Oct 20, 2023
In this episode of the Humane Marketing podcast, we dive into the ‘P’ of Pricing, exploring the art of authentic pricing conversations and strategies with our guest, Nikki Rausch, CEO of Sales Maven. Our conversation covers essential topics such as whether to list prices on your website, how to approach pricing objections, the delicate balance between transparency and personalization in pricing, and much more.
Join us in this discussion as we strive to make pricing a humane and ethical aspect of our businesses.
In this episode, we talked about:
- Whether we should list our prices on our website – or not
- How to have pricing conversations
- Whether to offer payment plans
- How to handle pricing objections
- And so much more
Ep 175
[00:00:00] Sarah: Hello, Humane Marketers. Welcome back to the Humane Marketing Podcast, the place to be for the generation of marketers that cares. This is a show where we talk about running your business in a way that feels good to you, is aligned with your values, and also resonates with today’s conscious customers because it’s humane, ethical, and non pushy.
[00:00:23] I’m Sarah Zanacroce, your hippie turned business coach for quietly rebellious entrepreneurs and marketing impact pioneers. Mama bear of the humane marketing circle and renegade author of marketing like we’re human and selling like we’re human. If after listening to the show for a while, you’re ready to move on to the next level and start implementing and would welcome a community of like minded quietly rebellious entrepreneurs who discuss with transparency what works and what doesn’t work in business.
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[00:01:16] We share with transparency and vulnerability what works for us and what doesn’t work so that you can figure out what works for you. Instead of keep throwing spaghetti. On the wall and seeing what sticks. Find out more at humane dot marketing forward slash circle. And if you prefer one on one support from me, my humane business coaching could be just what you need.
[00:01:40] Whether it’s for your marketing sales, general business building, or help with your big idea, like writing a book, I’d love to share my brain and my heart with you together with my almost. 15 years business experience and help you grow a sustainable business that is joyful and sustainable. If you love this [00:02:00] podcast, wait until I show you my mama bear qualities as my one-on-one client.
[00:02:05] You can find out more at Humane Marketing slash coaching. And finally, if you are a marketing impact pioneer and would like to bring Humane Marketing to your organization, have a look at my offers and workshops on my website at humane. marketing.
[00:02:30] Hello friends, welcome back to the Humane Marketing Podcast. Today’s conversation fits under the P of pricing. If you are a regular here, thank you so much. You already know that I’m organizing the conversations around the seven P’s of the Humane Marketing Mandala. And if this is your first time here, uh, you can download your one page marketing plan with the Humane Marketing version of the seven P’s of marketing at humane.
[00:02:56] marketing forward slash one page. That’s [00:03:00] the number one and the word page, and this comes with seven email prompts to really help you reflect on these different areas, these different P’s in your business. So it’s not. Prescriptive, but it really helps you, uh, think deeply about these things in your business.
[00:03:19] So today we’re talking about pricing and I’m talking to Nikki Roush. Nikki is the CEO of SalesMaven. Where she helps people transform the misunderstood process of selling with 25 plus years of selling experience, entrepreneurs and small business owners now hire Nikki to show them how to sell successfully and authentically.
[00:03:42] Nikki has written three books, all available on Amazon, and she has a podcast called Sales Maven, which you can find on your favorite podcast platform. I. Really love this conversation. We talked about whether we should list our prices on our website or not, [00:04:00] how to have pricing conversations, whether to offer payment plans, how to handle pricings, objections, and so much more.
[00:04:09] Be ready to take some notes for this ones and let’s dive in. Hi, Nikki. So good to spend time with you to talk about sales and. Pricing and putting prices and websites and all that good stuff. Welcome to the show.
[00:04:26] Nikki: Thanks for having me, Sarah. I’m really excited to have this conversation with you.
[00:04:29] Sarah: Yeah, same here.
