Expand Your Fempire Podcast #112 Transcript

How to Make Authentic Sales, Part 2

Welcome to Expand your Fempire with Caterina Rando, the podcast for women in business on a mission. Sharing ideas to support you to grow and thrive. Now here’s your host, Caterina Rando.

[00:00:00] Caterina Rando: Welcome back to another episode of the Expand Your Fempire podcast. This is your host Caterina Rando. I am blissing to be with you because our episode today is part two of our discussion on authentic sales conversations

[00:00:46] Really we could take 10 episodes for this very important topic. What we’ve done here though is we’ve broken it down into two parts and if you didn’t listen to part one you wanna go rush over there and listen to part one. And I’m inviting you to go and do that now before you listen to part two. Now if you don’t feel like it, you could do it the other way around. Whatever works for you.

[00:01:14] Here’s also what I’m gonna say. All of these episodes that we’ve produced for you they’re info-packed. You cannot listen to them too many times- especially if it’s an area where you would like to upgrade like sales.

[00:01:29] And if you go to caterinarando.com/podcast you will see more than a hundred podcast episodes there. You can even do a search for sales or speaking or retreats or whatever you’re interested in and all of those episodes will come up, and that’s a great way for you to give yourself really a masterclass and I get to do it with you on whatever hot topic it is that you’re interested in. Okay?

[00:01:58] But right now we’re focusing on selling. What I want you to know is I have many insights for you and many super tips on authentic selling because I’ve had the privilege of being in this business for 29 years.

[00:02:17] Caterina Rando: You may or may not know that my specialty areas, my superpower areas, of supporting my clients are speaking to build influence, increase your impact, and of course to gain insta-clients. I love speaking. The other thing I love is hosting retreats. I’m sure you know about that. We teach women how to host retreats.

[00:02:43] The other thing that I love to do is to teach authentic sales. Now, why do I say authentic? Because so many sales trainers, sales classes, they’re all about scripts and following a particular format that has you ask certain questions that can feel very manipulative to the person on the other end of the phone.

[00:03:10] You know what my worst question I hate when people ask: “well, what is that costing you?” Well, if you don’t even know me, you don’t know my situation yet, I find it to be a very offensive question. Now you may or may not feel the same way, but I find that that is a question that’s very manipulative that people often wanna ask in a sales situation, particularly when they don’t really know you. That’s my pet peeve.

[00:03:34] Here’s what I wanna tell you. I am anti all that. I am all about: invite people to be with you, talk to you, have an experience of you, build some influence before you ask people to buy.

[00:03:52] And of course, your ask, whatever you’re offering, is not going to be effective if your ask is way bigger than the amount of influence you have built, this is something to be aware of.

[00:04:05] Now, one of the things that I wanna continue to shine the spotlight on with you is the objections that you’re gonna get and how to dance through those objections.

[00:04:21] Caterina Rando: I often hear this objection: “you know, I’ve done so many workshops. I’ve taken so many courses. I’ve invested so much here, there, and everywhere, and I just don’t wanna invest anymore. Nothing’s making a difference.”

[00:04:39] And here’s where I’d use my super strategy, which I already shared with you. And remember, before we ask if we can ask, we find them right. We don’t invalidate them, we find them right.

[00:04:54] I would say “Sheila, I love that you have invested in yourself. I love that you have a commitment to personal growth and development. I am sorry to hear that you don’t feel like your investment has brought you a ton of results.”

[00:05:11] Now I’m gonna ask if I can ask before I ask: “is it okay if I ask you a couple questions?” And I’m gonna ask her, she’s gonna say yes. And I’m gonna ask “were those self-directed or do-on-your-own programs that you were in, meaning they were self-paced? You did them with videos or with content and there was no interaction with your coach.” She’s probably gonna tell me yes.

[00:05:40] I’m gonna say “now I know you’ve been to a lot of seminars. Did you do the program after the seminar?” She’s probably gonna tell me no.

[00:05:49] And here’s where I’m gonna explain to her the ingredients to create massive change. Now we have done a whole podcast on this. If

[00:06:00] you go to caterinarando.com/podcast  

[00:06:04] Caterina Rando: search for massive change, you will get this. This is very important for you to be embracing for your awareness to overcome objections. And here’s where I’m gonna talk to her about the myth of the seminar.

[00:06:22] And before I give her the full report, before I tell her, I’m gonna ask if I can tell her. Did you hear that? I’m gonna ask if I can tell her.

[00:06:30] I’m gonna say “Sheila, is it okay if I share something with you?” She, of course, is gonna say “yes.”

[00:06:36] I’m gonna say “you know, I am like you: I have a commitment to personal growth and development. I have always taken tons of seminars. I love learning. I know you do too. And you know what I’ve realized?

[00:06:51] There’s something called the myth of the seminar as I like to call it. And here’s what it is. When you go to a seminar or a workshop or even a conference, you get education. It’s awesome. We get education. That’s only though one of the ingredients for creating massive change.

