Unfortunately, every entrepreneur has experienced periods where they are not receiving the sales they want. Sometimes no sales at all. And it can be frustrating, debilitating, and even bring on bouts of anxiety. Especially, if you believe you are doing it all. I have been there as well. Where I enthusiastically launched a programme and got not 1 sale! But I have learned over the years how to handle these situations and what to look out for. I want to suggest that if this is your reality then do these are 5 things to do when sales are not coming in.
1. Go back to your ideal clients
Who exactly are you trying to sell to? Is that very clear to you and your audience? This is key because even if you may have multiple audiences, each offer you put out may not be exactly for every one of them.
Be specific in identifying who your offering is for and let them know outright that this is for them and why they need this offering. Sometimes they do not know what they do not know. Make it very clear to them.
Sometimes people do not buy from you because they are not sure exactly who you are trying to sell to or the solution is not very clear to them. So your audience may be reading your social media posts, your emails, your blogs and even listening to your videos, but they walk away more confused because they are not sure exactly HOW this thing is going to change their lives.
We focus so much on the features of our offering and less on the benefits. Understanding and communicating the benefits will persuade them to buy in a flash because they can ‘see’ exactly how their lives will be improved.
3. Are you sharing it enough?
Another misconception that many entrepreneurs harbour is that their audience will get tired of hearing about their offer. The answer is YES and NO. This is where you have to learn about content marketing.
The rule of thumb is to sell 20% of the time and teach 80% of the time. This does not mean just sharing your offering twice a week. You should be sharing this offering every day! But instead of simply telling your audience to buy from you, lead with education and inspiration. Share stories and testimonials. Spend time engaging them in discussions around your offerings and then lead them to the offering. This makes selling less sleazy for you and if feels less overwhelming to your ideal clients as well.
4. Are you sharing it in multiple places?
The knee-jerk reaction is to only share on your social media platform. And while social media is powerful in conveying your message, think about your audience for a second. They are bombarded by social media posts every day. If you do decide to use social media, then use it optimally. Use
Beyond social media, do not forget your email list. Optimize your list by sharing the benefits of your offer and simply repurpose all that great information you are sharing on social media to your email list.
Also, do not underestimate the power of sharing it with someone else audience. If you can get featured on podcasts or in groups where your ideal clients are, then it’s a great opportunity to share your offer as well.
And finally, traditional media is not dead. Depending on your audience and your offering, jumping on a radio or television interview can give you great leverage. Even being featured in a newspaper or magazine loved by your audience can trigger massive sales.
5. Make your offer more enticing
I do not mean to discount your prices, but instead, when sharing the benefits of your offer,
give them a time frame to get it at a special price with an increased price after that time.
Give recurring clients a coupon code.
Encourage them to share the offer to win prizes.
Give them a portion of it free and let them purchase the rest. (The free part has to blow them away!)
Offer bonuses to the original offer.
Offer a payment plan
There are so many things that you can do to make your offer more enticing to your audience once you understand what gets them excited to buy.
IN CONCLUSION
Nobody wants to launch an offering to crickets. Ideally, we all want daily continuous sales from multiple sources. But that comes with a strategy and a great understanding of your market which does not happen overnight. Building a business means, you have to continuously be testing your market until you find what makes complete sense for you and your audience. And even then, as the world evolves, your strategy may have to shift.
Still feeling stuck and overwhelmed trying to get daily sales? Then grab the 10 days of Sales Mastery Programme. If closing the sale and attracting people to your sale seems to be your challenge, then this programme is exactly what you need.
One of the challenges many of my clients face is creating content consistently that sells. You see, this is something that is not taught in school and when most people start a business, they focus on building a pretty website, have a splashy call card, and then maybe creating a flier that they hope will lure people to their business. And when it does not quite work out that way, they come to me and ask WHY?
The easiest way to get new clients is to give away a lot of free stuff. There I said it. I know you must be cursing me at the back of your head and saying....is she mad? There is no way I can give away a lot of free stuff in my business. I will go broke!!!
But the fact is that if you start by giving people what they want for free, eventually they will buy it. So let me explain before you get all riled up. If you have a brick and mortar store selling clothes for example, by no means am I suggesting you give your clothes away for free, but give your knowledge away. When a client enters your store and you start to interact, share with them the best colours for their skin tone, the best cuts for their body types, what the latest styles and fashion is and show them why certain outfits compliment them. Give away your knowledge for free!
The easiest way to get new clients is to give away a lot of free stuff. There I said it. I know you must be cursing me at the back of your head and saying....is she mad? There is no way I can give away a lot of free stuff in my business. I will go broke!!!