“Get amazing at selling. Then, work on getting better at your craft.”
I’m not sure where I came across this piece of advice the first time – was it a mentor? On a podcast? In a book? Can’t pinpoint exactly.
After 5 years in the online space, where I spent the first two “trying to decide what niche to focus on,” and the last three doing what I finally love (copywriting) – I’ve heard, seen, and experienced a lot in the online marketing space. Some good. Some worthy of in-person discussions preferably over spicy fajitas and ice cold margaritas.
But when I heard this: “Get amazing at selling. Then, work on getting better at your craft.”
I dismissed it. Actually, I scoffed.
“Who’s going to hire me if I don’t have the skills?”
“I’m gonna get sooooo good at what I do that people are gonna be lining up to work with me.”
“I don’t want to scam people out of their money – I need to know what I’m talking about.”
I wasn’t entirely wrong. There are several service providers who’ve earned the tag of unreliable, unprofessional, unethical, and all the ‘un’ words that make for scary client-service provider stories.
That would not be me. Determined ol’ me was going to stand out with my mad (copy) skills, training, and “aim-to-please” demeanor, certain to reach the pinnacle of success.
But while I had numerous copy frameworks at the tip of my fingers and could bang out a 10,000 word sales page with a “no problem” on my face…
I was silently struggling. And it was because I reinvested most of my time and revenue into building a high talent (i.e. copy skill) stack….
Disclaimer: It’s paying off right now in big ways, but it’s because I learned how to sell my skills. Which most freelancers and service providers shy away from.
In fact, I spent close to $60,000 upgrading my copywriting skill set in ONE year! (Nordstrom is probably mad at me.)
Partially because of taking my education seriously and partially because of overriding the feeling that I wasn’t “good enough.” I was sure that looking to the next shiny object would fill my low self-esteem tank because that would “fix” all my problems and my clients would see how wonderful I was.
It wasn’t until I decided to get better at selling myself (low self-esteem issues included) that I saw the freelancer scales tip in my favor.
The more I practiced a vital few elements, I could easily close 5-figure projects with Beyonce-level confidence.
My modus operandi was to invite the prospect on a Zoom call where I’d walk them through my sales presentation and pitch my offer.
But it wasn’t just my talking head or the out of alignment eye contact (where I’m supposed to look at the camera and painstakingly avoid looking into the eyes of my fellow Zoom attendee) that the prospect had to contend with.
As an introvert who can fumble and get awkward while pitching – especially in the early stages of sales convos, I relied on a crutch.
(here it is)
A pre-designed profesh slide deck (created with Google slides) with The Copy Crew’s (my agency name) logo and the offer details.
- This created a solid impression and increased the perception of my offer’s value.
- I didn’t have to memorize scripts. No umms, no rambling, no dead silence.
But most importantly….
The sales presentation contained the 6Ps that enabled me to hit 5-figure months consistently in my Done-For-You services.
But first…
This post is brought to you by The CEO Essential Email Scripts: How to Write Professional Emails Without Sounding Desperate, Dry, And Dreary.
When you purchase these scripts, you get instant access to a 30-minute bonus training (this blog post contains snippets of the training) on How to Turn Your Nos’ into Heck Yeahs (so you can sell 4 & 5-figure packages) where I go in-depth on how to structure and what to include in your sales presentation. Grab it right here.
Image courtesy: The CEO Essential Email Scripts
This 30-minute training (that’s free when you buy The CEO Scripts) shows you the 6Ps in action, so you know how to implement each P for a sales presentation that converts.
And without further ado, here they are:
P1 – Personalization
Dale Carnegie said, “A person’s name is to that person, the sweetest, most important sound in any language.”
I wouldn’t stop there. As a service provider, if you can walk in your prospect’s shoes for 1,000 miles and demonstrate that in your sales call – you’re miles ahead of your competition (pun intended).
Here’s the specific action step you can take.
On your title slide, include the prospect’s name and add a benefit statement or the tangible outcome they’ll walk away with.
Here’s an example:
Image courtesy: Sell your 4 & 5-figure offers with ease and zero sleaze
This automatically shifts your prospect from their existing problem to the dream/vision state. Gives them permission to see their business goals in an expanded state. It’s a great way to start the conversation!
P2 – Package
I created packages because I didn’t want to create custom proposals and fiddle with proposal software.
Sounds lazy at first glance but it’s genius if I do say so myself.
Creating packaged solutions for my prospects meant I didn’t encounter scope creep, and I could charge the big bucks.
