How to get people to book sales calls

It's hello and good afternoon everyone. I'm Katie McManus, your practical business coach. Coming to you live a few different places. We're over on Substack, over here on my phone. Hello, Substack. And I am also on my computer on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Welcome. This is going to be my regular Friday live going forward. I'm going to be doing this for free for the next couple of months and then it will be something that is only available to my paying subscribers over on Substack. So I hope you enjoy. If you want to go and follow me on Substack, then you absolutely can. I should have shared the link in the description, but live and learn. This is the first one. So anyway, today. Oh, I'm sorry, just a little bit of design with you. I love this to be interactive. So if while I'm talking you have an idea or a question, please do not hesitate to put it in the chat. Okay? I love to answer questions as I do this. It won't throw me off. It might create a little ADHD moment where we go off on a journey and then have to find our way back. That's all good because we're pretty much all ADHD here, right? So anyway, hi. Today we're talking about how to have a business. You need clients and to get clients you need to do sales calls. And to do sales calls, you need people to book sales calls. You can't just like get on the phone and just talk to yourself. That doesn't work. And I know this is super uncomfortable. I know that there's a whole bunch of reasons why you're going to drag your feet on this and not want to do it. And I just want to say you're not alone. Every single one of my clients, even the ones who come from a sales and marketing background that hates doing this, okay, this is uncomfortable. And also it is the only way to get high paying clients, especially if your product is your expertise. Okay? So really, I need you to really, really dig deep into what is your bigger dream with this. What is the reason you want to start this business? Is it that you want to make a lot more money so that you can, I don't know, like fund your children's educations? Is it that you want to have the freedom and flexibility to start a non profit or go and travel the world? Do you have a higher calling? Like, what is the reason you're doing this business? Because if you don't have a good enough reason, you're not going to be able to Push through all the uncomfortable bits that you're going to have to do to be able to get clients. All right, that's the, that's the truth of it. So I'm going to be telling you exactly how in this, in this live, how you can get. Hi, Margaret, Welcome. Good to have you here. How you can get just people out in the world to book a call with you and to have that sales conversation and eventually become your clients. But I want to dig in first to the fears that are probably coming up for you before we do this. Because if I just tell you the answer and tell you to just go and do it and you haven't recognized the fears you have about this, then you're never going to go and do it, right? So let's talk about all the fears you have and let's just set the scene. Okay, so let's say you're at a happy hour and you went with girlfriends and, or guy friends. And you're there and you're chatting up a bunch of people that are, you know, friends of your friends. You've never met them before. And they ask you what you do and you say, well, you know, I actually am a consultant and I help X, Y and Z kind of person with this problem that they typically have and I help them get to this outcome, right? So for me, like I would say I'm a practical business coach and folks who are sick and tired of their corporate 9 to 5 work with me so that they can replace their 6 figure salary and leave their jobs ultimately. And I do that so they can actually like do work they love and that helps people. And the next moment they're like, oh my God, that's me. Or that's my company. I think we need to work with you. Or you know, they seem super, super interested, like, oh, that's so cool. We have that problem, you know, what do you do in that moment, right? The instinct is either to be like, ah, you freeze up and you kind of panic and you just, you don't go any further or you try to jump into, like trying to solve the problem with them there because you just told them that you're an expert, right? So now you have to prove that you're the expert, right? And the fears that come up in this moment is a, like, you don't be pushy, right? Here you are, you just said, I'm an expert. I do this thing. This is my service, this is my product, it's my expertise. I help people go from A to Z. And your first Instinct is like, well, I don't want to push someone to buy something from me right now. Like, this is a social engagement. This would be very, very uncomfortable. Right? And so there are a few ways when you're afraid of being pushy or manipulative. And. And I just want to name for a second there that we associate sales and selling with pushy and manipulative tactics because most of us have had a bad experience with a pushy or manipulative salesperson. Okay? And those are the. Those are the experiences that stick out for us, okay? We completely jump over the experiences that we've had with salespeople who