[00:07:10] And the reason why maybe, and I’m asking you to take a look, why what you’ve done hasn’t worked is because these other important ingredients to create massive change were not there.”

[00:07:22] And again, I’m gonna ask if I can ask before I tell her, “is it okay if I share with you what those are so that you can make sure that you have them for the future? And it also may be an opportunity for you to check out our program that does include all of these ingredients. Because I only wanna work with people that gain massive value that I know can gain massive value from our community. I do know that that’s you. And would it be okay if I shared with you?”

[00:07:53] And of course, she’s gonna say yes. And then I’m gonna share with her “here’s often why seminars, conferences, workshops, self-paced programs, self-directed programs, do-it-yourself programs, don’t work. Because they only have education.

[00:08:14] They’re not providing you with ongoing support, ongoing guidance, a structure that you are gonna show up for like a weekly class or a biweekly class that creates accountability. It creates focus, it creates momentum.

[00:08:33] And the other thing that you’re not getting from any of those things that I mentioned before, is you’re not getting ongoing encouragement, and we don’t have to be a little kid to benefit from some ongoing encouragement.

[00:08:48] And you’re not getting the best part, which is being a part of a community of like-minded, like-hearted women on a mission, just like you, that are all up to the same thing. Because when you’re a part of a community, you’re gonna get resources, you’re gonna share ideas, you’re gonna get together and do sales or even co-working time together to keep you moving, to keep you connected, and to keep you getting better results. And that’s why I wanna invite you to consider joining me for the XYZ.”

[00:09:22] And before I’m gonna tell her about the XYZ, I’m gonna ask her if she wants to hear about it. “Based on that, would you like to hear about the XYZ?” And of course, this is whatever program I wanna share with her, Thriving At Sales, our Bliss Retreat, our Thriving With Women’s Retreats Leader Program, whatever it is.

[00:09:43] See, that’s an example right there, having a conversation with potential clients about the difference between seminars and conferences and self-directed and self-paced do-it-yourself programs, and what you’re offering if you’re a coach, consultant, mentor, et cetera if you have ongoing coaching or consulting one on one or with programs.

[00:10:11] Put this in your toolbox of overcoming objections: talking with clients about all the ingredients to create massive change, not just education. Because that’s all they’re getting at a seminar or a conference or with self-directed programs.

[00:10:30] And this same discussion that I’ve just had with you on how to create massive change and all the ingredients that create massive change is the same discussion you’re gonna have when you get this objection that I’ve heard too many times, that hopefully you have not heard, but if you have heard this objection, you are gonna be blissing when I give you this answer.

[00:10:59] I have often had people say “Caterina, I loved your class. I loved what you covered in your program. That was so great. There was so much education. There was so much information. And now I just have to apply what I’ve learned.” I just have to apply what I’ve learned. Have you heard that?

[00:11:21] That’s an objection when they’re not wanting to continue with you, and this discussion on why they’re gonna do way better with you is the conversation you’re gonna have, the one we just had, on all the ingredients to create massive change.

[00:11:39] If you go off and you take your binder and you take what you’ve learned and you go off, you will still get results. You will get them way faster with the ongoing support, the ongoing guidance, the accountability, the structure, and the encouragement and community. Did you hear me? Cause I just made you so much money if you have not had an answer to that question in the past.

[00:12:05] Now here’s the other objection sometimes I get, that you probably get too: “well, you know, I see what you’re gonna be covering, and some of these things, I feel like I’m already good at. There’s some things here, but you know, I don’t really feel like I need a whole program because I already know a lot of this stuff.”

[00:12:29] Bing, Bing, Bing. I’ve got an answer for that. I hope you wanna hear it, because here it is.

[00:12:35] Remember we always acknowledge where the person is. “Absolutely, Sheila. You are super smart. You absolutely know a lot of this. Here’s what I wanna tell you though. Can I take a moment to tell you my thoughts?” Remember, I’m gonna ask if I can ask, not only before I ask, but before I tell. She’s gonna say “yeah, Caterina of course. Go ahead.”

[00:12:57] Say, “you know the goal here with this program that I’m inviting you to is not just to teach you some stuff. The goal is to move you more towards mastery. And the more you shine the spotlight on these skills that you already know, the more you’re gonna get masterful at them.

[00:13:17] And sometimes here I’ll share about a client who has moved towards mastery. I’ve got people that have taken my sales class eight times, seven times, six times, five times. Every time they take it, they take it again and again, because they see that they’re continuing to get more and more masterful at whatever it is they’re focused on.

[00:13:41] And the same thing with my speaking program; they come to the speaker mastermind, then they come again and they come again. Because every time they take the same program, they move more toward mastery. And I know you wanna be masterful at X, Y, Z, and that’s why I’m inviting you to take a look at this. Yes, you already know it. My goal is to move you more towards mastery. I know that’s what you want. Would you like to discuss it?”

[00:14:13] Because here’s the thing: what we’ve just discussed is educating people as to why they might not be getting the results they want in the past, because they didn’t have these ingredients to create massive change.

