It’s not a money problem, it’s an asking problem
Being in a program with a coach, community or mastermind where I can gain visibility into my blindspots is one of the most important investments I make in my business. How can you get people (prospects, future clients, partners, etc.) to invest in you when you don’t invest in yourself?
About ten or so years ago I invested in the Sandler sales training program, the President’s Club. I went to meetings, I learned the “Sandler System” (the Sandler Submarine, for those familiar), and felt like I got “smart” about sales. But I still had my resistance to selling because of my story about “bothering people,” which was a belief I adopted from childhood, among many others that kept me playing small, which I attributed to why I wasn’t getting results.
But it was something different that was keeping me from getting results with the Sandler system.
Sure, the training may have helped me refine my approach, made me have more deliberate consult conversations, but in the end I still didn’t get a noticeable increase in sales revenue.
So I made the sales program wrong. I decided, “It didn’t work. Wasn’t the right program for me and my business.”
Oh, how wrong I was.
Fast forward to more recently, I am learning new and different perspectives around sales. A powerful one that hit me over the head was, “It’s never a money problem, it’s an asking problem.”
Whoa.
Let me explain.
When you, the solopreneur, complain about not making enough money or struggle growing your business revenue, ask yourself this:
Are you making offers frequently enough?
If the answer is yes, then ask yourself this:
Are you asking for enough when you do make an offer?
““It all starts with believing in your value and being in action, even if you have to force yourself to get uncomfortable.””
Here’s the thing. If you are struggling with income, it’s not a money problem, it’s an asking problem. You are either not asking frequently enough or you’re not asking for enough. And yes, it could be a combination of both.
This is what was going on with me, and it’s a knee-jerk, go-to behavior I continue to address every single day. It’s also the real reason Sandler sales training wasn’t working—I wasn’t making enough offers and making them at the right price!
Why? Because:
I’d rather give free consulting than make an offer on the sales call.
I’d rather work hard to prove my value on the sales call.
I’d rather coach, teach or serve in some manner on the sales call.
I’d rather worm my way around negotiating my fee to warm the prospect up on the sales call.
I’d rather drag it out to two or more consult calls before I make an offer.
Do you have behaviors (or beliefs) that prevent or slow you down from making offers? From asking for more? It’s worth examining, and I know I could always be doing more of both.
It all starts with believing in your value and being in action, even if you have to force yourself to get uncomfortable. Stop the behaviors that aren’t getting you the results you want and start believing in your value and putting yourself out there and helping people who need you sooner rather than later.
Check in with yourself and see where and how you can show up and be there for your future clients in a powerful way and make more offers at the price you deserve.
Comment below how this is showing up in your business. 🍀
