You’ve followed all the guides. Implemented all the key words. Constructed charts and collected data to show just how amazing your service is. Still, locking down consistent sales is a challenge.
There is a separation between those effortlessly pitching their vision to the world and those struggling with where to start. It’s small, but it’s powerful:
“To sell anything, share it like you would with your best friend.”
It seems obvious, but there are layers to it that will help you define a clear framework to revolutionize your sales process forever.
The MoviePass Effect
Let’s talk about the big picture: why change your entire sales pitch to reflect this one idea?
I’m going to call this the MoviePass effect. If you missed all the buzz about MoviePass, here is a quick breakdown.
About a year ago, a good friend of mine told me about a service that was TOO good to be true. He said you could sign up for a service called MoviePass and see a movie in theaters every single day, for only $9 a month.
I looked into it. It was outrageous. Absurd. But most importantly, I NEEDED to let the rest of the world know about this. I had no stakes in it. I wasn’t part of an affiliate program. I just thought this was the greatest thing ever, and the people I care about needed to know.
So I started to tell anyone and everyone: about the movie I saw last night, and the movie I was going to see tomorrow. About how I saw them both—and could see more—for just $9.
I was probably really obnoxious, but you know what? SO many of the people I told about it, signed up. When they started to use their account, they came back as ecstatic as I was.
How are you going to drive that type of excitement towards your business? That energy to share something truly valuable comes when you place empathy at the heart of your pitch.
Understand what others truly need
I wanted my friends to be able to see a movie every day for only $9 because I loved it, and I knew they would love that too. I also knew that I would love being able to talk to them about all the great movies. The service spawned wonderful conversations.
While the ability to see a movie every single day isn’t on the physiological hierarchy of needs, it’s something I truly believed most people would find valuable.
Therein, lies the heart of any effective sales pitch.
Right now, I put all these tips into practice every time I talk about Dubsado because I am genuinely passionate about how it can change your life as a business owner! If you know something can change someone's life for the better, getting to a place where you convey it with real passion and enthusiasm is so much easier.
You can say you’ve thought through how to empathize with your customers all day long. You can create client avatars and structure your story tellingaccordingly. None of that replaces the power of good ol' fashioned excitement.
That feeling of wanting to share something with someone else because you know it is amazing AND because you care about them—no strings attached.
You need to determine what aspect of your business has the power to elicit not only passion from you, but from others. Is it something you yourself are excited about it? How can you know that excitement is infectious?
Once you figure it out, focus on selling that.
These are key empathy drivers that should resonate with your potential clients. You’ll need those true value drivers to make you as comfortable pitching to strangers as you are to friends. Once you've located those valuable aspects of your business, the next step is tapping into that confidence you have talking to your best friend.
Pitch as confidently as you would your best friend.
We are best friends with people for a reason. We have similar:
These build a degree of certainty when we share something with them. With MoviePass, I knew that:
These factors made me confident that the pitch I was making would be valuable to them. When you pitch to your friends, you really believe that what you are sharing is true quality. You don’t have a chip on your shoulder about trying to convince them otherwise. You love this thing—they will too.
There is also the fact that this is an opinion that REALLY matters to us. I know I care deeply about what my friends think about our friendship (Enneagram 2 in the house) and I find great joy in providing value to them. I’ve built up a confidence over years of intentional relationship building. That’s the kind of confidence you need to establish with your clients.
Another big part of confidence is familiarity. We are naturally more comfortable around the familiar. An easy way to build that into your client interactions, is to drop the business speak.
Leave business vocabulary at home
Is your sales pitch really respecting your client’s time, interests, and needs?
When you pitch your best friends, you leave the marketing terms and cold tactics at home. You approach it from a place of clarity and warmth. Would you feel as comfortable making the same pitch you’re making to your clients, to an industry leader?
Try to identify if there is any fluff you can get rid of:
Where are you pushing clients, instead of inviting them? Think about how you invite your friends into an experience.
I didn’t sell MoviePass to my friends— I invited them into a valuable experience we could share together. Invite people into a valuable experience with your business.
If you wouldn’t use a term or phrase in a conversation with your friend, leave it. Unless it is absolutely vital to describing your process in a way no other word could, you don’t need it.
Conclusion
There is an excellent sales person within you, waiting to be unleashed on a world of thankful clients. Thankful because they won’t be subjected to the usual pestering that comes with the sales process.
To sell your ideas effectively, come up with good ones (duh), then find out how to communicate those ideas in the most familiar way possible—the way you would if you were sharing something with your best friend.
You need to tap into the enthusiasm, confidence, and familiarity you use to share something of real value with your closest friends.
This might be your life’s work—give yourself permission to get excited about it. Like your friends, your clients will be thankful to be invited in.