are consultative, who care about us, who are honest to make a recommendation to either work with them or work with someone else. A good sales call doesn't feel like a sales call. It feels like you are talking to a trusted resource who is either recommending to work with them or recommending to do something else. Right? And just lays out next steps for you. That is the mark of a really solid sales process. Okay? And of course, like, because it doesn't feel like sales, you don't think that it sales when you're in it, right? So the fear you have. And. And also, I will name that if you're afraid of being pushy or manipulative, you're not pushy or manipulative. It's kind of like psychopaths, right? A psychopath is not concerned about being called a psychopath because they don't care, because they're a psychopath. All right? You are not a psychopath. You are also not a pushy or manipulative individual if you're worried about being so. Okay, because pushy and manipulative individuals do not give a okay. They will just be pushy and manipulative. So your fear is that if you, like, try to get them on the hook for a sales call, they're going to think you're being pushy or manipulative. And here's the truth of it. You're not. You don't have no control around their perception. Right? And also, like, they just named their interest in what you do. They just said, oh, my God, we need that, or, yeah, we actually have that problem. And it's weird if you, at that point where you just said, this is what I do with my clients, and I have a business around this and I have availability for clients. Maybe you just threw that out there. And they say, yeah, like, we have that problem too. It's weird if you're like, oh, okay. And then you move on the conversation. Like, what do you mean? Like, they were. They were offering something in this conversation. Like, it's almost like you hit the ball over the net. I'm going to use a sports metaphor. I'm not a sports person. You hit the ball over the net, and this is tennis, just so you know. And they lobbed it back, and you just kind of, like, watched it go past and then continue to stand there. You want to lob the ball back. You want to carry the conversation forward, okay? It's the only natural thing to do. Now, your fear of being pushy will push you into a few different ways. You could watch it go by, or you could go into trying to solve their problem, right? Then to show them that you're an expert. And we don't want to do that because I want to think about this, right? So, like, say you're at this. At this networking, you know, happy hour, and you meet a doctor and you say, you know what? Like, my knee's really been bothering me. You know, you just start talking about your knee because here's a doctor. Like, they know about the body, right? It would be very weird if that doctor was like, well, roll up your. Your pant leg and, like, gets down on the floor and is, like, checking out your knee. That would be weird and uncomfortable. And like, okay, like, you probably wouldn't take that doctor seriously, right? A good doctor. If they. If they worked on knees and. And what you're describing, they would probably just give you their card, right? They'd probably just say, you know, actually, I specialize in knees. This is a bad metaphor also. But, you know, I don't think there's, like, a knee specialist. I'm sure. I'm sure there are, but it's not a. A medical specialty. But anyway, they would give you their card and they'd say, you know what? Call my office and set up a time with my receptionist, right? Because they take their business seriously because they know that there's a proper way to do things, right? And they need the tools and they need to be in the right mindset, right? Maybe they've been drinking. They don't want to do medical stuff while they've been drinking. That's not good, right? You are the same. You are not going to get on the floor. You are not going to start trying to help them solve the problem, right? You're also not going to watch that ball go by. So that's fear number one. That's going to hold you back from continuing the conversation that gets them on A sales call with you. Fear number two is there's going to be a voice in your head of like, well, what if they say no? What if they say no? What if they say no right now to, like, wanting to book a call with you? Oh, my God, that'd be so embarrassing. Then I have to be at this party with them. It's. It's. It's like we equate it to asking someone out on a date, right? It feels almost as. As vulnerable, right? If you ask someone out on a date and they say, no, I don't want to go out with you, and then you just have to continue hanging out with them for a few hours. Like, that's uncomfortable, right? You'd probably want to leave. The difference here is it's not you asking them out on a date. Oh, Eric. Okay, so Eric just asked a question over on Substack. Do you have advice for people who have a voice in their head that is too loud and we miss all the pain points that they are dropping all over the place? Okay, Eric, I mean, I come back to that because that's such a great question, but I want to get over the two other fears really quick. They're not long, so stick with me, okay? Because it's such a great question, and it's actually a coaching