[00:04:31] As I said offline, this question about putting our prices on our website or not, it’s Whenever I bring this up in the humane marketing circle in our community, for example, it’s like, oh, really, should we and here’s why we shouldn’t and like, all these different opinions. So I’m curious to, yeah, to start off our conversation, maybe with the prices and, uh, you know, you mentioned, or [00:05:00] I think I’ve seen it on your, um, On your website, this idea of the customer journey, right?
[00:05:05] And so take us a little bit into that customer journey. And when, what happens when people come to your website, what stage they’re at probably in the customer journey and what happens when they do see the prices or if they don’t see the prices.
[00:05:21] Nikki: Yeah. Yeah. Well, okay. So I just want to start off by saying that, you know, what I teach is always built on rapport.
[00:05:30] So I would say relationship first rapport always. So when somebody is coming to your website, they have indicated interest in some way, right? Like, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You don’t just randomly go to somebody’s website and start poking around. So there’s something about them that has drawn them here. And that, that is usually an indication that they’re interested in working with you or, or buying from you or taking that next step with you.
[00:05:58] And the reason you want to have [00:06:00] pricing on your website is because. It is helping them establish whether or not they’re an ideal client for you. So if somebody comes to your website and they don’t see prices, one of the things that they often assume is that your prices are much higher. And in order for them to get that information from you, you’re forcing them to take another step, which is to get on a live call with you.
[00:06:29] And I know that a lot of sales coaches teach, like, don’t put pricing on your website because you want the opportunity to have that conversation with people. But that’s for your benefit. Not for the clients or the prospects. So when you’re forcing somebody to do something, what, what happens in the start of that conversation is they already feel a little bit on the back foot because they’re nervous now about having that conversation with you because they have no idea what kind of pricing [00:07:00] you’re gonna.
[00:07:00] Come back with and they might end up feeling embarrassed or ashamed to have to admit to you that they can’t afford that. So, to me, it’s a real breakdown and rapport for the start of the conversation for somebody to be nervous because what’s the pricing? The other thing too, is it kind of sets the stage that, um, not only are you in charge of the conversation, but that you’re.
[00:07:29] Okay. Like, how, how much do they trust you yet to have that conversation and for you to list pricing because how do they know that you’re giving them a price and giving somebody else the same price? So there’s, there’s, to me, it shows a lack of trust. It also, I think it’s important for you to stand in your credibility and in your authority and, and.
[00:07:51] Charge whatever it is that you charge and be revealing about it. You shouldn’t have to hide your pricing in order to try to force people to have [00:08:00] conversations with you. You should be attracting your ideal clients, having them look at that and go, I do want to have a conversation with Nikki, or I do want to have a conversation with Sarah because I’m not sure what is the right offer for me, but I can tell already that she’s got something.
[00:08:15] She’s got something for me. Yeah, I
[00:08:18] Sarah: love, I love your approach and I definitely share the same you and, and you mentioned something where other sales coaches might tell people to not put their prices so that, you know, you get, people have to get on a sales conversation with you and you said that might be in your benefit.
[00:08:38] I actually don’t see it as a benefit. And I’m sure a lot of my listeners won’t either because. I feel like we don’t want to be in that convincing energy on sales calls anyways, right? I agree. It’s uncomfortable. Yeah. I actually think it’s our, in our benefit. If [00:09:00] people have the prices. On the website. So they, they know exactly what to expect and you’re, you’re right.
[00:09:06] It’s, it’s so uncomfortable. The unknown and embarrassment comes in. It’s just human to feel uncomfortable to talk about money. And so to have that upfront and just kind of like, okay, here’s the deal. And also, like you said, it creates this trust of, there’s not going to be any hidden stuff that I don’t know and don’t expect, and it’s just like, it’s all out there, totally agree.
[00:09:31] Nikki: Yeah, you know sales your job is not to convince people to buy from you and if you’re approaching sales from this Mindset of like I’ve got to convince people Well convincing somebody of something It does come off a little manipulative and it does come off a little like icky and you know, I think one of the misconceptions about selling is that people think sales is something you do to another person and kind of taking a, you know, a page out of your book about that humane [00:10:00] approach.
