Written by: Megan McCann and Jennifer Ludington, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“Cringe-worthy” car salesman tactics are something we all fear in business. No one wants to be perceived as the cigarette-smoking, bad suit-wearing, hovering salesman at the local corner used car lot.
So how do we avoid feeling like the sleazy salesman when ultimately, closing sales is how we make money? In the “get rich quick” business world, sales are often considered “King” and those that are successful must do all things necessary to close the deal using hooks, false promises, and high-pressure FOMO to manipulate potential clients and customers to buy, invest and say yes in fear of missing an opportunity.
We are taught to think about sales as being transactional, but most people are not intrinsically designed to treat their customers this way. Instead, we thrive on service, connection, and impact. We refer to this as “enrollment”.
When someone is “selling” they are in the business of convincing the other person that what they have is best for them. On the other hand, enrollment involves empowering the other person to make the best decision that will pull them closer to their vision. We believe that the only sustainable way to grow your business is by using empowering enrollment principles through heart-centered connection. We do this by prioritizing relationships.
Sleazy sales strategies often disempower clients and customers, whereas heart-centered enrollment empowers them to take control of the problem they are facing and choose to utilize knowledge, skills, or products to solve it. As entrepreneurs, most of us are not in the business of “convincing” our audience to buy or invest in anything. We approach enrollment as an opportunity for potential customers to recognize their obstacles. We present them with an offer that is going to give them a solution. It is our responsibility as business owners to hold space for our clients and customers so they can choose to empower themselves using you as the bridge.
“Don’t celebrate closing a sale, celebrate opening a relationship.” — Patricia Fripp
The sleazy sales strategies focus on pushing someone to buy, which leaves the customer feeling disempowered in their choice and leads to regretful unhappy customers and zero retention in your business. In contrast, enrollment is centered around the energy of pulling clients and customers closer to their vision by providing a solution. Being solution focused and powerfully following through on the promise leads to client retention, referrals, and great reviews.
Empowered enrollment creates long-term relationships, sustainability, client trust, respect, and mutual benefit. None of this will ever be achieved using sleazy manipulative sales tactics. So how can you generate more sustainability and revenue using empowering enrollment strategies?
1. Be Willing To Play The Long Game
This is not a fast-fix method. It requires relationship-building through trust and long-term commitment to serving them. Focusing on relationships and serving the client's needs will ultimately lead to more sales over time.
2. The Fortune Is In The Follow-Up
Follow-up is generous. The more you follow up in a connected value-centered way with your clients the more they will trust you. We believe that follow-up allows the client to see that you truly care about them, are listening to their needs, and think enough about them to reach out.
3. Listen Your Way To Revenue
Listening is the key to connection. Talk less and your potential client/customer will tell you more. More information, more emotion, and more about the problem they are facing. The more you understand what they need and how you can truly support them allows them to see that YOU can be the bridge to the gap(s) they are experiencing in their life. When you truly listen and hold space they will enroll themselves in the solution you provide.
We truly believe that relationships is the lifeline of any business. And quite honestly, it feels so much better than any sleazy sales tactics the industry is teaching you. If you’d like to learn more and dive deep into this topic with us, we invite you to listen to our podcast.
Our latest season covers everything from sales, follow-up, relationship-building, and in-person events. Click here to listen!
Megan McCann and Jennifer Ludington, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Megan McCann and Jennifer Ludington are experts in strategic leadership and business systems. As 1 amazon best-selling authors, in-demand speakers, and media personalities, they are on a mission to help over 1 million women scale their businesses. With a combined 30 years of experience bootstrapping multiple six and seven-figure businesses, they want to show others how to do it too.
