You’ve been taught needy sales. We all have.
Let’s hold hands and stop this self-harm together.
My big issue with how you’ve been taught
If you’re using a sales script you learned from someone else…
If you’ve practiced handling objections like a pro…
And if it still feels foreign…
There’s a reason for that.
You’ve been conditioned to convince the prospect they need you.
Maybe they do, but the way you’re going about it sounds desperate.
Instead of having to nail a perfect word-for-word script or constantly be thinking about how to loop the prospect’s words back to the close, I’m suggesting you ditch the script entirely and have a Conviction Statement that works in any conversation.
What’s a Conviction Statement?
It leans on honesty and staying grounded.
Maybe sales have always felt like a grind.
Maybe you cringe at the person you have to become to close the deal.
A Conviction Statement feels like you, which is…
Telling them the landscape so they can choose accordingly.
In the wild
After years of selling marketing the script way, I was over it.
The trope in DFY marketing sales at the time was, “It’s magic. You need it. You need us to do it.”
It was an energy I didn’t align with. And a trend started happening, prospects who bought out of fear rather than willingness didn’t stick around as long.
The best way to keep a client for a long time starts before they become one. They have to believe.
Belief doesn’t come from convincing. It comes from educating.
So, I’d tell them this:
I learned how to do marketing well, which means you can learn it too.
The only difference is that I already have 10,000 hours under my belt of learning it.
And my guess is you don’t have 10,000 hours to give to get to this level.
They’d nod.
It wasn’t an argument about my brilliance.
It was laying out the land and telling them, “This is work. I’ve put the work in. Do you want to put in equal work or pay for someone who’s already done it?”
None of that had to be said. They understood it subconsciously, which is the point.
Paying without objecting
Once they clearly understood the work was important and they didn’t have the personal bandwidth to do it, the price came about pretty quickly.
When you’re not desperate, they’ll lean in and say, “Show me what it costs.”
Which I would.
And while we sold just fine, I wish I had the analogy I’m about to share.
I got it from my friend Casey, and it’s brilliant.
You both agree that they’re at A, and they believe your service is the best way to get to B.
But they balk at the price because you’re not the cheapest.
Good.
Use the analogy of a plane ride.
You’re in a plane.
No matter where you’re sitting, you’ll get from A to B.
What we’re talking about is experience.
If you sit in economy, that’s a freelancer or ‘get the job done’ type person. They won’t care about communication, and you won’t either. You just need it done.
Then there’s First Class. Same plane, far better experience. Expert communication, expert delivery. That’s us.
Or there’s Private. It’s the most expensive option, but it’s also a one-of-a-kind experience. It’d be all the First Class feel with luxury attached. Most people don’t need this luxury because it’s more than they need.
Chances are, you don’t want to charge economy prices anymore. You want to charge First Class prices.
With this analogy—again, we’re relying on the subconscious, the unsaid, here—the prospect will categorize themselves.
If they just want the job done, you don’t want that client anyway. Point them to a freelancer in your network.
If they are a good fit, they’ll align with the idea of First Class experience on their own.
It’s what they already want. Now you’ve painted a picture of why it makes sense.
Using the analogy, you’ve implied, “All right. You want an experience. You gotta pay for that.”
And they’ll understand.
So, all you gotta do, when you know they understand the analogy, is ask, “Which one sounds like the experience that aligns most with you?”
Don’t do the hard work for them. Let them decide.
Conviction is your #1 resource
People who need polish to be persuaded are unsuitable in the long term.
People who respect the truth—the lay of the land—will be the best clients you’ve ever had…and they’ll stick around for years.
Ditch the script.
Have a Conviction Statement or two.
Respect the person across from you.
They’re not a trophy to be won.
They’re a human to help.
The decision should be theirs.
I hope this helps.
-C
P.S. Need help making space so you can make conviction your #1 resource?
When you’re ready, give this a read.
