Question: “I am constantly helping others and never receiving any payment for it. No one even thinks to ASK if I charge and I’m not sure how to tell them that I do.”

It is not the prospect’s job to ask if you charge. It’s your job to tell prospects and potential prospects about your services, describe the benefits clients receive from using your services, and to state the fees for those services. If you want to be paid, you must ask for the sale.

Sales and Selling

Selling involves a set of skills that can be learned. To the extent that you decide to learn and respect the sales process, you’re more likely to sell. It’s a mindset that is virtually impossible to do successfully until you change the way you think about it. Business owners who want to earn more will learn more about sales and selling.

People who are uncomfortable asking for the sale tend to be uninformed about selling. I know I was. I had no clue. The thought of selling used to scare me big time. I didn’t know how to ask a person to buy from me. And as a business consultant, I found selling my services personal, as if I was selling me and not just my expertise. It was painful. And not selling was expensive. I decided to learn.

Don’t limit your perception of sales to high pressure tactics or unethical manipulation, for that completely misses the point. How you sell is up to you. However, the bottom line is we all have to sell. No sales means no revenue. Your cash flow — the money you have available to spend on and invest in your business — is a function of your willingness to market and sell. The only way for an entrepreneur to sustain her business is by becoming skilled at selling.

Learn to Sell

The more I sell, the better I do, and the easier it becomes. Now I enjoy selling. I like meeting new people, listening to their stories, hearing their wants and needs, asking questions, probing, and discovering how we may be able to help each other. I enjoy assessing if my services will benefit the prospect, thinking of who I can introduce or refer them to, looking for the win-win while appreciating the fact that I’m building relationships that are as important as the sale. And I frequently get both - the sale and the relationship. How cool is that!

Sales is a mindset that once developed will put dollars in your pocket and confidence in your heart. You can network with thousands, but if you’re unable or unwilling to initiate and close the sale, your business will fail.

Read books on selling. Zig Ziglar has several popular titles. Subscribe to newsletters by online sales professionals Tom Hopkins and Jim Meisenheimer. Build your knowledge base. Discover different sales closing techniques. Find a role model or join a mastermind group to learn and be inspired.

Ask for the Sale

Develop a written script if it helps you think through your presentation. Then practice your sales talk or presentation until it’s committed to memory. And commit to continuous improvement.

Some examples: “I would love the opportunity to work with you. One of the services I offer is XXX. Some of the benefits my clients receive as a result of my services are …”

“The fee for what we’ve discussed is $XX per hour, or $XY for Phase 1 of the project. When did you want to start working on this? Shall I email you a project schedule (or whatever)?”

“Did you have a chance to visit my website? Would you like me to send you more information on my services? When would you like me to follow up with you? What’s a good time for you? Great, let’s schedule that time.”

Sales Is A Numbers Game

Some percent of the people exposed to your service will buy from you. Your plan should be to expose more people to your product or service, and close more of those exposed. Then you won’t get bummed when one prospect doesn’t sign on to your services.

Give more people the opportunity to get to know you and what you offer. And, of course, the opportunity to buy it.

Follow Up!

Follow up is crucial. People usually don’t buy the first time they hear about a product or service. We need multiple exposures before we buy. You will want to contact your prospects and express your desire to work with them. Look for opportunities to interact, to keep your brand at the top of the prospect’s awareness.

I loved the comments shared in part one of this series.Tell me what you think. How do you ease into your sales talk? Have you practiced your presentation in front of a mirror? Have you ever used a script to prep for sales phone calls? In what ways are you honing your sales skills?

Warmly,
Judith

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Your questions help me focus and address issues that are relevant to you. Here’s a good one.

Question: I am constantly helping others and never receiving any payment for it. No one even thinks to ASK if I charge and I’m not sure how to tell them that I do.

As business owners, pricing and selling your products and services determine the viability of your business, and the quality of your financial life. Making money starts with your ability to price your services, and ASK for the sale.