skill that I try to teach all my clients. So stick with me. So you have this fear that they're going to say no, right? And it is crippling because you don't want to get rejected right in front of a bunch of other people. Right? But what you have to remember is, is that you're not asking about on a date. You can offer this thing. You can just say, you know, like, you know, here's what you can do next. And if they say, oh, we're not the stage yet, fine, you move on. You. You get to decide if this is an awkward situation or not. And if you act like it's the most normal situation ever, no one's going to get weird about it, right? You are also probably afraid that they might say yes, especially if you're early on in your business, right? Because if you haven't worked with a client before, and here you have someone who's interested, who might be your ideal client, and you want to get them, like, oh, my God. But, like, maybe you don't have your contract set up. Maybe you don't have your LLC set up. Maybe you don't have bank accounts. Maybe you haven't figured out what your offer is yet. Like, your brain will start going like a gazillion miles a minute down the railroad to all the things you haven't done yet. And you're talking to this person and like you're immediately be like, I'm so behind. I can't do this. Oh God. And you're just going to check out of it right now. These three fears will keep you from getting clients if you let them. But here's what you want to do in this moment when someone has listed off all of the pain points. And Eric, like I said, I'm going to be getting to your question. They've listed off all the things that's going on for them, or they've heard you say what you, what you do. And they're like, oh, that's really cool. We have that problem. All you're gonna say is, oh my God. Like, you know, do you want to set up a time to talk? Because that's exactly what I do. That's it? Yeah, just say, that is exactly what I do. Do you want to set up a time to talk? Don't try to solve their problem right there. Don't try to over explain your process. The things that you do. Don't touch any of it. Just say, you know what? Yeah, that's, that's exactly what I work on with my clients. Do you want to book a time to talk next week? And then you pull out your phone and you open your calendar and you say, you know, I actually have this time. And this time you give them two options which would work best for you. And then you get their email and their phone number, right? You send them a calendar invite, you get on the call, you do your sales process. If you don't know how to do a sales call, that's one of the things I train in my programs in, in for my one on one clients. So if you want more information on that, then, you know, we can connect after this live, or you can go ahead and find the link and book a generate income strategy call. Whatever works for you, that's it. And then once you've booked that, the, the conversation may naturally go on to them talking about more, more shit that's going on with them that makes them an ideal client. And all of this you're gonna say, yeah, oh my God, I'm so excited to talk to you about this next week. Right? And then you move on. You go on to talk about dogs, or you go and grab another drink or, you know, you might comment on their shoes. Like, you just continue to have a human conversation. With them, right? Because you have. I want you to think of it this way. Like a loop got opened, right? You introduce what you do into the conversation or they introduce the problem. You offered a call that they could book and they either booked it and closed the loop or they say, you know what, actually, I'm not ready to do anything about this right now. Or my company just isn't ready to move forward on any solutions right now. Cool. But you close the loop. The loop is closed. There's no weirdness. You don't have to, like, think about it for a few days and then get in touch with your friend. Be like, what's so and so's phone number? Because they said this and I should reach out to them and try to sell them. And then it feels so awkward. Because that is awkward. You just close the loop immediately. And Eric, I love this question. I'm just going to repeat it for anyone who's joining now. Do you have advice for people that have a voice in their head that is too loud and we miss all the pain points that they are dropping all over the place? So there's this concept of like, levels of listening. In coaching, most of us, most of the time we are in level one. Okay? Level one listening is like, I'm hearing what you're saying, but I'm listening to about 20% of it. Because while I'm hearing the voices or the sounds coming out of your face hole, I am really in my own head thinking of what I'm gonna say next, right? Because I feel a pressure to entertain you back, right? I feel a pressure to have something the correct thing to share with you back, right? And it might be that someone's telling me about their wild trip they had to Cambodia and like the crazy dinner they went to that, you know, a chicken ran through the restaurant and this happened. This happened. You know, the very natural human response to that is to think of like, what's the wildest dinner I've ever had? Has anything crazy like that happened