[00:10:01] You shouldn’t have to do anything to another person. I teach that sales is something you do with another person. It’s a collaboration. And as much as you’re deciding whether or not I’m a good fit for you, I’m also deciding whether or not you’re a good fit for me, for my business. Can I really serve you and solve the problem or meet the need that you have?
[00:10:22] And being really candid and honest about that, and not in a way that I don’t have to feel bad about myself if you’re not a good fit, you don’t have to feel bad about yourself if we’re not a good fit. We just bless and release and move on. And that’s okay.
[00:10:38] Sarah: I feel like it’s, it takes that pressure out of this.
[00:10:42] What I call the gentle sales conversation, right? Um, in the selling like a human book, I say, you know, picture yourself in the serene garden where you’re just having a cup of tea or coffee with your ideal client. And, and there, the money doesn’t even come [00:11:00] in or it comes in very shortly at the end because it’s already dealt with, right?
[00:11:04] I, I even send out like a coaching guide where again, it explains, you know, here’s how Our collaboration works. Here’s the price again. And like they have time to look at this in detail before we ever get on a call. And so then we just have time to be human together and do what you said. It’s like, Oh, we’re figuring out if we’re a good fit and if I can truly help you.
[00:11:29] And it’s kind of like this being human and trying to do something to someone like you said.
[00:11:37] Nikki: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I totally agree. I
[00:11:39] Sarah: love that. Thank you. Yeah. So in terms of the pricing, it looks like we totally agree yet. I think sometimes people asked, well, what if I have custom projects? You know, it’s like, what if I don’t work hourly and it’s not just like, oh, my hourly rate is this.
[00:11:58] I create custom [00:12:00] projects. So I can put. The prices on the website or can I is there another solution you offer?
[00:12:07] Nikki: Yeah, you actually still can. You could put a range now and I want to be really clear about this because a lot of times people think, well, I’ll just put a. A starting at price and that’s a mistake.
[00:12:20] If, if you put a starting at price, you just have anchored this low price and that’s not what you want to do, especially you get on a call with somebody, you find out, you know, how in depth their project is and that starting at price isn’t even close to what the price is that you’re going to. Have to charge them in order to facilitate it.
[00:12:40] So you can put a range. You could say prices, you know, for this type of project range typically between, you know, and you, you know, have the low price to the high price. And it can, I don’t care if it’s a thousand dollars, John or a thousand dollars, just by putting a range, it shows that you’re being revealing.
[00:12:56] Now you don’t want to put, you don’t want to say something that’s not [00:13:00] true. So always stand in integrity. And if you know that projects. Could potentially range between 30, 000 and 100, 000 put that and then when they get on the call with you and you say to them, you know, based on what you’ve shared the, the project, you know, that we’re looking at here is probably in that 70, 000 range.
[00:13:19] Well, they can feel relieved because it’s not the high end. They’re like. At least it’s not 100, 000. But if you say 30, 000 to, you know, just starting at 30, 000 and then you say 70, 000 to them, they’re going to be upset. They’re going to feel like, oh, wow, you’re gouging me. No, I’m giving you a legitimate price and I have been candid about this is the range, right?
[00:13:45] Sarah: Yeah, so is that similar to the the idea of anchoring?
[00:13:51] Nikki: Yeah, exactly. That’s exactly what it is Yeah, so so you wouldn’t just put the high price here because that that is a way to anchor [00:14:00] the high price But you wouldn’t want to do that because that would probably scare off the people that would fall in the smaller, you know Pricing.
[00:14:06] So put a range on the website. Now, when you talk about your offer or you talk about the ways that you could solve the problem for them in a conversation, I do believe in doing top down selling. So that is anchoring the higher price first and then work your way down from there. And again, you always want to stand in your place of integrity, don’t recommend 100, 000 project.
[00:14:30] If that is so outside of scope of what’s going to solve their problem, you know, you still have to show up from a place of integrity, which I suspect that all of your listeners already are committed to doing that, right? This is what would attract them to listen to you and follow you. So they’re already not going to recommend something that’s out of.
