I have been "selling" something since I was 8 years old. I noticed our huge patch of pumpkins and the cars zooming by on the highway in from of my country home. The only thing between me and my first fortune was a 700 yard driveway. This obstacle was quickly overcome by a big yellow wheel barrow and an hour of extreme effort. My proceeds that day; $17.25. Not bad for my first day in business.
From there I moved on to sell Christmas Cards door to door (ordered from the back of "Teen" Magazine), ice cream and tacos in high school, business plans during college, and then home decor through direct sales as a young Mom, which led me to receive awards for top recruiter in my direct sales company.
Surprisingly, I never thought of myself as a salesperson. I simply saw opportunities to help people. Now as a Business Coach, I teach small business owners how to understand their core values and use them to make offers in a way that is so natural and comfortable, it feels like giving, rather than selling. Once you understand exactly what your core values are, use the CEO Method to easily enroll people into your services.
Step One: Connect – Get out and meet people who are in your target market and who you would love to work with. Go where they are and simply get to know them.
Step Two: Engage – Engage in conversations about your prospective client. Remember everyones favorite subject is themselves. Ask questions about them and their desires. Find out what drives them and what their problems are. Listen carefully for the problems they face for which you provide solutions.
Step Three: Offer – Always, always, always have something to invite people to. Once you have connected and engaged with a prospect, make an offer. It can be an offer to a free training, a workshop, a complementary session,or to a lunch meeting, whatever lets you expand on your conversation and gives your prospect a chance to say "yes!" to working with you. Make sure your offer is specific and has a date. Get it on the calendar immediately. This means you must have a plan before you go out to connect.
Most people use the CE Method and then find themselves sitting behind a desk with the pile of business cards they have gathered, wondering what to do to reconnect. The problem is when you only connect and engage while neglecting to make an offer, you have to start the entire process over again.
Choose a marketing funnel and lead people through it step by step, in a way that honors your core value system and gives tons of value. Be solution focused and make offers! Your business will grow as a result.