Yes, you really can sell more in your content
I see this all the time: biz owners (especially women) NOT talking about what they sell and how to buy from them.
What is this about?
A fear of other people’s opinions. A fear being spammy, sleazy, or pushy. A fear of being judged for talking about how people can give them money.
I see people putting out great content and being really consistent about posting, whether it's helpful tips in their Instagram feed, blog posts, or podcast episodes.
That feels good because you know you're providing value and being of service.
But the problem is, if you aren't balancing that out with actually telling people what you sell, then they don't know.
In the absence of information, we make up stories.
Think about how when you text someone and you see the little three dots appear. You know they are “writing” but no message appears. Our brains think, “Oh, my gosh, they're mad at me! I offended them! They are avoiding me!”
Maybe. Or maybe they got distracted. Meanwhile, you're sitting there and stewing and freaking out, while they haven’t realized that they didn't reply.
This is what is happening when you fail to talk about how people can actually work with you or buy what you’re selling. You’re the person leaving three dots out there in the “text thread” between you and your clients!
There are people probably following you right now who just love you. They think that you are the coolest and they love what you're all about. They get a ton of value from your free content, are happy to learn from you, and love listening to you. They are just digging what you are putting out into the world.
And then you don't ever talk about your offers.
The story they make up in the absence of that information? It’s probably not for them.
CaSe in pOINt:
There’s this super rad and incredibly talented woman I know who I really wanted to work with, but I had told myself that she's probably totally booked and out of my price range.
I figured she would only work with people who are at a way higher level than me, so I just put working with her on my vision board for my business, thinking it was a pipe dream and hoping one day I could do it.
Well, not that long ago, she posted on Facebook that she was thinking about doing a half-day intensive for people who wanted a plan that they could implement on their own instead of having her do it for them.
She asked those of us interested to complete a short survey so she could craft this offering. Then she reached out to each of us who had completed the survey with the booking link.
It was all very clear: the specifications of the offer, how we could book, the price, and that it was a short-term offer.
My reaction was, “Oh, my gosh, this is exactly what I need. I can afford this, I have the time and I'm booking it!” And it was a really great session!
But I wouldn't have known if she hadn't posted about it. And I was so glad she told me.
It’s all about the 80/20 Principle
In terms of selling, I like to think of talking about what you sell - the ways that people can actually pay you for your work - in an 80/20 sort of way.
So that means all that amazing content that you're already putting out, that really cool, totally free value that you're giving? Do that 80% of the time.
If you’re on social media five days a week, then four of those days you get to be educational, entertaining, or inspiring. That’s how people become aware of you and start engaging with you.
Then the fifth day, you actually drive people to work with you.
It doesn't have to be an overt, “Hey, I have this thing that you can pay me for. And here's how you get it.”
Instead, you can describe:
the overall value of the offer
the transformation your offer provides
who it’s for and why they need it
the problem your offer solves or the delight it offers
Each of those is a version of selling!
yEs, YoU cAn SElL dELIgHT, NoT JUsT pROBlEM SOlVInG
If you’re a creative who sells cute coffee mugs, you can still sell your stuff!
If you have something that's really visual, you can show it to your audience.
For your 20% selling portion, you could announce when you have something new in your shop, or if you have redone something, or that you’re running a special promotion.
People can't buy what they don't know exists.
At the end of the day, if the people who are following you (who, I have to remind you, are loving that 80% of free stuff) don't know what the 20% is - the stuff that they can actually pay you for - then they are going to fill in the gaps themselves.
They are going to think, “I bet she's out of my price range,” or, “I bet she's not taking on new clients.” They are going to make incorrect assumptions.
Not selling hurts you and it hurts them.
It is perfectly okay to tell people what is going on in your business, what promotions you have, what new offers, and if any offers are about to go away or the price is about to change.
What you sell is worth repeating.
This is especially true if you didn’t do a big launch for the thing and didn’t have a whole marketing plan crafted around the offer.
If it's an ongoing service or offering that you always have, then it's easy for people to miss it.
People are generally too nervous to reach out and ask whether you are taking on new clients or what your rates are.
Are they on your website? Sure!
But if they are interacting with you on Instagram, they might not even visit.
And let's say they did go to your website once upon a time.
Maybe they thought what you do is really cool but they weren’t ready to buy from you because of where they were at in their business or life.
But now they are ready but forgot you have what they need. Or maybe you have a totally different offering that you announced three months ago but they didn't see it. Or they saw it and forgot!
Like I said: what you sell is worth repeating!
Be Like Old Navy
Think of a retailer like Old Navy. If you’re subscribed to their emails, then you probably hear from them once a week.
They’re always letting you know what they have going on, whether it’s a sale or new styles. They’ll even have some added free value like ways that you can style things or hot trend alerts.
Now I highly doubt that there's anyone who is checking every single email they get from Old Navy.
But if you've just been thinking about how the seasons are changing, when you see an email from Old Navy announcing that denim and sweaters are on sale, you’re going to open it out of curiosity sprung from your current need.
You’re not going to think, “Screw you Old Navy! I don't want to spend my money with you! Like I want to buy your stupid sweaters and your jeans? How dare you!”
If you're not in the market for jeans and sweaters, and that email comes in your inbox, you're just going to scroll past it.
But if you are in the market for jeans and sweaters, you're going to click on it and see what they have. Maybe you STILL won’t buy. Maybe you don’t like the style this year or maybe you don’t have the budget. But you aren’t mad that Old Navy told you what they were selling.
What if Old Navy was worried people might be bothered by their emails and just put it on their website?
What if they hoped people would just come into their stores and see their marketing posters?
What if they thought that since some of the people that would see the email won't need jeans or sweaters, they shouldn’t send it because those people would be pissed off about the emails?
That’s not how it works. They know that you. You know that.
The same goes for you and your business!
You don't have to hit people over the head when you’re selling. But you do have to inform them of what you sell, and let them know how they can buy from you.
Then, they can choose if they want to take advantage of your offering. And if they don’t, they’ll just scroll past, but they won’t be mad at you for bringing it up!