[00:14:50] You know, out of reach or out of scope or out of integrity, frankly, but when you say to somebody, you know, based on what you’ve shared, there are 3 ways that we could work together. We [00:15:00] could, and you’re going to start at the top. You’re going to say we could do the full package, you know, the full project.
[00:15:06] It’s going to get you everything that you want. And the pricing for that is this. You know, we could also kind of start in the middle where we could get most of the things you want to see how it’s going and then, you know, whatever. And the price and now this is a smaller price and you go, or if you’re just wanting the basic package just to get that first piece.
[00:15:26] You know, done for you, then it’s this price. So you always start top down. And the reason you do that is the way our brains work as humans. We come out of the womb already knowing how to grasp like babies already know how to grasp things, right? Like now. You ever help hold a baby and they get a hold of your hair like, you know, you know, they already like nobody had to teach them how to pull hair.
[00:15:52] Like they know how to grasp. So as humans, we like to, we like to attach to things. So when you start at the [00:16:00] top and you work your way down, it’s easier for people to make a decision that is a better decision for them because they don’t like to have, they don’t like to give up things. In order to get what they want, but on the flip side of this, the reason you don’t start at the bottom and work your way up is because we don’t like to pay more to get what we need.
[00:16:21] Sarah: Yeah, I’m gonna say that again. We don’t want to pay more to get what we need. So that’s why we start from the top and work. So that’s interesting because usually what I heard is, um, you know, sales coaches would say, oh, mention your price and then just. Like probably the highest price and then just stop talking and see what the reaction is where you are saying, no, give all the options starting from the top and then have a conversation around it.
[00:16:58] Is that correct? [00:17:00] Well,
[00:17:00] Nikki: uh, almost, I’m going to say almost, I’m going to, I’m going to, if I can just clarify a little bit around that. So. I’m totally fine. If I have a conversation with you, you tell me what you need. And I have a specific program that is going to meet your needs. I’m happy to say, you know, based on what you’ve shared, the program that is going to meet the things that you’ve talked about, it’s going to get you this, this and this.
[00:17:26] And 10, 000. Now, I’m If you clutch your pearls and go like, Oh, my God, 10, 000 sticky, that’s a little rich for my blood, right? I might have missed the mark a little bit there with you. So I sometimes, you know, based on what people have shared, there are a couple different ways where, you know, a couple ways for them to get it.
[00:17:52] So if you’re going to lay out more than one option for somebody, don’t ever give them more than three, Okay. Initially to make a decision [00:18:00] with, and when you do that, if you’re going to say, you know, there’s a couple of ways that I, you know, like just a basic question. So just to give you a real life example, if somebody said to me, you know, Nikki, what are the, what are the ways that you work with clients?
[00:18:14] Have a lot of ways that I work with clients, but I’m never going to answer that question when with more than three answers So I’m gonna say, you know, I have private coaching clients I have classes that I offer and then I have a group coaching program of those three Which are you most interested in hearing more about now?
[00:18:32] I haven’t actually listed pricing But if they say what you know, what are the three ways or what other ways you work with clients? What’s the pricing I could say? I have private coaching. It ranges from this to this. I have classes. They typically are priced at this. I have a group coaching program and it’s a monthly.
[00:18:50] You know, payment. And it’s this of those three, which are you most interested in hearing more about? Because if I try to tell somebody all the ways I work with [00:19:00] them, I will overwhelm them and an overwhelmed mind is not going to buy. They’re not going to make a decision. So I have to be the expert. I have to be the person that will stand in my place of authority and recommend because I’ve asked you the right questions.
[00:19:18] Thank you. What’s the right solution for you?
[00:19:21] Sarah: So to come back to my question about, you know, do you state all three or just the one and then wait for an answer? Um, I guess it depends whether they have a very specific request and, you know, you basically already talked about something that is very. Fitting for their needs, then you would just offer that.
