Reframing "Selling"

Let's remove the ick factor.

Think back to your previous full-time roles. I bet that you were the type of employee who brought a lot of new and creative ideas to the table. An innovative person who wanted to actively improve things.

Most solopreneurs and consultants have that kind of thinking in their blood. It’s just how they operate.

You were probably known for speaking up in meetings, putting together inventive strategies and tactics, and trying to break the mold.

But today, as you run your own business - you may struggle with selling your services and offerings.

So many solos view selling as pushy, aggressive, uncomfortable. All-around icky.

I want to help you reframe that thinking.

What if you thought about it as suggesting instead of selling.

The same way you suggested new ideas and solutions in meetings with your previous employers, you now suggest ideas and solutions with your current clients and prospects. In conversations with them, you’re a fount of ideas. It’s just how you operate.

And your prospects and clients love that about you.

They know that every suggestion is exactly that - a suggestion. Something they can consider briefly or extensively. Something they can take or leave. Something they can implement when the timing is right - whether that’s right now or two years from now.

The client / prospect is in the power position. Always. And you fully recognize and respect that.

But it’s your job, as a provider of expert services, to identify opportunities, spot roadblocks, and propose potential solutions. It’s part of the value you provide.

And when you make your suggestions, there’s no pressure in it.

It’s not a hard sell. It’s a quick idea to make the person’s business and work life meaningfully better.

If you sense there’s some interest in the idea, you then suggest that you’ll send over a one-pager of what it could look like. (If you get to this point, 95% will say yes to having you put together the document. Because why the hell not? Doesn’t hurt to take a look.)

And then you’re putting together a simple one-page proposal for how that suggestion could translate into scoped work. If you’re smart, you’re including 2-3 levels for scale and price (so it’s harder to say no). You might even include a signature line right on the document - so the next step is built in. That’s what I often did.

Now your off-the-cuff suggestion is a tangible initiative. It’s on paper. It’s official. And you’re just a signature away from executing the work (and getting the fees).

This is what consultative selling looks like. It isn’t pushy. It isn’t aggressive. It isn’t icky.

It’s just allowing yourself to show up as who you really are - the person with all the great ideas.