Free or For a Fee?

In an attempt to be helpful, do you give potential clients mixed signals about whether your services are free or for a fee? Is it a business or a hobby? Do you want to be paid for the services you provide? These are questions you’ll want to clarify for yourself.

Next consider if it is time to shift from a giving model to one of allowing yourself to receive. Do you often eschew money, downplaying its significance? Do you applaud *service* as more noble than business? What messages about money do you tell yourself and others? Are you ready to accept that you are worthy of earning more? If you want to attract more money in your life, you’ll need to change the ways in which you think and speak about money.

Don’t Prejudge Ability to Pay

A friend mentioned a woman who called about her services. She liked the prospect and felt she would enjoy working with her. Yet she doubted the prospect could afford her services.

I suggest you not prejudge another person’s ability to pay your fees. It’s amazing how people pay for what they want. Let the universe help them. You just state your fee, and then be quiet. No apologies, no equivocations. Hold a positive expectation. It’s absolutely counterproductive to hold a negative one. Expect what YOU want. Expect for others what is in their best interests, and as a service provider, what’s in your best interest too.

Keep in mind … Some will. Some won’t. So what. Next!

No Free Lunches

How many times have you tried to share freely your knowledge or expertise? How often have you been disappointed by how your offer was received? People tend to undervalue free. They also tend to commit less time and effort in implementing free advice. I wonder if they think, “If you know so much why are you working for free?”

It’s difficult to help others for free. Too often it doesn’t work. In order for many people to listen to you, they need to be financially engaged.

Limit the amount of pro bono work you do. Don’t consistently talk yourself into free labor with ego-defeating self-talk like “it’s good exposure,” or “I may meet someone important,” or other fairy tales. The probability is that it won’t be good exposure and you won’t meet anyone important. Smile and state your fee.

Discounting your fees can be a sound business decision. However, there are NO free lunches. A habit of free relationships usually costs you time and frustration, not to mention cash flow. Discount your fees only when necessary, or when you really want to work with a particular individual.

Honor yourself by charging for your services.

Have you had difficulty charging for your work? What did you do to resolve the matter? Do you have suggestions or recommendations for us? Share your thoughts in a comment below.

Warmly,
Judith

See Part 2, Ask For the Sale, on Monday.

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I’ve been quiet the past two weeks as the financial crisis descended upon the world. Thinking about all the money that would be handed over to people who had over-compensated themselves while mismanaging their corporations.

Silence was advisable because I was annoyed at the apparent necessity of $700 billion bailout. I wondered where they pulled that number from, and why it hadn’t been justified. I didn’t want to see why taxpayers had to pay for the lack of regulatory oversight in the housing, mortgage, insurance, commercial and investment banking industries. Having previously worked in several companies in these fields, I’ve often thought of the players as the hairy armpit crew … sans deodorant, ethics, and class.

More money is why AIG asked for and got an additional $38 Billion. They will be back for more. The government will give it to them because it has given too much money not to ante up more and let them go under. How’s that for security?

I’m over my anger. I’ve moved on to finding the situation interesting. I’m fascinated by the fact that nobody knows anything. The financial pundits have few clues of what will happen next. This is uncharted territory, which makes it anybody’s game. What do you think? Your guess is as valid as anyone. What do you see for the future?

How much farther will the US stock market fall? How many markets worldwide will we take down with us? It gives the concept of a global economy a whole new meaning. When will credit become available for consumer purchases? What happens to foreclosures, especially those resulting from decreased market value? Is it reasonable to expect a person to pay a mortgage obligation that is more than the value of the property?

How many jobs will be lost in the next 2-3 years as a result of this financial crisis? Where’s the upside … the opportunities that grow out of adversary?

What’s a woman to do?

Don’t panic. This is about preserving your capital. Cash looks better every day. Look for online banks that pay the highest interest rates. Suze Orman suggested moving money into T-Bills and T-Bonds as safe places to stash funds. We have few options but to wait and see.

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