for me? And then to try to relate it back, right? Because we have this, this natural human instinct to connect with people, right? And one of the ways that we know to connect with people is shared experiences, right? And so you share an experience with me, I want to share an experience with you, right? And this is normal in everyday conversation, right? My. My best friend and I do this to this day on our daily phone calls, right? She shares something, I share something, right? We connect on stuff. If one of us really, really needs to talk about something, though, for if we're talking about problems, that's when we stop doing that. Right? So, Eric, to the point, you. When you're hearing someone talk about problems, that you're like, ding, ding, ding. This is what I help my clients with. I want you to think about going down a level to the second level of listening, which is where I'm actually not in my head thinking about what I'm going to say. I am 100% focused on you, and I'm thinking through. Okay, what are they actually saying? Yeah, I'm listening for not just the words that are coming out of their mouth, but I'm listening for the emotion that's coming through. Right. Maybe someone's talking about how they're. They have a promotion coming up. You know, like, they. They just got told by their boss that next month, after their review, they are going to be given an offer for a promotion, and it's going to be a pay raise, and they're going to be in charge of a team. And all this stuff like, that could all sound, like really incredible stuff, but if you're hearing, like, this note of panic and in their voice, you're hearing, like, this anxiety bubble up, can you say, you know, this is great news. I'm really excited for you, but, like, I'm noticing that you sound a little nervous about this. You sound, like, anxious. What's going on? Right? And when you do this, when you're able to tune into what's actually going on for some. Someone or. Or you're able to tune into, there's something off about what they're saying. People feel so seen and so understood. Right. It builds an immense amount of trust because, you know, say, like, they've never managed a team before and they're terrified of it. And they're like, they know this is a great opportunity and they want more money and they want, like, the higher title. But, like, they're terrified of being the people leader. Maybe there's someone difficult on that team that they're worried won't follow what they say. You've just named it. You. You've just said, oh, you know, what I'm hearing is this, like, what's going on. It gives them the doorway in. It gives them an opening to say, you know what? Actually, yeah, I'm kind of freaked out by it. You know, thank you for noticing. You know, they might not have even realized it consciously. It's like, yeah, I'm having a little anxiety about this thing. I realize, you know, it could also be like, hey, you seem a little Anxious. They could also be like, oh, God, no, it has nothing to do with this. I just gotten a fender bender on the way over here. It was awful. Blah, blah, blah. And then they move on, right? But we want to. When we're talking to people and we start noticing that they are our ideal client, they're talking about stuff that we talk about at work all the time. We do want to, like, kick into that deeper level of listening where we are listening for not just what's being said, but also for what's not being said. Right? And the fear that can come up when we're listening at this level is that we're not going to be a good conversationalist, that we're not going to be entertaining back, that they're going to think we're weird, right? Because we're not offering something after. But I want you to think back to, like, any conversation you've had with someone where you're sharing something and they're just listening. They're like, oh, my God, like, maybe. Maybe you're talking about, you know, an argument you had with an aunt or something, and you're like, oh, God, like, this happened. Blah, blah, blah. And you're like, oh, what do you think that's about? Or, you know, what upsets you about that? And it helps you kind of dig deeper, you know, they're not offering, oh, well, I had a fight with my aunt yet once, and, you know, this happened. This happened. Now we don't talk. You know, they're just showing such a deep curiosity about you and your situation. There's no one who's going to be like, this person's conversation skills suck. They are terrible. I don't ever want to talk to them again. They're like, oh, my God, this person's actually interested in what I have to say. Oh, okay, well, let me. Let me talk through it then. Like, yeah, like, it really upsets me because they said this one thing, and they always say this one thing, and this is kind of just like the last straw and blah, blah, blah, blah. And if you just continue to listen deeply and ask them questions, like, they are going to have so much trust with you, right? Because you obviously give a damn enough to actually listen to them. It's amazing how few people actually feel listened to by the people in their lives, right? Like, I'm sure you have had an instance in the last 24 hours where you were having a conversation with someone and you could tell they weren't fully listening