Sales has such a bad reputation.
Have you noticed that? It triggers both people being sold to and those doing the selling. I have had experiences on both sides of the table and felt either icky as the person extending the offer or manipulated as the one having the offer extended to.
But then I started applying a different sales concept that I love and feel comfortable about. And what’s the best part – it works!
Not only is my business proof of that, but I also have a guest whose results confirm the power of these methods – applying them, she multiplied her conversion rate by over 400% in the first two years.
She is Nicole Cramer – a high-vibe sales coach for female health and wellness entrepreneurs. Nicole is the CEO of her multi 6-figure company, Healthy Steps with Nicole, whose team members are dedicated to its sole mission to make the world a healthier place through selling and serving.
Nicole specializes in how to start conversations that lead to clients through her proven sales system – she used this process to generate a fully booked roster of private clients with a paid-in-full waitlist.
She is also one of only twelve Exactly What to Say Certified Guides, making her a specialist in sales language and conversion. Nicole focuses on high-touch, relationship-based selling, where making the customer is more important than making the sale.
Today she’s here, willing to share some of her secrets with us!
Tune in for this episode of the Prosperity Approach as Nicole is explaining:
- why everything is a sale
- why relationships are crucial for sales
- how to handle rejection
- 4 cornerstones of prosperous sales conversations
You don’t wanna miss this one!
Come Along With Me
When we talk about selling, it’s important to point out the difference between selling somebody something and helping them make a buying decision. Nicole believes that salespeople are (or should be) professional mind-maker-uppers.
And that’s the whole point of the concept that works so well for both sides:
You’re not there to sell somebody something because you don’t necessarily know what they need/want. You’re there to be a consultant more than anything and help them uncover why they might need the thing you’re selling.
So, your role is to walk potential customers into making the buying decision. And you need your feminine side for that. Because it means to be less pushy and more “pully.” (Check out this episode where we talked about masculine and feminine traits).
Then selling stops feeling like “You must buy this” and starts to be more like, “Come along with me if this feels right for you.” You’re having quality conversations and asking the right questions, which help the other person uncover what they need and why your offer might be the right answer for their needs.
This is why we need to know how to have a prosperous sales conversation. Even if we’re not in the selling business – we are in sales all the time. You might need to sell your kids on making their bed, or you might need to sell your partner on going to the new restaurant that you want to go to…
Everything is sales.
So let’s learn how to do that in an easy way and unpack Nicole’s four cornerstones of conversational excellence.
#1 Prepare Ahead for the Conversation
The worst time to think about what you are going to say is the moment you’re going to say it.
Many people have templates for their emails and social media posts they’ve put thought, time, and intention into. However, when it comes to the words that come out of our mouths, we’re just hoping we say the right thing at the right time.
Why it’s important to put a little bit of preparation and thought into the sales conversation ahead of time? Because such a conversation may be worth thousands of dollars for you.
For example, you should never lose to an objection you knew you were going to get, and these are the three most common ones (depending on what you sell) – time, money, and another person who needs to be part of the decision-making.
Since neither of those objections is something you face the first time, you should craft some questions or come up with another way to have a conversation around it. Don’t wait until the moment the objection comes up to decide what to say. Put time and intention ahead of time into these conversations.
#2 Curiosity
Lead with curiosity.
Curiosity is the only tool you have to show somebody you care. Remember, nobody wants to be told what to do. It creates sales friction when you come in with certainty, telling somebody what to do.
Here is Nicole’s example of a possible conversation.
- Wow, this really sounds like something you don’t want to be dealing with anymore. What would make you want to stay there? (Here, you’re eliminating the idea that a client wants to stay there at all.)
- I don’t! I don’t want to be there at all.
- So it sounds like you really want to do something about this.
- I do.
- OK…
There you have a micro commitment, an opportunity to talk about ways that can get you out of there. So, it’s about staying curious, asking good questions, and uncovering what they need and how to help them reach their needs.
#3 Empathy
Curiosity gives you the certainty to become relatable and build empathy.
Empathy is how you actually put yourself in somebody else’s shoes and understand their origin. Why is that important? Because people will only do things for their reasons, not yours.
So, if you’re not taking the time to build empathy and understand their reasons, then you can’t make a sale. People are not going to buy from you because you want them to. They’re going to buy from you because THEY want them to.
And you’ve got to uncover that through curiosity and building empathy. As Jon Acuff beautifully puts that: Empathy is caring about what the people you care about care about.
If you don’t care what your people care about, you won’t really understand why they would want to decide to say “Yes” to your offer. So help understand why they want to make this decision.
#4 Who Asks Questions
The person in control of the conversation is the person asking the questions.
This goes back to cornerstone #1 – make a list of questions. Nicole says that she teaches her clients to do a pre-call planner, meaning to write some things down ahead of the conversation with a client, such as
– What do you know about this person already?
– What do you know about their situation?
– What questions do you want to be prepared to ask to help you guide the conversation?
Because with the right questions, you can move the needle and serve both parties. Also, since this is a business conversation, you want to show up prepared and able to guide the conversation in a way that gets to a decision.
Important thing: Decision refers to both “yes” and “no.” That’s not always a “yes” because you don’t always want to close a deal with every person. Your job is to discover if that person is the right fit for you. It’s not an audition like, I hope they’ll pick me. It’s a conversation to see if you can work together to benefit both of you.
And if you did the homework and passed through all the three stages I mentioned earlier (if you’ve taken the time to stay curious, built empathy, and understood the other person’s point of view), then you’ll have the courage to ask some of the tough questions.
And in this case, it’s not pushy – it comes from a place of curiosity. It’s like, “Well, you just spent 20 minutes telling me how bad all this stuff is that you don’t want to deal with anymore. I’m confused… why you would want to stay where you are?”
Check Out This
Now, neither Nicole nor I can tell you what could be the potential client’s answer or how you could reply to it. But you’re not forcing anyone to do anything – you’re just asking (just being curious) about why they’re choosing to stay stuck.
Sometimes, they’ll say, “Well, because I’m just afraid to do anything else.” As long as they are in reality with why they’re making the decision and why they’re saying “No,” that’s still a win for you.
Because that may not be somebody you necessarily want to work with. If the person is that willing to just give up and stay where they are, you’re probably not going to be the best fit for them.
These four cornerstones are not the only valuable thing Nicole shared in this great interview. So make sure you check out the full episode. You’ll find many gems that you can use to improve your sales techniques.
Let’s make sales fun!
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Check out Healthy Steps with Nicole’s Podcast.
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