[00:19:41] And then maybe from there, if they’re like, Oh, that’s a little bit high. Is there anything else we could do? Then you could offer your group coaching, for example. So it’s really just kind of going with the flow. That’s how I’ve always done it. And it feels good to be able to offer. Different solutions, [00:20:00] depending on, you know, depending on the budget that people have and then say, well, you know, maybe we can do this.
[00:20:07] And sometimes I even come up with new offers and say, well, Okay. You know, I really want to help you because you’re, you know, doing such good work for a cause that really is important to me. And then, you know, I’ll come up with with a new offer or add them to a program as well as my 1 on 1 coaching things like that.
[00:20:28] I think we can. One thing that I learned with pricing and selling is like, we are taking ourselves often too seriously. Like we, we think we have to be just, you know, rigid kind of business owners. And it’s like, well, actually, you know, you, you can still make money and just be a bit more in the flow. Um, I don’t know what you think about that, Nikki.
[00:20:50] Nikki: agree with you 100%. I think, you know, um, if I could just comment on what I’m hearing you say, and you please correct me if this is not [00:21:00] in alignment, is that the sales, the sales conversation. Is a conversation, right? And so it has this back and forth flow. You shouldn’t just be talking at people the whole time.
[00:21:14] And so you should talk with and the way to talk with people oftentimes is to ask questions. So if you lay out an offer and somebody’s like, Oh. That’s a little bit more than what I was expecting, then my next thing I’m going to say to you isn’t to shame you or try to push you into it. I’m going to follow up and say, well, what were you expecting?
[00:21:36] Like, it’s a conversation and then you come back at me and I say, well, I do have maybe a way we could get started together. And I do think as a, you know, depending on the size of your business and who’s doing the selling in your business, if you’re a solopreneur entrepreneur, like there is something about being a little nimble, you know, being, I always say my all time favorite quote is blessed are the flexible [00:22:00] for, they shall not be bent out of shape.
[00:22:03] And the idea in your sales conversation. Is to have some flexibility, you know, if you identify the person I’m talking to right now is an ideal client, they definitely have a need and I feel compelled to want to serve them in some way, you know, I wouldn’t develop a new product offering for every single conversation because then you’re going to probably burn yourself out, frankly, in your business, but sometimes you can add a little tweak here and there, you know, every once in a while, somebody like I just had somebody yesterday.
[00:22:34] Okay. I put out an offer on a training and somebody followed up with me and said, you know, Nikki, I really want to do this with you, but I can’t start it, you know, until after the first of the year. And I said, well, I’m happy to wait, you know, like I, I didn’t tell anybody else that, but this is what this person needs.
[00:22:57] And so I’ll do that for that person. Cause [00:23:00] I have the ability to make that decision in my business. Yeah,
[00:23:04] Sarah: that so resonates. We also talked about humane payment plans in the community, uh, recently. And that’s another thing that we feel strongly about. It’s kind of this integrity piece where we, if we are safe ourselves, right, if we have enough to pay our bills.
[00:23:23] And and yet someone is struggling a little bit and can’t make the whole payment and then, you know, why would we make payment plans that are non humane where it’s like, oh, now you have to pay 20 percent more just because you can’t make the one full time payment. And so we were just discussing how can we make it a win win situation where it’s like.
[00:23:48] Yeah, I really want you to have this program or coaching or whatever it is. And yet, you know, there needs to be a huge trust and that trust [00:24:00] I now see is established already before, right? Obviously through your marketing, that’s what humane marketing is all about, but even through the pricing, uh, like having these prices on your website.
[00:24:13] That also creates trust because it’s like, well, it’s all up there, you know, it’s all understood and clear and, um, yeah, I think there’s a lot of integrity to that. Um, yeah, just curious what you think about payment plans and if you have any thoughts on that.
[00:24:30] Nikki: I love the idea of payment plans. As long as it’s still like you said, it’s, it’s not, it’s not hurting your business, you know, from a cash flow standpoint, it’s not causing you to not be able to pay your vendors or pay your team or something like that.
