Your Sales Mindset
Sales are a hot, uncomfortable topic for many accountants, especially when your work is personally meaningful. In fact it’s easier to promote someone else’s business than your own. That’s exactly why asking for the sale is uncomfortable.
Discussing payment feels especially difficult when you’re coming from a place of “not enough” and scarcity. Asking someone to invest in your services is quite often the most vulnerable part of the conversation.
The Money Part
Ever find yourself stumbling through the money part of the sales conversation? Well, your discomfort affects the outcome. Subconsciously, this influences a potential client’s decision to work with you.
You second-guess yourself as your head fills with worries.
- What if she says “no.”
- Can she really afford my service?
- Are my rates too high?
- The competition can offer more.
- I really need a new client.
Because of all this chatter, you fail to offer your largest package; although it’s the one which best fit her needs. Basically, you’re concerned that she can’t afford your fees. So, you offer a more economical solution.
By not offering the best option, you’re making a decision for her. This disempowers your new client. She’s now blocked from choosing the ideal solution. Plus, it reduces your earning potential.
How often do feelings of unworthiness impact your sales conversations? You’d be surprised at how many accounting professionals I speak with struggle in this area – even ones who appear to have it all together.
#Accounting professionals who increase their self-worth then find this increases their net worth. Read full post. #getpaidwhatyoureworth Click To Tweet
Why Asking for the Sale Seems Difficult
Asking for the sale seems so difficult. As a result, you avoid discussing pricing, even though she needs those numbers to make an informed decision.
The reason it’s so scary is not the money or the value of the work you do, but your beliefs about your worth.
Those beliefs are often hidden away. That’s why you don’t easily recognize them. You realize talking about the money part is uncomfortable, but you don’t know why. As you transition to this part of the conversation, you get tongue-tied.
I know you’re doing something you love. And, you don’t do this primarily for the money. That makes it feel transactional. However, your business requires money to operate and you deserve to be well-paid.
I know #accounting is something you enjoy doing. And, you deserve to be well-paid for the difference you make for your clients. Read full post. #getpaidwhatyoureworth Click To Tweet
Two primary roadblocks interfere with asking for the sale:
- Your stuff about money interferes with your desire to be well paid for your services.
- You don’t want to be judged as greedy.
These hidden beliefs prevent you from confidently discussing the money part. Now here’s the catch – potential clients want this information. They perceive you as an adviser who can solve their problem. All you need to do is explain how it works. Logically, you know all this.
The Cost of Your Sales Fear
Avoiding the money part affects you and your potential client.
Failing to discuss what you offer is unfair to your potential client. She wants you to solve her problem. However, when you end the conversation without sharing your services and your fees, her problem remains unsolved.
Consider this – your conversation heightened her awareness about her situation. As a result, she has no choice but to continue searching for a solution.
Potential clients eventually reach a point where they don’t want to struggle with their #accounting problems any longer. There’s a cost to tolerating things for too long. Read full post. #getpaidwhatyoureworth Click To Tweet
When she talks with the next person who can help, and that accountant comfortably asks for the sale, she readily says yes. Your conversation made her next conversation turn into an easy yes. You did all the work for another accountant to work with her.
Invest in Solutions
People eventually reach a point where they don’t want to struggle with their problem any longer. There’s a cost to tolerating things for too long.
The time to be free of her messy finances has finally arrived. As a result, she’s ready to invest in the solution. It’s empowering to finally do something which has been avoided for quite some time.
Are you ready to confidently ask for the sale? Then add these 5 steps to your sales conversations.
- Advisor. What you do isn’t the most important part. People work with you because of what you know. Connect with your value. Highlight what your clients gain from your services. Then dig a little deeper to make sure your list extends beyond the obvious benefits.
- Shift your focus. Asking for the sale is not about you – although it feels that way right now. View your service as an opportunity for a potential client to invest in herself. You service is the solution she’s been seeking.
- Be selective. Two things occur during sales conversations. She’s deciding whether you can help her. And you’re deciding whether, or not, you want this person as a client. Don’t invite her to work with you if it’s someone you don’t really want to work with. You’re not obligated to make an offer. Give yourself permission to cherry pick your clients.
- Less is more. Talking too much often kills a sale. Give enough information for her to make a decision. However, too many details leads to information overload. That’s when it’s easier for her to postpone getting started.
- Objections. Don’t let objections take you by surprise. Be prepared. Know your most common objections. As a trusted advisor, ask great questions to understand the reason behind the objection. View this simply as a request for more information.
You can eliminate all of your worries about sales conversations by getting comfortable talking about your services and the money part.
You have to believe in the value of your #accounting services before you can expect anyone else to recognize it's value. Read full post. #getpaidwhatyoureworth Click To Tweet
Practice Asking for the Sale
Connect with your worth. Fully believe your service makes a difference for your clients. Then practice discussing what it’s like to work with you and sharing your fees.
Practice out loud. Stand in front of a mirror. Speak into a recording device. Although discussing the money part is uncomfortable now, your comfort level improves over time.
You’re Worth It
There’s a reason you’re uncomfortable talking about your service and the money part. Do you know what you’re holding onto that gets in the way? What would be different if that thought no longer affected you?
You have to believe in yourself before you can expect anyone else to believe in you.
Shift your focus by emphasizing the difference you make for your clients. They highly value your expertise about the financials. Money is simply an exchange for your service.
Increase your self-worth to increase your net worth. As a sports psychologist turned business coach, I know your self-worth directly affects your income. It’s possible to shift from not enough to more than enough.
Does asking for the sale feels difficult? Follow these recommendations for your accounting practice to be successful and grow without burning out. Right NOW claim your FREE RESOURCE to attract high value clients who happily pay your fees.
