Why do we make sales so complicated? So many of us do, I know I used to, I’ve even undertaken some weird training where they made us film ourselves naked in the mirror while doing a 7 minute presentation, 7 times! Did it help with my sales or speaking ability? Um no, well not that I could see at the time.

It made me tired and frustrated, as when I finished, crying at 1am and then rose early to show the ‘sales coach’ who was coaching us for the day on sales and presenting, I was shaken and soooo nervous doing the presentation, it was so shit. However, in retrospect it gave me more guts. Guts to say you know what, if I can do that, I can do anything… Guts to say and do things which are shit, especially the first couple of times you try them.

Back to your thoughts on sales – (or click through to the video link below for some quick tips, or scroll to the bottom for my personal hints on overcoming your fears about it and finally getting a full business).

What’s Sales all about anyway?

In my mind, you either can or cannot help people with their issues. That’s what your products are for right, to help people get some kind of result?

So you know who it is you can help and it doesn’t matter if they say no after you’ve told them about it (of course presuming they want to hear about it), so why do we make a big deal about this? Well I have a few theories and I’d like to tell you about them to help you ‘get over it’.

You then get to tell them you can help them (of course after fully understanding what it is they want to achieve and where they are starting from)… I’ll deconstruct the sales process in another post, in fact I think I’ll do that regularly. It’s needed.. Anyway back to you association of the word and issues around sales.

If you work for yourself you get to learn to stand for yourself, be honest and don’t be afraid of the ‘no’s’. (I guess almost like standing up for yourself at school – I’m sitting with my daughter as I write this so I’m thinking of the school aged days). We need to boast about our abilities if we work for ourselves, it’s called marketing I believe and you can make it all about helping whoever your market is.

Here are some of my top sales tips;

  1. The word ‘SALES’ What does it mean to you? If you need to – re write the script in your head about what sales means to you, then do so. Immediately. Perhaps write something like this – Sales is about me allowing people to work with me so I can help them achieve XYZ much faster and less painfully than they would be able to do otherwise. Make sure it resonates with you, it may not initially – however after journalling about it and saying it out loud it will ‘bring stuff up for you’ and that will allow you to process it and ‘re-create it’ for yourself. Repetition and habit creation is the way to change a belief.
  2. Tell people what you do – even if not pushing for the sale, think of it as something gentler, like – Talk to 5 people today (that may mean you call 20 people to get 5 conversations) about ‘what it is that you do… and ask them if they know anyone you can help with my services’ << that sentence right there, implemented of course, will build you a full 1:1 coaching business in 30 days.
  3. Get pushed / stay accountable to targets. Even I often work better with a kick up the butt. Even if it’s me doing the kicking, through tracking my time on projects. Working for yourself is hard at times I’ve found from this perspective, there’s no one else to answer to or report to about what tasks you have completed, so slacking off can become ‘allowable’.

Then little bits of that comfort zone slip in… then there’s the old friend ‘procrastination’ read more about how to overcome that here in an article by >>James Altucher’s<< on overcoming procrastination… You know the feeling. Growth comes from being slightly uncomfortable, embracing it and moving through it. Although often before that we self sabotage especially just before launching or doing the big project, I’ve noticed.

No one is perfect with motivation. 100%. Stop bashing yourself up.

It’s a get to know yourself process.

 

My suggestions would be to stay accountable to a group of supportive people (ideally more successful than yourself) where you will lose face if you don’t ‘perform’ or sell/launch what you say you are going to do. I personally love that kind of accountability. Daily or weekly – you choose.

You could even set up a reward and punishment system for yourself if you don’t do the things you commit to do? I’ve also heard of people who swear by the punishment system. I personally like accountability and timing projects and focus on something even if its only for 10 minutes.

My personal Sales and Action Creators

I personally use and recommend setting tasks for yourself that are non negotiable. eg. I must exercise daily. Not just for asthetics, it’s my feel good drug. It helps me be creative too.

I must also make a video a day, I get this is not for everyone, that’s fine.

I used to talk to minimum 3 – 5 people I didn’t know, each day, when I was physically working in a gym or promoting a physical business (If I wasn’t at capacity, and even then I would still make an effort to be having conversations with people to let them know I could help them with things, even if I was simply walking past them and chatted to them ‘on the fly’. Everyone is a potential client, I even picked up a nutrition consult client the other day while I was buying Alcohol for my boyfriend – the shop assistant had fructose intolerance, so she couldn’t tell me what she preferred taste wise I was interested in her, and it simply went from there).

I stay accountable in Facebook groups or to a mentor and read motivational stuff or listen to it daily thats not negotiable.

Choose what you are going to do to get yourself out there and noticed. It will of course depend upon what the business is you are trying to create.

Is it a physical business where you will be showing up? In which case following either of the talking to people tips I just mentioned (on the phone or in person).

So what are you trying to build? Physical or Online? You need both in my opinion. Why? I mean you need to talk to people, rather than expecting them to click a button to buy, especially if you are in your first 12-24 months of business – it works faster and builds your confidence.

Eg. A Seminar – it builds credibility really fast, plus whats happens in the organising of the seminar is you create a handout, which can then also be an ebook. You can then record the seminar which can become a course you sell online. See how easy it all is, if you just do ‘something’.

However use your strengths if you’d prefer not to talk, fine. Write instead, so you have less chance of sabotaging the process.

Here’s some more ‘get your message out there’ ideas;

A blog post, talk to 3 people about your services, help 5 people, write for 15 minutes, record small blocks of audio… upload a video to Facebook or you tube… notice lots of my tasks I’m mentioning are online based and I’m getting more into getting your message out there, but Sales is just your message and thats all you need to think of it as…. Simple. Messaging. Then offer to help people if they want it. Unbelievably some people will 😉

Keep it easy, if you tell yourself something is hard, then it will be.

 

Want me to help you?

If you’d like to join my Personal Training Monthly coaching for a fraction of what it will cost when it’s fully launched then Message me here say ‘in’ and I’ll make sure you get in first.

It’s $37 for the first month of action takers instead of $97/month when the price goes up. No lock in contracts, leave any time… all that good stuff.

I’ll be sharing with you sales, marketing and technical tips plus a whole load of other amazing things to help you grow your PT or Health consultation business.

Hers’s the video I mentioned earlier >>


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