Many of us shy away from selling in our businesses. We’ll happily spend hours creating content, posting on social media, writing newsletters and doing all the other things we’re told we should be doing to attract clients. But actually asking someone if they’d like to work with us? That’s a different matter!
The trouble is that selling is a vital part of running a viable business, and it’s every bit as important as marketing.
So how can you make selling feel easier and more comfortable, rather than something that makes you cringe?
I think a good starting point is to understand that marketing and selling are two different things.
Marketing isn’t the same as selling
I was reminded of this recently when I had a one-to-one coaching session with a client.
Afterwards, she sent me a message saying:
‘If you need a testimonial about 1-2-1s I can write one about how your advice/coaching just netted me 600€ (and almost certainly another 60, it’s just not paid for yet but I’m sure she will book). The lightbulb is that I’ve been doing marketing but not sales.’
I thought that was a rather important realisation, and one that probably applies to a lot of freelance language professionals.
Peter Drucker famously said that ‘the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous’.
Now, I wouldn’t go quite that far, because I think there’s still a place for selling, particularly when we’re offering personalised services.
But I absolutely agree with the underlying idea.
Effective marketing helps potential clients understand how your services could meet their needs, why they might want to work with you and what makes your approach valuable.
If you’ve done this well, people should already have a pretty good idea of whether what you offer is right for them. You don’t need to launch into some elaborate sales pitch to convince them that they have a problem you can solve.
But that doesn’t mean they’ll automatically take the next step and buy.
Why people don’t buy (even when they’re interested)
You might be surprised how often people are genuinely interested in working with you, but don’t actually do anything about it.
Sometimes they’re simply busy. They’ve seen your offer, thought it sounded interesting and fully intended to get back to you, but then something else demanded their attention.
Sometimes they need a bit more reassurance that your particular approach will work for them. They may understand the general benefits of what you offer, but they’re still wondering whether it’s going to be worth the investment in their own circumstances.
And sometimes they feel a bit uncomfortable spending the money, especially if it’s something they’re doing for themselves or their own professional development.
None of these things necessarily means they’re not interested.
But if you assume that your marketing has done its job and it’s now entirely up to them to make the next move, you may be missing opportunities to help people make a decision.
This is where selling comes in.
So what does selling actually involve?
For me, effective selling is about helping someone decide whether working with you is the right thing for them.
You may need to answer questions, explore their particular situation, explain how your offer would work for them or discuss concerns they have about the time or money involved.
And sometimes you’ll discover that your offer isn’t the right fit. That’s useful information for both of you, and a perfectly good outcome to a sales conversation.
Some of this can happen through a well-written sales page or your social media content. But when you’re selling a personalised service, particularly at a higher price, there’s often real value in having an actual conversation.
The problem is that many freelancers are quite happy to do all the marketing activities, but avoid the conversations that could turn potential clients into actual clients.
They hope people will simply click the buy button or get in touch when they’re ready.
And sometimes they do. But you’re making life unnecessarily difficult for yourself if you rely entirely on that happening.
Are you suggesting cold sales calls?
Absolutely not!
I’m certainly not suggesting that you should start contacting random people on LinkedIn and trying to persuade them to buy your services.
And I wouldn’t assume that someone liking one of your posts or clicking a link in an email means they’re inviting you to pitch to them.
I’m talking about situations where someone has shown a genuine interest in what you offer.
Perhaps they’ve asked for more information about a programme, enquired about your availability, requested a proposal or had an initial conversation with you. Maybe they’ve told you they’re seriously considering working with you, but need a bit of time to think about it.
Then, for whatever reason, they’ve gone a bit quiet.
This is where I think a lot of freelancers miss opportunities.
They worry that getting back in touch will make them seem pushy, so they leave it entirely up to the potential client.
But following up with someone who’s already expressed an interest is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. You can simply ask whether they’ve had a chance to think things over, whether there’s anything else they’d like to know, or whether they’ve decided it’s not the right time.
You’re giving them an opportunity to continue a conversation they’ve already started.
And if they say they’re no longer interested, or don’t respond after a reasonable follow-up, you can leave it there.
Don’t believe all the stories you’re making up about why they’re not buying
I think this is another big part of the problem.
Someone expresses an interest in working with you, you have what seems like a really positive conversation, and then you don’t hear anything.
Before long, you’re telling yourself that they must have decided you’re too expensive, or that they’ve found someone better, or that they’ve realised your offer isn’t actually any good.
Perhaps you’re even worried that getting back in touch will make you look desperate.
But these are all stories you’re making up. You don’t actually know what the other person is thinking.
They may be busy. They may be uncertain about whether they can commit the time. They may have questions they feel a bit embarrassed to ask. Or they may genuinely have decided against it.
And, of course, they may be making up stories about you too! Perhaps they think you’ve forgotten about them, or that you’re far too busy to take them on anyway.
A simple follow-up can clear up a surprising amount of this uncertainty.
The important thing is to be genuinely interested in helping them make the right decision, rather than becoming attached to getting a yes.
I know that’s easier said than done, particularly when you really need the money. But the more you practise having these conversations, the easier it becomes to approach them without feeling that everything depends on the outcome.
Are you hiding behind your marketing?
I think this is worth asking yourself, particularly if you’re already putting a lot of time and effort into getting visible.
Perhaps you’ve got a decent following on LinkedIn, you’re sending regular emails and people seem interested in what you have to say. But you’re still not getting as many paying clients as you’d like.
It may be that your marketing needs some attention. Perhaps you’re reaching the wrong people, or you’re not communicating the value of what you offer clearly enough.
But it’s also worth considering whether you’re making it easy for people to take the next step, and whether you’re comfortable helping them do that.
Are you actually telling people what they can buy from you? Are you inviting them to have a conversation when that’s appropriate? And when someone has expressed an interest, are you willing to follow up?
You can have the most wonderful marketing strategy in the world, but if you never give people a clear opportunity to work with you, you’re making the whole process much harder than it needs to be.
And if you’d like to explore my approach further, I’ve brought together more videos and articles in my Selling with Integrity Resource Centre.
Want to feel more comfortable with sales conversations?
You might be doing a great job with your marketing, but still feel awkward when it comes to talking to potential clients about actually working together.
If you’re not totally confident about how to handle those conversations, I’ve created the Non Sleazy Sales Kit, a short course and practical toolkit that takes you through a natural, effective sales call process.
I’ll show you how to ask useful questions, help potential clients understand the value of what you offer, handle concerns about price or time, and follow up without feeling pushy.
It’s all about becoming more comfortable having genuine conversations with potential clients, rather than hiding behind your marketing.
Explore the Non Sleazy Sales Kit
