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It’s no secret that you need fruitful sales conversations with your ideal clients to build a successful expertise business—enough so that you don’t feel pressure to close and can happily focus on serving them.
But.
When you’re in a season where that’s not happening often enough, you can feel stuck.
That’s when a quick win can give you the boost you need to keep going AND build some traction—so try this 3-step tango to get your mojo moving again.
Make a list of people you know who might need the transformation you deliver.
And by “know” I mean in the broadest sense: not only your friends, former clients and colleagues, but your LinkedIn connections, that guy you chatted with at the conference, the gal who keeps tweeting about symptoms of the problem you solve, etc.
Identify at least 25 people, but don’t stop there. Push yourself—can you get to 50? 75? 100? Challenge yourself to open your mind about who might be a good client for you.
Before you roll your eyes, remember that your ultimate goal here is to build traction. If what you’ve been doing isn’t working, it’s time to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Invite your “possibles” to a brief exploratory call.
Think 15-30 minutes, depending on your target and how well you know them.
The purpose of this call is NOT selling. It’s to build on your “relationship” (even if that’s just being connected on LinkedIn) and in the process figure out if they 1) have the problem you think they do and 2) want help solving it.
That’s it.
Resist any attempt to move into sales mode (plus if you’re feeling like you need a win, they will smell your desperation). Instead…
Offer your potential fits a Strategy Call.
Once you’ve identified this person wants your kind of help, invite them to a Strategy Call (you can get it on your calendars before hanging up or send them a scheduling link immediately after).
Your Strategy Call is a deeper sales conversation.
The kind where you’re listening carefully to their situation, offering up observations and insights while testing whether you want to work together (it’s not a free “pick my brain” session).
Why two calls vs. one when you find a potential fit?
Separating these calls keeps your relationship clear—you’re not asking them for 15 minutes and taking 60—and it puts up guardrails to keep you from veering into pitch mode (which is a turn-off).
Having these kinds of real conversations gives you immediate insight into what your people are wrestling with—and a very high probability at least one will hire you quickly to help solve their problem.
Win-win.
Related: Four Triggers That Tell You It’s Time To Make Some New Moves