to you. Okay? This happens all the time, right? Imagine if you can be that person that someone interacts with in a day that makes them feel like someone actually listened. That's incredible. Even if they're not your ideal client, even if they are someone who, you know, can't hire you right now, the fact that you made them feel that way, seen and understood and listened to. You know, Maya Angelou has that saying. You know, people will never remember what you say, but they will always remember how you make them feel. And, Eric, to the point, you know, that voice in your head that kind of, like, is overriding everything. It just takes practice. Honestly, it takes practice. Like, you know, when I'm talking to someone, I'm feeling social anxiety, right? Which happens from time to time. And I start, like, getting really, like, oh, what do I do with my elbows? Or, oh, they're sitting like this. So I should sit like this. Oh, God, I'm mirroring them too much. Oh, God. And, you know, I get uncomfortable, and then I'm like, oh, God. They just shared, like, a whole thing. Like, life is not that interesting. I don't know what to share back. You know, I just kind of noticed, like, oh, wow. Like, I'm getting really in my head and insecure right now, you know? So what is that about? You know? And I just kind of have this conversation with myself in that moment of, like, wow, I'm a little intimidated by this person. They're really interesting. There's something, like, really cool about them. Maybe they're more successful than I am, or they've done more things, whatever, you know? And I just turn that into an observation, like, oh, my God, you are so impressive, right? You have done so many things. I can't imagine having done that many things, right? You. You reflect it back at them, right? And in that moment, when you say that to them, you kind of out yourself of, like, that voice in your head gets to go away, right? Because it's not about you not measuring up to them. It's about them just being so cool. Like, and you get to celebrate that in the moment. That's one way I have, or a couple ways I have of dealing with that voice in your head that will hop in and, like, get really weird when you're talking to someone that you want to work with. I hope that helps. Let me see. You know, one of the things that happens when we're starting a business is we get really flipped out about this idea that we have to prove ourselves, right? Like, we may have 15 years of experience in this expertise. You know, maybe it's Marketing or coaching or fractional HR work, what have you. Maybe you went to law school and you've been a lawyer for 15 years, right? But you've never been a business owner and this is like your first time in that kind of role. We have this because we just started the business. We have this instinct to prove that we're really good at being a business owner, right? People don't care about you as a business owner. They genuinely don't. What they care about is that, you know the service you're providing, right? They care that you are good at that service. And you don't actually have to explain why you're an expert at it. People, people don't care. People just assume that you are who you say you are, all right? And when we do try to prove it, when we do say, oh, well, I got certified in this and I got this training and then I went and got this certification and then, you know, I've worked with this person, they start thinking, oh, God, this person's really insecure, right? So the instinct will always be to try to show. I'm going to show you, I'm an expert. I'm going to show you this. And don't, don't do it in the moment, right? If they're curious about it, they will ask. But people generally don't, do not need to know that. What else? You know, the big fear is honestly just asking, asking, saying, oh my God, I do that. Do you want to book a call? Right? It's this fear we have about asking for what we want. And here's the thing, like, we want it, we want it. We want it so badly. Because if they book a call, they might buy from us. And if they buy from us, then they'll be our clients and then we'll have a real business. And so there's something so significant about asking this person to book a call with us, inviting them to book a call with us. And it doesn't even have to be in a real life conversation. It could be writing a post for social media, you know, on substack, on LinkedIn, on TikTok, you know, I'm sorry, doing a video on TikTok where at the end you ask people to book a call like that feels like you're being so greedy, right? It's like, oh my God, like, who am I to ask anyone to do anything with me, right? Who am I to ask them to give their money to me, right? We have to, we have to remember that you're not selling something that no One needs. You're not. You're not making statues of ostriches that are way too big for anyone's home that are like $10 million, right? I mean, maybe there's a market for that, but you're not there trying to sell a random ass thing. You are selling a solution to a problem that's keeping people up at night, okay? You inviting people to book a call with you is not just you being greedy for the sake of you making money, okay? That's an amazing, really, really cool side effect of them potentially working with