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🖐 Happy Mittwoch!
Issue #66 is a 3.0-minute read.
Jane’s Pies, Bob Marley, Higher Sales
By 3:31 pm on Saturday, it’s clear I might not make it.
16 miles out, and I’m racing to Jane’s bakery three towns away.
Folks say her pies are better than Martha Stewart’s.
Got to get there before she closes at 4 or I’m in the dessert doghouse for Thanksgiving.
I make it to the bakery, I think.
There’s a faded yellowish sign, and the place looks closed.
I try the door.
Inside, it’s a garage sale from 1986!
There’s three bins of used classic rock albums, two racks of concert t-shirts, and a long row of burning incense.
She comes out from the back room.
“Yeah?” she asks, in a hostile tone, like I just called her a cheat in a saloon card game.
“Hi.” I reply, not exactly sure what I’ve walked into.
“I heard you have amazing pies for Thanksgiving,” trying to win her over with praise.
“I don’t know,” she replies. “Do you want to buy one?”
I look at the smudged glass display.
Not one pie.
There’s a tiny brownie and two broken eclairs that escaped from the island of misfit pastries.
“Hmm,” I sigh. “Okay if I look around?”
“My bowling league starts in ten minutes, so hurry up if you want anything,” she mutters.
Next to me there’s a 5-foot-high rack of random spices marked down to $.25 a jar.
In the back corner, there’s a woman in a lawn chair doing something odd with a doughnut.
“You make the pies here?” I ask.
“Yeah. Out back,” she answers. Business has been crappy, so it’s a complete shitshow back there.”
Hearing the s-word describe a food prep area seals it.
“Okay, well, thanks for the tour,” I say.
No response. She’s gone.
I didn’t buy a pie.
Jane didn’t win a new customer.
Business isn’t crappy because she’s selling Bob Marley records instead of carrot cake.
Her business is a disaster because of three words.
SHE. WON’T. SELL.
I get it. Sales is tough.
If you’re a born seller, you know you have to…
Sell Everyday
Three steps to keep sales high.
1. Sell yourself
Jane gave me no comfort that she knew how to bake pies.
No one’s buying your premium product or service before they buy YOU!
Before anyone believes you can fix their pain, they have to believe you’re the expert.
Your confidence, conviction, and clarity show you’re a pro and you can help.
2. Sell your energy
The doughnut lady had more spark than Jane.
Had Jane been full of zest while she showed me incredible pies, I would have been all in.
⚡️ In my first business, when clients asked me about how I managed money, I got them EXCITED!
I made them feel energetic about earning money in the market and what it meant to their future.
Premium buyers want to know you have a pulse, and they want to see you glow when you talk about how you fix their problem.
Energy is contagious. Share yours. 🔥
3. Sell the NEXT step
I wasn’t going to buy 8 pies from Jane this year.
She didn’t try to sell me even one.
Folks need time before they buy.
Especially if it’s an expensive solution.
You don’t have to sell (right away) your $500 digital class or a $10,000 do it for them solution.
Instead, sell ‘what’s NEXT!’
A subscription
A discovery call
A trial period
A download or sample solution
Your premium product
Sell step 1 before step 10, and meet them where they land.
Know where they are in the cycle and sell the next step.
Three keys to selling premium solutions to high-tier clients:
Sell yourself
Sell your energy
Sell the next step
📢 A subscriber asked for a pic of winter in their home city, Munich. Happy to do it!
I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.
Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.
🦃 Have a sensational Thanksgiving.
-Erik
P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!
When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.
