Selling can be fun, or it can be torture. But love it or hate it, selling is the number one reason businesses succeed or fail.

So if you are a professional or a solopreneur looking to scale your lifestyle business, stick until the end of this post because I'll give you the most detailed guide on finding, qualifying, and closing prospects with little to no friction.

This is the first article of a long series on selling, upselling, and building a remote sales team to remove yourself from the sales process altogether. So if you like what you're reading, bookmark it and come back for more golden nuggets.

But before we get into it, let me tell you who I am and why you should listen to me.

My name is Deniero Bartolini, and I have been selling for close to two decades. I started in retail commission sales, and then I got my first inside sales job where I had to cold-call almost 100 businesses a day.

The jobs were mentally taxing, but they gave me the resilience and focus I needed to build my businesses. Since then, I have scaled two e-commerce brands, a digital marketing agency, and a coaching program.

Sure, my sales skills were not the only reason I succeeded in business, but when I look back at the turning points, they all have two elements in common: persuasion and consistency.

For example, when I grew my Google Ads agency, I got on 20 or more sales presentations a week. Then when I launched the Remote CEO coaching program, there were about seven months where I spent more time on sales calls than actually coaching my clients.

But after the programs took off, I was able to hire a team of lead generation specialists and closers to take care of the whole process.

So, if you are a professional like an accountant, a lawyer, or a doctor and you're looking to scale up, keep in mind that there are no shortcuts to building a practice that will eventually run on its own.

You may want to outsource the process right away, and while you could get some short-term results, your team will never know your offer better than you, and therefore they won't be as effective at selling it.

That's why I always recommend my clients to get their feet wet and test different pitches and rebuttals. Then, once you validate the sales process, you earn the right to outsource it to the pros.

If you want to know more about my story, click here to tab that page out. But now, let me show you the step-by-step process that my clients and I use to scale any professional service firm.

Lead generation: Sales Navigator, Instagram, and Facebook.

One of the critical elements of a successful selling campaign is having good leads to begin with. Your goal is not to convince people to buy your offer but to find people that are a good fit for it and make them an offer they won't resist.

For example, let's pretend that you are an accountant helping dental practitioners scale by opening multiple locations. In that case, your goal is to find established dentists already operating at least one practice.

If you spoke to a new dentist that just graduated, your offer wouldn't resonate, no matter how hard you sell it.

With this in mind, put together a document that explains in detail who your perfect client is, from their age to their income and anything in between.

We call this document the "customer avatar" because it needs to be so detailed that it looks like you're talking about an actual person.

This is the document you'll eventually have to share with your sales team, so make the information is clear and obvious for everyone.

Once you know who you are looking for, it's time to choose your prospecting medium. If your offer is B2B, your best bet is to look for leads on Sales Navigator.

This is a paid LinkedIn tool (it starts at $79,99 per month), and it allows you to create detailed lead lists with filters like job titles, experience, location, industry, and much more.

Just select your preferences, hit search, and within seconds you will potentially have a list of tens of thousands of qualified leads you can message.

For B2C (and some B2B offers), you can also use Facebook and Instagram. But since those platforms are not meant for selling or lead gen, you need to get a bit more creative.

For example, on Facebook, find a good number of groups that your customer avatar would likely be part of and start conversations with them through private messages.

On Instagram, follow big accounts that your target market would likely follow and reach out to your leads through private messages.

BOTTOM LINE:

Your goal is not to convince people to buy your offer but to find people that are a good fit for it and make them an offer they won't resist. If your offer is B2B, your best bet is to look for leads on Sales Navigator. Facebook and Instagram are not meant for selling or lead gen, so you need to get creative.

Outbound messaging on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Now that you have your leads, it's time to reach out to them. To make things easier and more standardized, your best bet is to create a conversation flow that takes your leads from "Hello" to "let's get on a call" in three to six exchanges.

Of course, every industry and offer is different. Some of my clients find that being more direct and pitching right away speeds things up and keeps the leads engaged, whereas others find that taking a longer approach lets them come across as less salesy and ultimately helps them close more deals.

The only way to determine how your market reacts to your messages is to test for yourself.

And by the way, feel free to steal my outreach approach.

Greet the lead and ask a simple question about their business. Wait for an answer.
Tell them why you reached out and ask if they have ever thought about using a service like the one you're pitching. Wait for an answer.
Share a quick testimonial to build trust, and ask to hop on a quick call to see if it makes sense for them. Wait for an answer.