[00:14:30] And then maybe they learned something, but then the program was over and they didn’t master it.

[00:14:35] And you can also cite client examples. You can talk about your clients that have gotten great results with these different things, but you can also talk personally. I can say “Hey, you know, I took my first sales class when I was 19 and I went to fashion school. Do you think that’s the last time I took that class? No, because every time I take a sales program, I’m a different person than the person who did one two years ago or five years ago.

[00:15:01] The same thing every time I take a speaking class, I’m working on something different. I’m working on connecting with the audience, or I’m working on my vocal variety, or I’m working on my stories. Whatever it is, the more we focus on something, the better we get.

[00:15:19] I like to say that we don’t teach what we want to learn, we teach what we seek to master. And it’s the same thing about studying and taking programs. We take programs to master what we’ve already learned.

[00:15:37] And then before I’m gonna go into the program and tell somebody all about it, again I’m gonna ask them if they wanna hear about it before I tell them.

[00:15:48] Now, there’s one other thing I wanna talk to you about related to objections. Sometimes it’s not a clear objection, it’s a deferment of the conversation.

[00:15:59] I had a lovely conversation with a lady couple days ago, sent her all the information. She said “Caterina, looks great. I’m going to be traveling. I’m going to be doing this and that. I’m waiting for some funds to come in. Can we wait six weeks for this conversation?”

[00:16:20] Now, what am I gonna say, no? I’m gonna say “of course, we can absolutely defer the conversation.” But what I’m gonna do is I am going to make a date and I’m gonna say “well, I know that your calendar fills up. My calendar fills up. May we put something on the calendar now?”

[00:16:41] And between now and six weeks from now, when we’re gonna have that conversation, I’m gonna look at how I can keep her engaged. Because the more I can keep her engaged, the more influence I’m building, and the more likely she is to be a yes.

[00:16:57] Now the other thing is when somebody wants to defer the conversation, if you have an urgency offer, it’s okay to say “well, you know, I’m happy to defer the conversation. I do want you to know that we are running that special offer right now that I talked to you about, and that’s only good till the end of the month. So can we carve out simply a few minutes to see if it is the right match for you?” Okay, this is dancing through the objection of deferment.

[00:17:32] And then I’m gonna say “you know, even though you may not have the funds for six weeks, I can extend this offer to you with a small deposit if you are genuinely interested. And then in six weeks, we can discuss the payment plan that’s best for you.”

[00:17:52] You wanna work with your clients on their payment plans. Don’t hesitate to give them an extendo payment plan. I always like to get payment in the year of service, but sometimes there might be some payments after most of the service is complete.

[00:18:08] By the way, this is why I have a community with other bonuses and benefits, networking, quarterly planning, master classes once a quarter, we promote events for our clients. Why? Because I wanna give them a more holistic, meaning serving them in a lot of different ways, to ensure they get massive value from their investment. So sometimes their program is over, but their overall service goes through the end of the year. And this allows me to give them an extendo payment plan so that it makes it easier for them to say yes.

[00:18:47] And this is part of strategy. How are you structuring what you’re offering? Sometimes I’ll take a nine-week course and make it twelve weeks with some special added bonuses, or meeting times, or connecting times so that it does give them a little more time to pay for something.

[00:19:07] So this is all for you to decide, but it is part of the strategy of your sales.

[00:19:14] Back to the deferment conversation. Discounts, bonuses, or better yet both, create urgency and you can use them to create urgency.

[00:19:25] Okay, my friend, I know this has been an info-packed episode here on the Expand Your Fempire Podcast. I do wanna strongly encourage you to listen to it again. I wanna encourage you to take notes. I wanna encourage you to take out in here what you feel would be good for you, because the more you can sell, the more you get to serve. And the more you get to serve the more lives you get to uplift.

[00:19:54] By the way, if you have not joined me for my free workshop, please come and join me. I would love to have you. Go to caterinarando.com. We’ve always got a free workshop coming up.

[00:20:08] There are over 100 episodes to this podcast. They are all info-packed. You can go to caterinarando.com/podcast to listen to all the episodes or get them wherever you listen to your podcast. Do me a favor, be a girlfriend, and give me a five star review wherever you listen to your podcast, because we do want to expand our reach on the Expand Your Fempire Podcast, and I would appreciate your friendship, love, and support. I am sending you my love.

[00:20:45] Oh, by the way, have you gone to my caterinarando.com/links to get all your amazing free gifts? If you have not watched my Facebook geo-targeting video, you’re gonna wanna do that because it will show you how you can do several reach outs in a short period of time, that will go in everybody’s box, meaning their message box, without you having to go to their page.

[00:21:13] Okay my friends, I got a lifetime supply of more value for you. Join me, make sure you’re subscribing to Expand Your Fempire Podcast. Call on me anytime for any reason. Remember my friend, you got massive value to bring there’s a lifetime supply of people to serve. Sell more, so again, you can serve more and uplift more lives. Talk to you soon. Bye bye.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Expand Your Fempire with Caterina Rando.