You’ve done all this work getting your customers to find your site.
You’ve invested in your business, you’ve taken the time to zero-in on exactly what your customers want, and you’ve created handfuls of delectable content to give them the answers they’re out there searching for.
Things are going well–fantastic, even…until finally, it’s time for the close.
Perhaps you’ve experienced one of these 2 deadly sales sins:
1.) Heart pounding and palms sweating, you shrivel up, trip over your words, and even you think to yourself: “wow…that was BAD”.
Or…
2.) You push it way too far, to the point where your prospect feels uncomfortable…. like they’re being sold to. That’s way worse.
And either way, at the end of the day… you’ve lost the sale. After all that.
While every deal is different, there are a few shockingly simple strategies you can implement immediately into your conversations and inbound marketing strategy to quickly become hyper-effective at selling (without it feeling like you’re selling at all!).
Here are the 2 most effective strategies that’ll prove valuable for introverts and type-A/high-D “go getters” alike:
1.) Soft Selling (a.k.a. Storytelling)
Ever wondered why you feel completely entranced by dreamy childhood fairy tales, your favorite movies, or even just a story of someone else’s recent trip to Europe? It’s because of how the mind works.
When we feel like our beliefs are being challenged, or like we’re being forced to think or act in a certain way, our brains kick into “fight or flight” mode. We become hyper-sensitive to anything that’s questioning our belief systems, and we immediately nip it in the bud.
But with soft selling, it’s a completely different scenario. Also called “storytelling” it’s an extremely powerful way to entrance your customer and lead them to make a natural decision, feel certain emotions, or have a change of heart all on their own, so it doesn’t feel like they’re being sold to at all.
You can easily inject storytelling tactics all throughout your marketing campaigns: whether it’s a “Case Study” email of how one of your happy customers stumbled upon their dream home (with your help!) or a super helpful blog post about a hypothetical “first time home buyer” named Todd, we accept certain truths and thought patterns as true within the frame of a story… but in reality, those messages seep right into our subconscious and alter our beliefs and decisions as well.
2.) Ask for the Sale
We all know what it’s like to have that pesky used car salesman prodding us endlessly to make a purchase, to the point where it feels like they’re literally stuffing that used old station wagon down our throats…
That’s where sales got a bad rep in the first place!
But you know what happened to me just last week? At the end of a new client consultation (I was the prospect being pitched to) I was only 70%-80% sure I wanted to move forward, but not quite 100%…
And at the end of our call, she asked me quite simply, in a friendly, pleasant, and unassuming way: “Would you like to work together?”
That was it. So simple.
And it worked! I hired her on the spot, and I respected her for not beating around the bush.
Sometimes, simply ASKING for the sale (in a polite and conversational manner) is the most effective way to close a prospect who’s teetering on the edge.
When it comes to inbound marketing: think of this as your call to action.
You’re not going to be selling at the end of every single blog post or email, but you DO want a clear call to action at the end of each piece of content to keep moving your prospect to the next step of the customer life cycle (while getting them closer to their own goals at the very same time). That’s Inbound Marketing 101.
And if you like the sound of that, you’ll love our FREE inbound checklist to make sure the rest of your marketing strategy is up to par. Click below to download it now.