As you can see, my chat flow is pretty short, but I have used longer sequences in the past. Remember that the longer the sequence, the more times you'll have to reignite the conversation.

Most people can barely keep up with messages from their family and friends, so imagine how slow they could be with you since you are not their priority!

To help you keep track of these conversations, you can use a project management tool like Trello. as you can see from the screenshot below, you can keep your message templates at the top of every column and stack the names of the people you are reaching out to below the message.

Then, every time your conversation moves forward, you drag the card with the prospect's name to the next column. If you want to know more about setting up the conversation flow at scale, book s 15-minute strategy call with our team.

BOTTOM LINE:

Your best bet is to create a conversation flow that takes your leads from "Hello" to "let's get on a call" in three to six exchanges. Greet the lead and ask a simple question about their business. Tell them why you reached out and ask if they have ever thought about using a service like the one you're pitching.

Qualifying leads: one-call Vs. two-call close

You should start seeing sales calls being on your calendar at this stage. But now the big question is: should you first have a prequalifying call, or should you book everyone into a one-hour sales call?

Both methods work well, so to help you pick the right one, let me give you the pros and cons of each.

One-Call closes are fantastic if you are looking to leverage the momentum you gained from the outreach messages. The more time goes by; the more your prospect will forget why they cared in the first place.

So when someone agrees to speak to you, you should try to book a call with them within the next 48 hours, and, if possible, you should try to close the deal on the spot.

But the one-call-close is not a good fit for all types of offers. For example, suppose you sell a product that requires you to customize the price, delivery, or other aspects of the offer.

In that case, you need to have a prequalifying call to gather information and come up with a proposal.

But like I said, adding a second call to the sales process slows down the momentum and could cost you clients.

Pro-tip: if you want to use a one-call-close system but still need to gather some basic info about your prospect before the call, you can ask an extra question in the message sequence during the outreach stage.

You can add a personal touch to the sales call without adding the 15-minute triage call. This method is also helpful if you want to prequalify leads to make sure they can afford your services.

For example, if you are a business consultant, a simple question like "how many employees do you have?" can help you understand if the lead may have the budget for what you offer.

BOTTOM LINE:

The more time goes by the more your prospect will forget why they cared in the first place. When someone agrees to speak to you, you should try to book a call with them within the next 48 hours. But the one-call-close is not a good fit for all types of offers - it slows down the momentum and could cost clients.

Figuring out your unique sales proposition (USP)

Another critical aspect of running a successful outreach campaign is your USP. In other words, you need to find a way to stand out. That's because, at this point, your prospects have seen them all.

They have received tens (if not hundreds) of calls and emails from people pitching all types of services. But the silver lining is that most of these pitches are for generic services.

So instead of following the herd and ending up competing on price, you must stand out by creating what we call a " category of one."

Let's pretend that you are an orthopedic doctor and want to launch your online community. Instead of pitching your generic services, you could niche down and focus on helping a specific sub-market solve a particular problem.

For example, you could help people with back injuries walk again. You will shrink your market by niching down, but you will make your selling proposition so defined that those that fit your avatar will be automatically drawn to you.

In addition, your prospects won't have many other competitors to compare you to (if any), and that's what it means to carve your own category of one.

Now that you don't have to compete on price, you can charge what you are worth and deliver a totally customized experience for your clients.

If you're still unsure how to create your sub-niche, let me give you a couple more examples. For example, if you are a marketing consultant, you can create a program to help lawyers leverage video and podcasts to tell their stories and build a stronger brand.

See? This value proposition is a lot more defined than "I'm a marketing consultant, want to work with me?"

Or, if you are a dietician, you could launch a program to help overweight men with hypertension regain health and balance through sustainable eating habits.

Again, this value prop will repel many people that don't fit the mold, but it will attract the right avatar as no other program will.

BOTTOM LINE:

Instead of pitching your generic services, you could niche down and focus on helping a specific sub-market solve a particular problem. You will shrink your market by niching down, but you will make your selling proposition so defined that those that fit your avatar will be automatically drawn to you. Your prospects won't have many other competitors to compare you to (if any).

Setting up your conversation for your sales calls. (the challenger sale
spin selling)

Now that you are getting a constant flow of leads in your sales calendar, you must optimize your sales call. Over the past 15+ years, I sold pretty much anything, from construction material and polo shirts to software and coaching services.