you, right? And we want that to happen, but we have to remember there's their side of this experience as well. You know, they have this problem. They are struggling with this problem. They're afraid of something. There's a pain that's going on in their life that is making them need the help of someone like you, right? And if you don't offer it in that moment, if you just, like, basically say, you know, this is how I help people, you know, in my practice or my business, you know, if they have this problem, I help them to get to this goal, and they say, oh, my God, I have that problem and I want that goal. If you don't invite them, like, you're just kind of being a selfish jerk, right? It's like you're gatekeeping your own surfaces. And what gets communicated in those moments when you're too timid or you're too chicken or you're being a weenie about doing this, but just asking them if they want to book a call is, they hear you don't want to work with them. There's something about them that's defective. That's not good enough. You know, we like Eric to the point, like, we all have this voice in our head that is looking for reasons why people might not like us, right? Because it's a survival thing, right? Part of our survival as a species has always been, am I accepted by the group, right? And so we're very tuned into any signals that someone doesn't like us, right? Even if we kind of make it up, even if it's just perceived, they don't like us. Maybe someone has resting B face and we're like, oh, God, they hate me. I'm gonna stay away from them. We don't want to give people the wrong impression that we don't like them, right? Or that we don't want to work with them. Because if we do want to work with them, we want to have that door always be open. One of the things I tell my clients when I'm training them on holistic selling, which is my style of selling. It's very consultative. It's very conversational. It doesn't feel pushy or manipulative. It's really simple. Is that right before you start talking about how you'll work together, we do this at the end of the call, right? You know, you check in with yourself, and you really check in. Like, is this someone that I would want to talk to all the time? Is this someone that I would want to help? Is this someone who I'm interested in working with? And if it's a yes, there's this instinct to play cool, right? To be like, oh, well, you know, I don't need this. Right? And, like, I'm. I'm just gonna pretend like it doesn't matter to me if they say yes or no, right? Kind of like when you're dating someone, you really, really like them and you don't want them to know because you're not sure if they like you, right? Um, but here's the thing about it. Like, we. If we act too cool about it, they're going to think we don't want to work with them, right? So I always tell my clients, be the fan girl or the fanboy or the fan person. Tell them, I'm. I'd be so excited to work with you. Oh, my God. Like, the thing that you're struggling with, like, that. That's the thing that I know I can solve, or the goal you want to work on. Oh, my God. Like, that's what I help my clients with. I would love to work with you. Right? You have to bring that energy. Because if you don't bring that energy, they're going to start assuming that they don't want that, you know, you're not interested. So, anyway, I hope this helps. We're going on a half hour, and I like to keep these short so that people can watch them later and don't feel like it's taking over their whole life. Eric, thank you so much for the great question. Margaret, thank you for being here and whoever else, because the technology doesn't show me who else is joining everyone else. Thank you so much. I hope this is useful. If you have any questions about this, my DMs are always open. If you're starting a business and like, this whole getting clients thing is, you're just realizing it's way harder than you thought it would be and you're not sure what you should be doing next, then I invite you to book a generate income strategy call with me on this call. What we'll talk about is what your bigger goal is for this business where you feel like you're getting stuck and building on your own. And then if it's a fit for both of us, then we can talk about different ways to work together. And if it's not a fit for us, then I have a really incredible list of resources that I share that will hopefully get you where you need to go. But anyway, thank you for being here. Happy Friday, everyone. I will be doing this live on Substack and in the rest of the places for the next few months before I bring it only to my paid subscribers on Substack. So, um, if you don't follow me on Substack, go over there, join me. You can get a sense of what my content's like. If you want to join me for Fridays, then please do mark your calendars. It'll always be like at 10 past 12 because I do a free group coaching call on Fridays also. It's called Brave Biz Labs. It's an hour before this. You can find that on my website, but you can sign up and get free. Free feedback, free coaching, free guidance and advice on your business every single week. But otherwise, I will see you all next Friday. And thank you so much for being here with me and I hope you have a nice long weekend. Okay, bye.