[00:24:44] Then I think there’s nothing wrong with a payment plan. As a matter of fact, I love payment plans. And even the program that I mentioned yesterday that I offered when you go to the, you know, to the Page to sign up right underneath there. There’s an option for a [00:25:00] payment plan. Sometimes I promote payment plans heavily and mark, you know, and I’m marketing an offer.
[00:25:06] Sometimes I don’t. I just put them, you know, subtly on the page for somebody because if they’ve clicked with an interest and they’ve shown some interest by clicking on the page and wanting to learn more about whatever the offer is, Yeah. And if there’s some part of them, it’s like, dang, I’d really like to do this, but I don’t have this, you know, I don’t have that much money right now available to spend on, you know, coaching with Dickie or whatever they see like, oh, there’s a payment plan there.
[00:25:33] And for me, it’s. It’s fine. Like, I’m, I’m happy to do that. Um, I will say, you know, just to comment on payment plans. One, one, one thing that I think sometimes can be a limiting, um, belief around payment plans for entrepreneurs, for business owners is they think that the payment plan has to be the same amount.
[00:25:58] Over a certain [00:26:00] period of time. So, for instance, I’m going to do a payment plan. That means I’ve got to break it up into, you know, it’s a 3 month program. So it has to be 3 of the exact same payments and and that to me isn’t always the case. Sometimes if a lot of the work, the heavy lifting is done in that first, you know, part of working together, I often will give people the option of paying 50 percent up front because I know that my like the majority of the work that I’m doing, the really heavy lifting and the stuff that costs my business, the money, you know, to it.
[00:26:36] You know, pay for whatever the extras are, the stuff that comes like I need to be able to cover those costs. But then what I’ll do is then I will split up the other 50 percent over the next two months or whatever. Like there’s so make sure that you’re giving yourself a little bit of flexibility in your payment plans to you don’t want to make it confusing or crazy.
[00:26:56] But, you know, I just had a client where I was coaching her around this [00:27:00] and she was like, it’s so hard for me to do a payment plan because of all the costs involved in that first month. And I was like, well, what if we collected 50%? And she was like, would people do that? And I was like, People do it with me all the time.
[00:27:13] Let’s try it. And then she came back and she’s like, they were so happy to do it that way. And I was like, yeah, again, blessed are the flexible. You don’t have to be bent out of shape, be willing to do things that work for your business, but also make it easy for people to say yes to hiring you. That’s a good
[00:27:30] Sarah: reminder, because again, the humane approach is not just serving your clients.
[00:27:36] It’s also serving yourself. And so it really is important that you don’t get into trouble because you’re, you know, making everything possible for them, where then you are struggling in the back. So, so it’s really just, yeah, having the conversation and saying, look, I’d love to offer you this. Uh, but this is what I need, right.
[00:27:57] And then have this conversation. And I think [00:28:00] it really comes with this trust building that is so important. And I think that’s also where you can, you just said, you know, you wouldn’t have offered to wait to just anybody who will ask, but this person, that’s what they needed. And so you’re like, yeah, I’m happy to do that.
[00:28:19] So in a way it’s like, well, just because you have a standard program or a standard fee doesn’t mean you have to exactly do the same thing for everybody because, um, especially, you know, in the service business, we are, we’re in the human business. And so we should be talking to people about these things.
[00:28:41] We shouldn’t just say this is. You know how it is and that’s it. And yet so often that’s what we’re taught in sales. It’s like, no, you come up with your price and that’s how it is. And you know, no flexibility at all. So, yeah, yeah, appreciate your input
[00:28:57] Nikki: here. Yeah. It, is it okay if I just add [00:29:00] like one little piece to this idea of payment plan in the conversation of the sale?