Still, all the conversations I had revolved around two key elements:

finding out what the problem is, and
offering a solution.

That's why every sales book you'll read (from SPIN selling to the Challenger Sale) will have a variation of this step-by-step system. So with this in mind, let's start building your call flow.

First, you want to set the right expectation by explaining how the call will play out.

You can say something like, "Hi, Alyssa, I'm excited to have you on this call today because I know I can help you with _______. Is it ok if I ask you a few questions to understand your situation better before I show you how this program can help you?"

When the prospect says "yes" to the question above, they are permitting you to ask some more-or-less uncomfortable questions about their pain points.

It's crucial that you don't shy away from the important questions like "what's going to happen if you don't solve these problems soon?" or "How is this problem going to impact your life and your relationships if you don't solve it."

These questions are uncomfortable to ask, but they are the ones that will show your prospect how urgent the matter really is.

Pro-tip: if you feel like your questions are too personal, you can always frame them in a way that shows empathy and respect. Let's go back to the dietician example to show you what I mean.

Instead of asking something like, "How will your life at home with your family change if you don't lose the extra weight and don't address your high blood pressure?" you can say something like, "Many of my clients were afraid that if they didn't address the extra weight and their high blood pressure soon, they could end up with more severe health problems, and that would impact their family as well. Do you feel the same about it?

Once your prospect opens up about the problem and the possible implications in case the problem doesn't get solved, it's time to pitch your solution.

Your goal is to explain the benefits of your offer by matching them with the issues that your prospect mentioned earlier.

For example, if they mentioned lack of time as one of the primary reasons they can't eat healthier and exercise, you can stress how your program requires very little time commitment.

I can't stress enough that you need to dig deep to find out the personal implication of the issue during the discovery phase.

If you just ask generic questions like "why do you want to lose weight?" the prospect won't feel the weight (excuse the pun) of your question, and when you pitch your solution, they won't be emotionally attached to the outcome.

On the other hand, if you ask something like, "how will your relationship with your wife and kids change once you lose the 80 pounds?" the prospect will finally anchor their issue to a much more tangible and emotional result.

BOTTOM LINE:

You need to dig deep to find out the personal implication of the issue during the discovery phase. Once your prospect opens up about the problem and the possible implications in case the problem doesn't get solved, it's time to pitch your solution. Pro-tip: if you feel like your questions are too personal, you can always frame them in a way that shows empathy and respect. Your goal is to explain the benefits of your offer by matching them with the issues that your prospect mentioned earlier. For example, if they mentioned a lack of time as one of the primary reasons they can't eat healthier and exercise, your program requires very little time commitment.

Closing the deal

Now that your prospect sees the value in what you offer, and they know that they need it, the sale will close on its own... or will it? The truth is that people resist change, so even though your solution is a no-brainer, the prospect will likely need a couple of more nudges.

Your goal at this point is to guard yourself against fake objections like

it's not the right time,
I have to think about it,
I have to talk to my spouse/partner/accountant/life coach,
I will have to check with my credit card company, etc.

You must train your mind to discard all these fake objections and treat them for what they are: a way to shy away from change.

If you believe in your product and know that it will benefit your prospect, keep going. You must convince yourself that you're doing a disservice to your prospect if you let them go.

Think about a patient that shows up at the hospital with a broken arm. If the doctor tells them they need a cast, and the patient says, "mhh... I'll think about it," the doctor will not say, "ok, I guess you're right... take some time to digest the information." No! The doctor will say, "I know how you feel, but trust me, this is exactly what you need now. Let's get it done."

That's what you need to treat every single sales call. If you are still finding it hard to keep pushing from the sale, it's worth looking at your offer and seeing if you actually believe in what you are selling.

And if you don't feel 100% confident in what you sell, that's a sign that you need to improve your offer.

You made it to the end of this blog post, but there are a few more points we need to cover.

How to delegate lead generation and your sales calls,
how to create scripts or outlines for your sales team,
and much more.

So if you enjoyed this post, bookmark it, and let's keep in touch!

Also, if you are looking for a done-for-you solution to grow your lifestyle business, click here to book a call with our team to see if we can help you.

BOTTOM LINE:

People resist change, so even though your solution is a no-brainer, the prospect will likely need a couple of more nudges. Your goal at this point is to guard yourself against fake objections. You must convince yourself that you're doing a disservice to your prospect if you let them go. If you don't feel 100% confident in what you sell, that's a sign that you need to improve your offer.