Is it truly possible to sell without having that gut twisting feeling inside?
Can you serve and sell at the same time?
That is what Xavi Umeh and I talked about on his show, Build Your Practice.
We talked about how to have meaningful sales conversations that don't leave you feeling sleazy AND the mindset stuff you can do before your sales conversations to help you be powerfully supportive to yourself and your prospect.
Media Type: audio
Length: 43:04
Listen Now! Build Your Practice Podcast
Cost: no cost, just click play!
You'll Hear
00:00 Introduction
01:36 Experience prior to starting Calahan Solutions, Inc.
04:59 The journey to business ownership and leaps of faith.
09:14 Xavi asks if I enjoy selling.
09:55 What a sales conversation really is – it's not what you might think.
11:00 Sales is not equal to self-worth.
11:30 The three things a prospect has to figure out in order to say, “Yes!”
13:14 Handling difficult clients is not an issue when you have an aligned sales system.
14:50 What a person should do that is just starting out — how to define who you will work with.
19:00 Why clearly defining your ideal client helps you evaluate marketing avenues and opportunities.
20:47 My thoughts on sales scripts and what you should use instead.
22:27 How to evaluate conversion/close rate.
22:42 Saying “price” vs. saying “investment.”
24:55 Stop spending your prospect's money and why thinking space is really important.
27:34 Helping your prospect figure out how to pay for your offering.
29:10 Thoughts on outsourcing sales and how sales conversations can be market research.
30:50 An exercise for how you can prepare for a sales conversation that will ensure you sound confident in what you are offering.
32:57 Thoughts on setting pricing and a test you can do to evaluate your pricing.
36:49 Programs people are excited about starting with me.
39:35 One tip for anyone starting out in business.
41:00 Closing comments.
My Interviewer: Xavi Umeh
Xavi Umeh consults with therapists and other private health practitioners on how to brand their business through effective strategies. In addition, he actively produces their podcasts, so that they can focus on sharing their knowledge rather than worrying about the tech stuff. When he is not working with his clients, he is hosting the Build Your Practice show and leading the Build Your Practice Podcast Lounge Lounge on Facebook.
Back to you!
So what did you think? Did anything stick out to you from our conversation? I'd love to hear about it. Share in the comments or shoot me an email.
Live Fully -- Love Openly -- Laugh Often -- Leverage Your Brilliance -- Connect Authentically -- Get Your Message Out -- Serve with Impact -- Prosper Everyday
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"She got me very clear and specific when I was filled with confusion and not sure what direction to go. It had always felt like a pipe dream or a far out dream that I could maybe achieve at some point in my life; but she actually got very concrete. I am seeing a number in my bank account that I have never seen before, I am serving four times as many clients and I'm well on my way to achieving the financial freedom that I set out to achieve..." Sonali Fiske - Leadership for Women of Color 
"My sales are already surpassing any of my past records. And I am at peace with the flow of possibility.
Giving myself permission to truly do business my way, has had phenomenal results for my clients. Who knew? Steph has ways of helping me see things bigger, and I look forward to our calls from a “help keep my head and heart in the right direction..." Emilie Shoop - Shoop TC 
"Through Stephanie’s belief in me I began to claim and own my brilliance. I was able to get more done in the first three months of working with her than I had been able to do on my own the previous three years and I increased my fees (in some instances up 300%!) Often, she anticipated my needs before I did." Lisa Mallis - SystemSavvy Consulting 
"Like many hard-driving entrepreneurs, I am filled with countless ideas. However, without clarity, those ideas can become more of a liability than an asset. In working with Stephanie Calahan, I become clear on who I was, why my work mattered, and on how I could deliver it effectively and efficiently to the marketplace. Stephanie will encourage you to believe in yourself, in your dream; yet challenge you to become who you were created to be." Brent Kelly - VP, Executive Coach & Speaker 
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"You have just the right balance of giving me the emotional and mental space I needed to do the work and absorb the process, but also kept everything consistently moving forward. My marketing materials have never looked better, my computer systems are functional,and my business processes are better every day." Marilyn O'Connor - MAK Development 
"Not only have I grown within myself, my business has grown, because this is one of those relationships that keeps giving. She pushes me to think in ways I’d never thought of thinking and gets me analyzing myself. Steph believed in me. Steph believes in me." Vikki Nichols-Baptiste - Could You Just and DoTERRA Essential Oils 
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"Working with Stephanie and using the systems that she helped me implement has revolutionized my administrative operations. Stephanie was non-judgmental and patient throughout the entire process. My productivity has soared since working with her." Dr. Gabriella Caldwell-Miller, PhD, LCPC – GMC Life Solutions
"I've know Stephanie for years now. It took a moment of sheer desperation before I actually called on her for her professional skills. She started with and assessment to 
"I can see to 
"My emotional well-being has been extremely stressed over the past few months, and the experience of working with you has given me such peace of mind, and the courage to face each new day with a positive attitude." Lynn Worthington 
"I was drawn to Stephanie because she always seemed to be the voice of reason. Her guidance and counsel were always sound and because of her approachability, I felt very comfortable contacting her. I was able to have the confidence to raise my fees by 30% and business is booming! As I implemented and followed through on her advice and suggestions, I was amazed at the results – and it was so easy!" Adonna Braly - Professional Organizer
It was awesome having you on the show Stephanie. Your knowledge on the subject is super impressive. I learned so much from our chat and will be implementing some of the things you talked about in my own business as well. Thanks for being so awesome!! 🙂
Xavi –
Thanks so much for inviting me to come on your show and share a bit about what I know. I’m happy to hear that you gained some ideas that you can put in place in your business right away!