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Why We're Not Afraid To Sell (And Why You Shouldn't Be Either)

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(Or, how to stop being so terribly British about your business.)

Lots of startups and entrepreneurs hate selling.

It feels kinda dirty, and a bit sleazy. And then there’s the moment you have to start talking about prices.

OH GOD, WHO DOESN’T HATE TALKING ABOUT PRICES?

Well, we don’t. Not any more. And here’s why.

1. We developed a “benefit-mindset”

Only the hyper-confident, and the insane, never doubt themselves.

Only the hyper-confident, and the insane, never doubt themselves. Click To Tweet

It’s totally normal. Everyone does it – and more often than they’d ever care to admit.

In business, though, this can be a killer.

So we decided to change our perspective (I think those clever CBT lot call this “reframing” – check it out).

Here’s what we did:

How we thought BEFORE reframing:How we thought AFTER reframing:
“We offer this service, and it’s gonna cost the client X amount. Oh shit, they probably don’t have that to spare. God, *I* don’t have that to spare. I’m not gonna spend that much, so I guess I can’t really expect the client to spend it either. Bugger. I really hope they don’t ask how much this costs. That’s gonna be awkward AS.”“We offer this service, and it’s worth every single penny of the X amount it costs. We’ve worked hard to make sure that it’s the absolute best it can be, and any client would get tons of benefit out of it. They’d be utterly mad not to invest, because it’s going to return the cost to them several times over. I’m doing them a massive favour by letting them know this exists, and that they can take advantage of it. In fact, I can’t wait to tell them about it.”

See the difference? YEAH, NOW I WANNA GO SELL!

2. We realised we truly believe in what we do

Part of the reframing process involves taking a long, hard, look at your product or service.

Are you proud of it – and I mean truly proud?

If not, what can you change to improve it?

Make a list of everything you need to change about your product or service.

Then DO IT.

Get yourself to the point where this isn’t even a question any more. Of COURSE you believe in your product or service. It’s BRILLIANT.

It’s brilliant because you put the work in – because you worked to make yourself proud.

I don’t know about you, but THAT’S the kind of committment that really makes me want to invest in something.

3. We started overcoming objections rather than focusing on them

The cold hard truth is that there are thousands of objections to purchase – the points that stop someone from buying from you.

Some of these are genuine; but the vast majority are nonsense.

The genuine objections are the ones that you can’t overcome. They’re down to reasons beyond your control. Nothing you do can change them, so forget about them and move on.

Sometimes objections are nonsense because that customer is never going to buy from you, no matter what you do. Let’s call these “rejection objections”. Forget about these, and move on.

Some objections are because that customer is never going to buy from you. Forget about them, and move on. Click To Tweet

Sometimes, however, they’re nonsense because the customer hasn’t fully understood the product or service.

Or to put this another way, you haven’t done a good enough job of explaining it.

This is good. This, you can do something about.

Take some time out, and list all the reasons you’ve heard for why a customer hasn’t bought from you.

Add in all the reasons you can think of, but might not have heard about yet.

Be exhaustive. Really, really, thorough.

Now, wait a day or two.

Then go back to your list, and for *every* *single* *objection*, write down how you could overcome this.

Eventually, you’ll end up with an incredibly valuable document. This is one of the most important parts of our website, of your sales page, or of any marketing collateral you produce – this is your FAQ section.

(Because “frequently asked questions” aren’t really questions that are asked frequently. It’s the place where you provide answers to potential customers’ doubts. Sneaky? Yes. Effective? Bloody hell, yes.)

4. We realised we were underestimating our worth

There’s a dangerous temptation to price yourself too low – especially when you’re just starting out, and the competition looks fierce.

And even more so if you’re stuck in the old ways of thinking, and you’re not 100% utterly proud of what you do.

Don’t let imposter syndrome be the reason you undercharge.

Don't let imposter syndrome be the reason you undercharge. Click To Tweet

I learnt this the hard way; in the very first business I ran, I offered a top-tier service, for bargain basement prices.

You’d think that we would have been inundated with orders from day one, but no. The lower end of the price market is surprisingly fickle. Commitment to purchase tends to be lower, and client buy-in tends to be sparse.

The lower end of the price market is surprisingly fickle. And it can kill your business. Click To Tweet

And here’s what happens:

  • You chase orders, working overtime to fulfil the ones you already have.
  • You’re working too many hours, but you’re still chasing more work – you need it to make ends meet.
  • You’re happy to sacrifice even more of your down-time and rapidly depleting energy, just to make another order.
  • You’re knackered. You’re pissed off. And you can’t understand why you’re only just making ends meet.

In my case, I worked myself into the ground, and it nearly killed me.

Like I said, I learnt this the hard way.

If you’re going to compete at the lowest end of the market, then make sure it’s by design – and not because you’re being held hostage by a flawed mindset.

This is why I can now say, with utter confidence: we’re not the cheapest digital marketers around – not by a long way. But dammit, we’re certainly the best. And, do you know what? You’d be mad to go elsewhere.

5. We went out and bloody well got used to doing it

Yeah, there’s only so far you can go with this before you just have to get out there and do it.

So – spend a few minutes, reframe, remember the benefits – focus on your pride in your product – and start a conversation with someone new.

Get out there, and start sharing the news about your brilliant product or service. Remember you’re doing people a favour by letting them know it exists.

The hardest bit? The first word – “hello”.

So get it out of the way.

Pick up the phone. Make the call. Or, to use a phrase I kinda hate, “hustle”.

Pick up the phone. Make the call. Or, to use a phrase I kinda hate, hustle. Click To Tweet

And don’t – whatever you do – hide behind emails and pretend that’s the same thing.

Get face-to-face, and let them see for themselves just how proud you are of what you do. Because ultimately – and this is a topic for another day – they’re buying into you more than anything; they’re buying your pride and committment and dedication.

That’s enough. Stop reading now. You’ve reached peak awesome.

So – make that call. Now.

Want a FREE Digital Marketing one-on-one workshop?

You don’t have to do this alone – we can do the hard work for you, and get your business up and running at full steam online.

Plus – and this is the good bit – we’re GIVING AWAY free 30 minute one-on-one workshops to get you started.

Limited spaces are available, so request your session NOW. Just click above to get started.

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David Trott

David has worked with countless UK charities, businesses, and schools - with a brilliant track record of helping them with their biggest challenges. David is the founder of the Impact group - including Impact Charity Advisors, Impact Business Advisors, and Impact Education Support.