The Art of Sleaze-Free the Sales Conversation in 5 Simple Steps
Having sales conversations can be super intimidating, especially for those of us who don’t want to feel gross or sleazy.
But having sales conversations with zero-sleaze involved is absolutely possible!
It’s an art, and a skill — just like knitting or playing the piano. It’s something you can learn and get better at.
And I promise, it’s way easier to learn than those things!
In this post, I’m so excited to show you my super simple formula for sleaze-free sales conversations, so you can feel confident to get out there and make money without worrying about feeling gross.
Why do we think selling is gross?
Before we get into the art of sleaze-free selling, first I want to address why we think selling is sleazy and shady.
Why do we think selling sucks?
I'll tell you why.
It's because there are really great examples of shady selling all around us.
This is kind of an old school reference but just take the infomercial. You know, the ones on cable in the middle of the night, which I’d watch when my son was a baby.
They are masterful in a lot of ways in how they convince people to buy whatever it is that they are selling.
I mean, if you think back to any infomercial, there was real structure to those things! You can break them down and see how masterful and smart they really are and the psychology they use to convince you to purchase whatever it is they're selling for just three payments of $19.99, or whatever they were charging.
Here’s another example: buying a car. People hate buying cars because of the high pressure environment and the sales tactics used to make you feel stupid.
They don’t listen to what you care about like safety and reliability and instead lean into random details that sound fancy but might not mean anything. They don't care about you as a person.
Or have you ever been duped into coffee with somebody who just pitches you on their MLM? You think you’re just gonna go out for coffee with them and then it becomes this total pitch fest. They’ve got a 15 minute rant about how it’s life changing and how you need to get in on it too, yada yada yada. And it’s even worse when they have the flip chart or binder or whatever.
But if you’re here, I’m guessing that this is not how you want to be running your business.
It's definitely not how I want to be running my business or my sales conversations. I never want to convince anyone that they have to buy what I have or their life will be awful.
It's not my jam. I know it's not your jam either.
We don’t want any of those gross feelings when we are talking to potential clients and customers.
But because there’s all these examples around us, we also assume that the only way to make more money is to be more pushy and just annoying.
So we shy away from making the money that we could.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. Because there’s a way to sell with zero sleaze involved.
The S.A.L.E.S. Formula for Sleaze-Free Selling
I'm going to teach you my easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy sales process.
And there are zero scripts here. I do not believe in scripts.
We've all been sold to from a script. We've all had Karen from high school slide into our DMS with that “hey girl” script, and I hate it. So instead of a script, you're going to have a formula you can use that will work for you and your business.
Bonus: it’s easy to remember because it’s an acronym--- S.A.L.E.S.
S: Set the Tone
It’s important to set a welcoming tone when you’re having a sales conversation. You want to let the other person know you are so pumped they are there. You cannot wait to get to know them and help them and serve them.
I always harken back to Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman”, where the sales staff is unwelcoming because they don’t think she has money based on her clothes. And then it comes back to haunt them.
I'm sure you have your own experiences where you have gone into a store or a restaurant and you are just flat out ignored even though they're not busy. And you're like, “Hi, hello, I was going to spend money here, like, what the hell is happening?” It does not feel good.
So whether you sell, whether it’s in person or online, whatever the case, make sure that you are leading with a good welcoming presence. Set the same tone that the person is going to get when they work with you.
A: Ask Good Questions
Remember when I was talking about getting a coffee with that old friend who goes on a pitchfest about their MLM? It does not feel fun to have someone go on a spiel about their products and services at you. It's just on and on and on and on with information that is not relevant to you.
Instead of just going off on your prospective clients/customers, just give them a little bit of information about who you are, what you do, and how you help them.
And then ask questions! Here are a few generic ones to help you get started:
What are you struggling with?
What are some of your concerns?
What is working for you already?
L: Listen, Limit, Lead
Once you ask some prompting questions, you are going to listen to what that person has to say, whatever they want to tell you about their experiences, problems, hopes and dreams.
And based on what they say, you are going to limit some of the options you’ll suggest to them. You're going to refine it down to the best option for them right now, and lead them to what you think is best.
This works for both product- and service-based conversations in discovery calls (or whatever you’re using to connect with potential clients in conversation).
So let’s just use a skincare example since we can all relate to it.
You might ask:
What do you like about what you're already using?
What do you not like about what you're already using?
How many steps are you using?
Do you do it morning and night, just in the morning? Are you using eye cream? You're going to keep asking questions and figuring it out.
Because you don’t want to just throw a catalogue at someone with hundreds of options.
Figure out what is going to work for them. And then lead them to that option.
So for example, you could say, “I know you know you said that you're struggling with these three things. I know you said that you really don't like to use more than like four steps at a time and that you are currently doing your skincare routine morning and night.” You’re acknowledging that you really heard them, and then you follow that up with a recommendation. “I think you should get this bundle and add in this eye cream in the morning. How does that sound?”
You're narrowing in on and leading her to the best solution for her right now. Now, she can choose to disagree with your recommendations. That’s fine. All that means is you’re getting more data and you can adjust your recommendations accordingly.
E: Expect the Yes
If you have done everything that you should do in the sales conversation, there's a very good chance that they are going to say yes.
Not a 100% chance, because no one can guarantee that.
But you did not overwhelm them, you set a good tone, you asked really good questions, you limited them to the best solutions for them right now, so chances are they will say yes!
S: Suggest
After that, you’ll verbally confirm what the next step will be. Maybe you have to order that product for them. Maybe you have it in stock and can wrap it up right there.
So for example, for me in my business, that might look like, “Great! Can’t wait to work with you! We can either do one invoice and you can pay upfront or you can do three monthly payments. Which would you prefer?” Then she chooses and I make the next step clear: “Should I send the invoice to this email address that I have for you? Yes, perfect, okay. In the meantime, here's what I want you to do: make sure you download this guide I have for free and I want you to go through it.”
Maybe in a product context, it’s adding someone to a newsletter for future sales and discounts or an invite to an event in a few weeks.
Or there could be a trillion different things here.
But no matter what, you want to keep deepening that relationship, so that they want to come back again and again, and tell their friends.
Sales Are Simple
Remember, sales are actually very simple, and not at all as complicated or sleazy as we’ve been made to believe.
And just like learning any skill, the more sleaze-free selling you do, the easier it'll get.
And if you're really ready to uplevel your selling game, especially if you want to sell higher priced items like coaching packages or something, definitely check out my course Conversations that Convert.
You can get through it in under two hours. In it you actually map out your whole custom plan and be ready for a few different scenarios within your business so you can prep for your own kick ass sales conversations. You will be confident and ready to rock it and close that sale.
