yes or a no. If it’s a no, no worries, your spot will be given to the next applicant as we're booked full with sales calls all week.” Give them some type of urgency. It’s not to force somebody to say yes or no, that’s the last thing you want to do, it’s you helping them speed up that decision making process. Nothing happens if nothing is decided, so regardless of if it’s a yes or a no, we want to help them speed up that decision making process. If it is a yes, amazing. If it's a no, no worries at all, there's more people coming your way. Create some type of urgency, whether it’s a timeframe, a certain number of spots, a bonus that is about to expire, give some type of urgency.
Then make sure to always follow up. You’ve heard me say this so many times, the fortune is in the follow up. We have had so many people come back to us six months later because we continue to follow up via email, to follow up on social media, via podcast reminders here in there. We’ve had podcast episodes with reminders saying, “hey, come apply to work with us, even if you have before. Let’s step out of your comfort zone and shift into that next level.” Following up, however that looks like to you. There will be times where maybe there was a lot going on in that person’s life and they just forgot to get back to you. Maybe they accidentally opened up your message and they were in the middle of a zoom call or a workout, you just don’t know, so we don't want to make any assumptions. Following up also shows that you really care for this person and that you really want to help them create that transformation they’re looking for. Fortune is in the follow-up. If you feel a little gross or sleazy about following up, then that is something I’m going to challenge you with and ask you to look into even deeper. Why is it that you feel that way about following up with somebody? What feels bad about that? We follow up multiple times with anyone who shows interest to work with us because we know sometimes it is an accident and they forgot to follow up. We also want to let them know that we care for them and we want to support them and provide them those tools. We want to guide them and help them get there even faster. So follow up, follow up, follow up. I cannot say that enough. Follow up and then handle any objections that come your way. Objections are normal, regardless of how much they like, know, and trust you. Objections are very, very normal, we’re human, so handle those as well.
Those are your quick tips to improve the conversion at the end of your sales conversation. We have touched on reframing stories around selling, ways to improve your sales pitch, tips to improve your conversion, and so much more. We will see you in the next episode of The Fierce Business Babe Podcast.
Topics we cover include:
Reframing your stories around selling
Ways to sell in your business
Adding value consistently
And so much more!