It took me a while to get to this stage in my business, in all honesty. It’s not something I recommend you do if you’re a week into your business.
How to package your services is another blog post in itself, but here are some ways you can get started:
- Know who you want to serve. (digital course creators, life coaches, dog trainers, accountants…you get the idea)
- Know what specific problem you can solve for them or what outcomes they are willing to pay you for.
- Know how you can create value for your clients beyond a single one & done project deliverable. For instance, I was known as the go-to copywriter for writing long form sales pages. While that was my claim to fame and brag worthy case studies…I realized I could add more to my repertoire. I could include a sales page and everything else prospects would need in a working funnel. (emails, landing pages, thank you pages, etc.)
Back to the sales presentation, if you’ve identified your prospect’s core problem (thanks to the inquiry form they submitted or in the discovery session) you can reveal the specific elements of your package and why these are important to help your prospect achieve their ultimate outcomes.
P3 – Process
If there’s ONE thing that can set you apart from your competition – it’s this.
Your process.
Or a signature process. A framework. A system, roadmap, or methodology that you’ve concocted and is uniquely yours.
If you can name it – even better.
Having a solid, proven process reassures your prospect that you know what you’re doing – especially if you’re quoting a 5-figure service package.
I often get asked: “What’s the perfect number of steps in a process?”
There’s no right or wrong answer.
I’ve seen 3 steps, 5 steps, and even 10 steps that can be bundled as your signature process to help get your clients the outcomes they desire.
Beyond 10 is crazy town, in my humble opinion. But you do you.
Outline the process steps in your presentation. Explain (in a single sentence) why this step is important and what’s the ultimate goal – otherwise you risk losing your prospect’s attention.
Here’s a 3-step formula to talk through the process slides.
- Call out the process step.
- Why it’s important.
- How does it impact the project goal.
Bonus: Elaborate how skipping this step in the process causes subpar results. When the prospect hears this – they’ll nod their heads in agreement and excitedly reveal that this is why their past attempt failed. It’s a genius move.
P4 – Proof
Your prospect may forget about your process explained in a Venn diagram, the fancy-shmancy framework, your starry credentials even…but what will remain with them post sales presentation is this:
Your results (or lack thereof).
Strategically intersperse your client success stories within your presentation.
For example, when you’re talking about your process – you could mention your client who experienced an amazing win just because of “step 3 in your process.”
The more specific the results, the better.
Some ways to boost your proof:
✅ Talk numbers (increased revenue by 10.5%, increased conversions by 5%, had a 6-figure launch)
✅ Name dropping (did you write copy for Ms. Forleo? Mention it!)
✅ The number of clients you worked within your niche (demonstrates your expertise)
✅ Awards you received
P5 – Price
Without this your sales presentation would be incomplete. This one takes practice, especially if you’re not comfortable quoting high numbers.
To be honest – getting to this point in the presentation still makes me nervous. Even though a ballpark figure has already been agreed upon in the discovery call or when the prospect filled out your automated inquiry form.
There should be no pain of sticker shock on your prospect’s face.
One of my old mentors had this to say about naming your price:
“State your price in the same manner as you would when asking someone across the table to pass the salt.”
In a nonchalant manner. Take a pause and move on to the next segment.
P6 – Persuade
If you’ve followed the first 5 Ps to the T, there’s a strong likelihood of closing the sale..
You don’t exactly need this last P, and I speak from experience.
But in case you do, a little bit of persuasion never hurts – permission granted.
Now persuasion doesn’t mean you discount your price. Or let the prospect know that they’ve got to decide immediately while they’re on Zoom with you.
But it does mean letting them know you won’t be around forever waiting for them to decide.
I typically tell them two things in this closing segment:
- “I love providing clients with the highest quality work and level of service. That’s why I never work on more than one or two projects at any given time. Because this is a launch, we need to start at least 8 weeks ahead of D-day. That will give plenty of time to form a strong pre-launch runway and get everything approved by you. Can you let me know by the end of this week if the project’s a go?”
- “Please give yourself the gift of decision making. If you like everything you’ve heard on the call today and want to work together – awesome. However, if I’m not the right fit for you and would like to end the meeting here – even more awesome. What doesn’t help is confusion, and I’d love to help you decide either way.”
I can’t tell you how many people have responded favorably to the latter. It feels like it’s just the trigger they need to hear to make a final decision.
Bonus P – Pause
Your clients are waiting for you to lead them and help them every step of the way.
When you use the 6Ps in your next sales presentation, you’ll be able to demonstrate that perfectly.
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