Do you ever struggle to talk about money with your clients?

Let me guess. You jumped into business because you were great at your craft. You did paper goods for your own wedding and wanted to try your hand at it for more. Or like me, you grew up in the garden with your grandma and thought making bouquets for a living sounded perfect.

But at some point along the way, you realized to keep creating your said product or service and actually take a salary doing so, you were actually going to have to ask someone to BUY it!

This is when sales training would have been a good idea, am I right?!

I was a junior in college. I had just picked up a business major and was looking for experience in the financial industry. I got a call from Northwestern Mutual about their college internship program, and it sounded like a dream! I got $100 stipend a week, even if I didn’t gain any clients, and I figured the job would look good on a resume.

I didn’t dive right into selling, though. Actually, before they would formally extend the internship to me, I had to attend a week of sales training.

Sales training? Hmm… sounds terrible, huh?  Trust me when I tell you it’s actually a dream!

Related : The Art of the Sale! Join me for a 1-hour masterclass on selling! I can almost see your sales average going up already!

You can stop the negative self-talk now. Talking about money or asking for the sale feels uncomfortable because it IS uncomfortable. You don’t feel great at it because it takes practice! But here’s a big TRUTH I’ve learned about money and success with sales: You’ve gotta talk about money early and often with your clients!

Truth #1

Talk about money EARLY AND OFTEN.

This is part one of a 10-part series, Shanna’s Top 10 Truths about money.  Read the entire series or Download the pdf guide : Shanna’s Top 10 Truths about Money

Have you ever heard of the RULE OF SEVEN?

Some super smart marketing person way back in the day (aka I don’t know where this originated or I would definitely cite them!) said: A potential client (or in sales lingo, a “prospect”) needs to see or hear from you at least seven times before they take action and buy from you.

Let me guess? Your sales process might look something like this:

1. Put an inquiry form on your website.
2. Receive inquiry.
3. Send email with pricing.
4. Never hear back.
5. Assume it’s your price-point. Offer a discount?

Let me let you in on a secret:  Price is never the ultimate deciding factor!

All of us (no matter how wealthy or how not wealthy) make buying decisions based on priorities, not price tag. You may be surprised to hear that. Yes, while price is a factor (we all live on budgets), our ultimate decision comes down to desire. In other words, how bad do I want it? Just ask every 16 year old working at Starbucks why they’re working, and I’d bet 85% of them are saving for something they want!

For more reading on this → Should you list pricing on your website?

So when should you talk about money?

1.

On your site!

While I don’t think anyone selling a custom priced good or service should list pricing on your site (more on this, here), I do think it should be mentioned somewhere on your site.!

Here are some great scripts I’ve used with clients in the past:

• “We create custom quotes based on your unique wants and needs.”
• “Our clients spend about $ — on average.”
• And if you have a minimum (yes, I think most of us need a minimum!), it can go here as well.

2.

In the inquiry questionnaire on your website!

I suggest giving budget ranges because blank fields just aren’t typically filled out.)

3.

In the “fact-finding” meeting!

This is the initial meeting when you gather information to put together a formal quote.

4.

And last but not least, in the pitch!

Pitch is such a sales word isn’t it? Negative connotation aside, this is when you ask them to buy!

That’s four mentions about money before you even ask for the sale.

But wait, I thought it was The Rule of Seven?

I love to see you working that strategy friend!

Here’s the thing: In the sales process, I’m suggesting you talk about money four times before asking for the sale! And while you’re at it, you’ve also included seven touches before a yes!

So what are the other three?

1. How they found you?
   • A friend
   • A Pinterest pin
   • A social media post
2. Your website
   • What message is your website giving them? (And yes, this should be a touch point!)
3. Your response email
   • Though you don’t talk about money in this email, it is a touch point. It’s an interaction with you and your brand.

Seven touches before we ask for a sale, and four of those include talking about money! Why? Because you need to talk about money early and often!

Let’s keep the conversation going and create your perfect sales process → Join the FREE CLASS!

Wanna know my other nine “Top 10 Truths about Money every entrepreneur needs to know”?! Grab the Download or View the entire series, here!

Keep dreaming big dreams,

Shanna

Ps. Do you have a burning question about business you’d love for me to weigh in on?! I’d love to hear from you and potentially answer your question LIVE on the next Two-cents Tuesday! Email us at : hello@shannskidmore.com with the subject “Two-Cents Tuesday!”

Join the conversation below : 

Have you ever struggled to talk about money with clients and ask for the sale? What is one strategy that has helped you overcome it?

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