[00:29:04] Right. Um, So one of the things that I think is important also to remember is so if you’re having a conversation with a prospective client and you talk about the offer and they say, Oh, my gosh. You know, that sounds perfect for me, but really, I just don’t have the funds right now to do that. One of the cautions that I would say is don’t default to the payment plan conversation check to see if the payment plan conversation is appropriate.
[00:29:35] So I was. I always look at things of like asking permission. So instead of, you know, somebody pushes back on price, if you go right into the payment plan option without getting their permission to talk about it, it, it can come off a little salesy and aggressive. So when somebody pushes back to me on price, I will usually say, now, if I was able to offer you a payment plan, would that be something [00:30:00] you’d be interested in considering?
[00:30:01] And would that make it more feasible for you? Right, so I don’t go into the payment plan because if they say no, Nikki, even with a payment plan, I just couldn’t do it, then I’m going to respect that and I’m going to pull back. But if you go right into payment plan again, it sounds like you’re kind of ignoring what they said to you that they can’t afford it.
[00:30:21] But I’m glad you brought that up.
[00:30:23] Sarah: Yeah, that’s so important because yeah, we’re not trying to push the payment plan somebody. Right? Because it’s like this. You know, praise no is an answer. And, and, and it’s really, that’s what it is. It’s like, if they just don’t want to, or can’t, then, then we should respect that.
[00:30:43] And a payment plan is not going to solve that. That’s so true. It’s a very different energy when they asked for the payment plan, whether one kind of. You know, bring on the topic and actually want to kind of push them towards the payment plan. I totally [00:31:00] agree. I don’t think I ever bring it up. Um, yeah, I, I would probably rather go, you know, offer another solution, like the group coaching or something like that.
[00:31:12] And then maybe they would come back and say, actually, you know, do you offer a payment plan? So, because I think they’re quite. No, now, and so sometimes people, you know, often people ask me about payment plans. So yeah, that’s a good distinction. Thanks so much for for bringing that in. Yeah.
[00:31:30] Nikki: Thank you for letting me.
[00:31:33] Sarah: Um, anything else you want to share about. Prices and payments and selling conversations, um, shared a lot of things, but anything else that comes to mind?
[00:31:45] Nikki: Well, one of the things that I want to, um, maybe just touch on in case this is helpful for your audience is. There’s a difference between being pushy and aggressive in a sales conversation versus making it easy for somebody to [00:32:00] make a decision.
[00:32:01] So I, I find that a lot of times when people are uncomfortable with sales, they’re hesitant to ask somebody to move forward or invite them to take that next step with them. And. I want to just say in a really loving kind way that that’s your stuff and you need to set it aside. That’s your mindset stuff because your job is to make it really easy for people to make decisions.
[00:32:25] Doesn’t mean the decision’s always going to go in your favor. But you still want to make sure that if you are talking to somebody and they’ve got a need and they’ve got, they’ve expressed interest in some way, please, please, please make sure that you ask them for their business so that they can decide in the moment whether or not it’s the right next step for them.
[00:32:47] But if you don’t ask them, Don’t assume that they’ll decide because our brains are lazy and we have decision fatigue and we’re overwhelmed. And so if you don’t make it easy for somebody, a lot of times they’ll be like, Oh, I’m just going to think [00:33:00] about it. But then they actually never think about it because they have too many other things to think about.
[00:33:05] And then they don’t ever get the solution to the problem or the need that they have. So make sure you always follow up in, in the appropriate time in a conversation. And go ahead and ask for the sale, ask for the business and then be quiet and let them say one way or the other.
[00:33:22] Sarah: Yeah, thanks for that reminder.
[00:33:25] One, one thing that also just, I remember there’s a question that I always ask about expectations because we talked, you mentioned integrity a few times and I do. And just earlier, before I call, I had another email or LinkedIn message from someone who bought a big package and was disillusioned because of, you know, promises that were not kept.
[00:33:47] And so I think it’s really important that piece of, um. Expectations to ask in a gentle sales conversation. Well, what’s your expectations for our work together, you know, to really [00:34:00] understand what they’re expecting and what you can actually be in full integrity deliver, because that again. It helps you understand where there are and what their actual beliefs are.
