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We’ve all been sold to in a way that feels too pushy, too sleazy, too manipulative. We’ve seen the bait and switch happen multiple times and it’s become easier to just feel weary and jaded by constant selling, whether it’s online, in person, on TV, or at your front door.

We’ve all been interested in products that seem to promise so much potential, but that leave us wondering, “But what’s the catch? This seems too good to be true!” Or worse… We’ve been sold products that SOUND amazing but that fall way short after buying them — hence, leaving us jaded about the process of selling and trusting people that sell to us.

As consumers, we’ve become naturally inclined to be a little skeptical and a lot protective of our wallets when someone’s shilling out their products to us. That’s normal — but it took some swift kicks in the bum to understand that inspiration alone isn’t going to change lives. I can inspire you all day long but if I never get you to put actual stake in the game, I’ll likely never get you actual results. And when I really learned that, everything changed.

If you listened to episode 250 where I shared an unscripted call with my business coach Dean Graziosi, you know I got called on my BS limiting mindset, big time.

My mindset block around selling was just that: a mindset block. I’ve always been proud to create value and build resources to give to this community I’ve fostered… I mean, that’s why I provide so much content and so many tools for free! Because I so sincerely believe in the strategies and resources I’m sharing, and I’ve seen them change lives and businesses and it’s my job to get you results for FREE so that you know you’ll be well taken care of if and when you buy something from me.

And I’m willing to bet if you’re listening to this podcast or reading these show notes, you have some serious value to offer your own community, as well. In this episode, we’re really getting deep into the secret to selling without feeling slimy and walking through actual steps you can take in your business to sell with authenticity and realness, rather than feeling like you’re bothering your people or, worse, losing members of your audience simply because you’re selling the things you believe in.

The Best Selling Advice Ever

The best advice for selling straight from my business coach, Dean Graziosi? To sell well, you have to love what you’re doing so much that you’d feel like you’d be doing a disservice to anyone who DOESN’T buy what you’re selling. Boom. Mic drop. That is why he’s paid the big bucks, ladies and gents.

Feels simple, right? But when is the last time you gave yourself a pep talk to believe that so that when you sold it was with such conviction people couldn’t tune your message out? I mean, isn’t that an awesome way to think about it?

As someone who has poured my heart, soul, sweat, and tears into preparing courses that give purchasers tangible steps and advice to build their email lists, grow their Instagram, gain traffic from Pinterest or start a podcast among all the other guidance I provide, I totally resonated with Dean’s advice immediately.

I believe in my products through and through, and when I started thinking about selling them in a way that reshapes the selling process and realizing it would be a disservice for people to NOT have them, I was able to stop worrying what people would think about ME, and start delivering these incredible resources to the people who need them the most.

You have to BELIEVE in your product or service so fully that there’s no doubt in your mind that people will get something amazing out of investing their hard-earned money in it, whether it’s 10 bucks or a thousand and beyond looking at money as dollars, look at it as just a means of exchange. You are giving them something and the money is being exchanged so they can get what you are offering.

Speak to your audience like friends

Think about the way you share your favorite new restaurant or jeans with your group of girlfriends. You get excited and talk about all the wonderful things in your life without any incentive for you, like this restaurant has the best spicy margarita you’ve ever had or those jeans make your butt look better than ever before. You don’t apologize. You don’t say meekly, “You should try it, if you want to…” No, you’re practically shouting from the rooftops that everyone must try it because it’s THAT life changing and wonderful.

So, if we wholeheartedly believe in our businesses in the same way, how come we aren’t talking about them in the same way?! We share our favorite things with our friends because we LOVE them. Speaking to your audience as though they’re a big group of your friends is the best way to connect and build a true relationship with them. They ALREADY trust you because they’re following you and consuming your content.

If we approach sales offers in this way, it completely changes the tone and content of the language. It helps me to literally picture myself sitting across from my best friend or my sister or my mom and write my offers in exactly the way that I’d talk to them.

I don’t want to sell to EVERYONE, I want to sell to the RIGHT people. I remind myself not what I am taking from them which is money but what I am giving to them: freedom, growth, ways to drive profits forever, community, confidence… that simple shift in the way I sell has been huge not just for driving up sales but for reaching the right people with the offer.

Pay attention to what your audience needs

Let’s back up for a minute. Before you even get to the selling part and building a really authentic offer, it’s important to pay attention to what your audience needs from you. What do your friends with similar businesses complain about lacking? What do your customers always seem to be asking for more of? Where are the trouble spots within your audience, and how can you build programs, products, or services to address and fix them?

Truth be told, all of my courses are solutions to my audiences biggest problems and before I created them, I became obsessed with first getting myself results and then making sure my methods translated to the masses. We started experimenting with Pinterest strategies or Instagram growth methods.

I saw that my community was wanting to know more about how to grow their audiences and how to impact more and more people. Then I started conducting research to see what the pain points of my peers were. I determined all of the problems and setbacks my audience was specifically facing, and then I dug into the data and research to come up with solutions to offer them.

I think this is one of the most important aspects of selling, and it starts WAY before you ever sell anything. Your business and whatever you’re offering up to customers has got to bring some kind of value to their lives.

You don’t need to be curing cancer to be providing value. Humor, entertainment, inspiration, education, and motivation are all forms of value and problem-solving for different types of people in your community. Whatever your business style is, make sure you are really clear on what that value is that you provide, and why people should feel inclined to pay for the thing you’re offering them. What questions do you answer? What feeling do your products emote?

Paint the promise

Once you’re in the place where you feel entirely confident your product is well-researched and strategically designed to deliver value, and you’re communicating with your people like the true friends that they are, it’s time to paint the promise like a freakin’ Bob Ross painting.

What’s the end result that people will experience when they buy from you? What’s the true and tangible takeaway that everyone will be equipped to experience by purchasing YOUR thing, whatever that might be? I want y’all to get really, really clear on this. Drive down into the specifics about how your product or service will change your audience’s businesses or lives or relationships or day-to-day experiences.

This end result is the most important thing to hone in on and communicate to them. Focus on this over all the bells and whistles and features because I can pretty much promise that no one cares about those unless they know and understand what’s in it for them.

The Big Picture

There they are, all of my secrets and insights into selling without feeling sleazy. The last thing I want to leave you with is the reminder that people connect with emotions and stories. We all like and admire those people who are willing to share their wins and losses, their cool moments and their embarrassing stories. By connecting through empathy and letting your audience know you GET it, you know what they’re going through because you’ve been there yourself, you’ll create lasting camaraderie and trust amongst your community. And that’s the best way to create connection and trust with your community so that they’ll know they can believe in you and your products next time you have something to offer up.

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