The Secret to Selling Without Feeling Salesy

As a business owner, you know that sales are the backbone of your business. You need sales in order to make money, and you need money in order to be successful. However, selling to clients might also be one of your least favorite things to do (believe me… I KNOW).

In this post, I’m going to cover the problem with hating selling and my 8 top tips to help you sell to clients without feeling salesy.

The Problem with Hating Selling

Sales are crucial for the growth of your business. Let’s look at a few problems that arise when you hate selling.
When you hate selling, you aren’t going to invest in your sales process. What does this mean? Well, let me tell you!

• You’ll spend less time selling to clients
• You’ll spend less time learning effective sales techniques
• You won’t be willing to spend money on sales software to improve user experience

When you don’t invest in your sales process, you don’t get sales; plain and simple.

I’m here to tell you that selling is sexy and you can learn to enjoy selling! I know what you’re thinking, ‘how would I manage that?’ I know that you hate sales, but the reality can be much different.

To help you get more comfortable with the sales process and make sales without feeling “salesy”, I’m sharing my top 8 tips for selling effectively. Stick around because you aren’t going to want to miss this.

8 top selling Secrets to avoid feeling sales from a business coach

1. Build a Relationship with Your Client

As a business owner, you’ve probably heard of something called cold pitching. If you haven’t heard of cold pitching, essentially it is when you pitch your product or service to a potential client without being prompted to do so.

Long story short: I, as a business coach, do not believe in cold pitching. DON’T DO IT!

I believe in playing the long game.

Cold pitching is ineffective. While you may get some fun quick wins, you won’t make sustainable changes that grow your business.

Instead of cold pitching, I recommend building a relationship with your potential client. Get to know them and understand what they need from your products or services. This shows that you actually care about your customers and want what is best for them rather than simply trying to push your own agenda.

2. Never Sell Without Permission

If you don’t want to be perceived as salesy or pushy, it is important that you never sell to a potential client without permission.

People don’t like to be sold to when they haven’t consented to being sold to. Selling in this way can feel forced and typically isn’t received well by your clients. Not only will you lose a potential client for good, but you will be wasting your own valuable time.

However, gaining permission doesn’t need to be difficult.

Start by asking if you can tell them more about a product or service. Sometimes, the client may ask you for more information, which is an invitation to sell to them.

By gaining their permission, your clients will feel more comfortable with the sales process and will be more likely to make a purchase because they committed time to learning about your business.

3. Avoid Using Sales Scripts

Sales scripts can be great for making you feel comfortable when calling potential clients, but they could also be the reason you’re not getting sales. Did you expect me to say something different? Sorry to disappoint (not really sorry – lol. You need to hear this).

First of all, sales scripts are rigid. They keep the conversation the same every time rather than allowing the conversation to flow naturally.

Second, they prevent you from listening to what your client has to say. Rather than focusing on the client, you focus on what you have to say next according to your script.

Personally, as a business coach, I’ve never been a fan of sales scripts. The only reason I share sales scripts is that they can be used as a guide when calling potential clients, but they should never be read from directly.

4. Don’t Rush It

People generally take time to decide to make a purchase. Spending money isn’t something that people like to do, so when they purchase something (especially something that costs a significant amount), they want to make sure it is valuable and beneficial to their lives.

Rushing someone to make a decision will not convince them to buy from your business. Pushing someone to make a decision quickly feels “salesy” and is a big turn-off for buyers.

Give your clients time to consider what you have to offer but be there to answer any questions they may have in the decision-making process.

5. Ask Questions about Your Client’s Comments

There are a bunch of common statements that potential clients make during the sales process, but they tend to not say what they truly mean.

By reading between the lines, you can reveal your clients’ true concerns. How do you do that? By asking questions.
When your client makes a statement, ask them to clarify what they mean.

For example, if a client says, “Let me check with my husband,” they mean that they need time to think or they don’t trust themselves to make that decision. Asking them what they think their husband might say opens the door for your client to ask questions and gain clarification about your products or services.

6. Have Confidence in Your Prices

Money is always a tricky topic to talk about, but having confidence in your prices when selling to clients is essential. You can gain this confidence by following a few simple steps:

• Do market research. Understanding the typical rates for your industry can help you set your rate confidently within market standards.
• Don’t compare yourself to others. Comparing yourself to others does more damage than good. Not all businesses offer the same thing or have the same experience.
• Don’t attach your worth to Your price. Your prices are not a reflection of your worth as a person. Remember to keep your business and your personal life separate.
• Don’t fear losing clients. The fear of losing clients can lead you to underprice your products and services. Don’t undersell your business.
• Build your confidence. Having confidence in your business will make you more confident in your prices.

When you can demonstrate confidence in your prices, clients will feel more confident that they are paying the right amount and won’t feel that you are pushing an over-priced product or service onto them.

7. Negotiate Like a Pro

At some point in the sales process, you will encounter clients who want to negotiate. To tell you the truth, nobody likes to negotiate. Negotiations can be anxiety-provoking and frustrating, but they are also a normal part of sales conversations.

Learning to master the negotiation process can help you feel prepared when a client starts negotiating your prices. Here are a few key points to negotiating successfully:

• Know your minimum price. Knowing what your lowest price is can help you avoid underpricing your services and losing money.
• Know your ideal price. Knowing your ideal price can help define where you should start your negotiations.
• Know your value. Be able to defend why your product or service is worth what you are asking for it.
• Know the specifics of your offer. You should be able to tell the client exactly what they will be getting when they make the purchase.
• Ask intelligent questions. Ask questions that show your clients that you are the expert. Also, ask questions that give you information you can leverage in your negotiations.
• Be okay with turning down an offer. If an offer is underpriced, make sure you are willing to turn down the offer. Not all offers are good offers, and accepting less than what your business is worth can be detrimental in the end.

8. Simplicity Sells

When people consider buying something, they expect a simple and straightforward process. People do not like complexity. In fact, the human brain always seeks the path of least resistance. If you can provide that “easy” path for your clients, they are more likely to purchase from you.

Simplicity starts with communication. Communicating your message, services, and prices clearly to your audience ensures that your clients easily understand your system and feel more comfortable making a purchase. Accessibility is extremely important in sales. How easy is your sales process?