[00:34:13] And it also helps this trust building again. And then it’s just kind of like, you know, it’s, it’s setting the stage for a beautiful collaboration. Then have not addressing it. And the person thinking, oh, I’m going to get 20 new clients from this and. You, meanwhile, not thinking that at all, right? You’re like, no, this is, you know, I can’t promise that.
[00:34:35] So just putting it out into the open and having a conversation about that is really important, I think. I
[00:34:42] Nikki: love that you said that and commented on that. It’s you know, you never want to you never want to over promise and under deliver. But at the same time, you don’t if you don’t understand what your client has in their mind because they haven’t been given the opportunity to articulate it.
[00:34:59] You [00:35:00] may. In inadvertently leave them feeling like you over promised and under delivered and how Disappointing not only is that to them But also for you and it starts to get in your head and you start to think well Maybe i’m not as good as I think I am or maybe my offer isn’t the right offer Like all of that negative mindset could have been avoided doing exactly what you just said sarah.
[00:35:23] I love that so much
[00:35:26] Sarah: This has been wonderful. Thanks so much for For being here and doing such good work. Nikki, please do tell us where people can find you. And I believe you have a, an offer
[00:35:36] Nikki: for us as well. I do. Thank you so much for having me. Um, I always like to give a gift when I get to come and be with somebody and spend some time in front of their audience.
[00:35:46] So I have a course, it’s a really short little training, and it talks about the five steps to a sales conversation. That’s my signature framework. It’s called mastering the sales conversation, and it will give you the five steps [00:36:00] and what to say or do in those five steps that isn’t, it’s not script. It’s teaching you how to show up and be your authentic, genuine self in those conversations.
[00:36:09] So you can get that by going to your sales maven. com forward slash humane. And that’ll be there for you. It’s free. You can download it. And once you do that, then we’ll be connected.
[00:36:20] Sarah: Wonderful. Thank you so much. Which, uh, social platform are you usually, uh, most active on,
[00:36:27] Nikki: Nikki? I tend to be the most active on LinkedIn and Instagram, but I also have a podcast too called Sales Maven.
[00:36:34] So since you’re, you know, these are your listeners, if they are looking for another podcast to check out, I would encourage them to check out the Sales Maven
[00:36:42] Sarah: podcast. Wonderful. Yeah. And as you know, I always have a last question and that is what are you grateful for today or this week?
[00:36:51] Nikki: You know what i’m most grateful for today is that the weather here where I live in Boise, Idaho is starting to shift And i’m so excited for fall And we’re [00:37:00] starting to let go of some of those really hot days.
[00:37:03] So i’m so grateful for the change in the season
[00:37:05] Sarah: Wonderful. Yeah. And over here it’s like an Indian summer. It’s still warm, but definitely crisp in the morning and at night. So that’s lovely. Yeah. Wonderful. Thanks so much for hanging out Nikki.
[00:37:19] Nikki: Thanks for having me.
[00:37:26] Sarah: Did you take some notes? I hope you got great value from listening to this episode. You can find out more about Nikki and her work at yoursalesmaven. com. And she’s also offering us a free resource about being our confidence in the sales conversation and you’ll find that at your sales maven dot com forward slash humane.
[00:37:49] And as always, if you’re looking for others who think like you, then why not join us in the humane marketing circle where we have deep conversations about marketing, [00:38:00] but also about selling and pricing and. Humane payment plans, and all of this good stuff. You can find out more at humane. marketing. com forward slash circle.
[00:38:11] You’ll find the show notes of this episode at humane. marketing. com forward slash H M 1 7 5 on this beautiful page. You also find a series of free offers such as the humane business manifesto, as well as my two books, marketing like we’re human and selling like we’re human. Thank you so much for listening and being part of a generation.
[00:38:33] We are marketers who cares for yourself, your clients, and the planet. We are change makers before we are marketers. So go be the change you want to see in the world. Speak soon.