Creating Empowering Sales Calls

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One of the most common areas clients ask for advice is when it comes to crafting sales calls that easily convert. In this episode of the podcast, Katrina and guest expert Lacey Sites break down how to overcome objections and approach these, "scary sales calls" in a way that feels empowering for both you and your clients.

Lacey Sites is a business mentor and success coach for high-performing women entrepreneurs. She has her MS in mental health counseling and her MBA and is the proud owner of two successful online businesses, the host of the LITerally podcast, and the co-host of the Happy Thoughts Show podcast. Having grown her own business to the multi-six figure mark in less than 16 months, Lacey has made it her mission to help other women build and grow their own service-based business that truly lights them up and gives them the personal and financial freedom as well as the impact they’ve always desired.

Website // Instagram // Facebook Group // LITerally // Happy Thoughts Show

The episode:

Katrina Widener: Hi everyone, it's Katrina with the Badass Business Squad podcast. I am incredibly excited because today I have my business coach Lacey Sites here. She seriously is so jam-packed full of amazing information, so I know that no matter what we're talking about today you guys are going to love it. So thank you so much Lacey for coming on.

Lacey Sites: Thank you, I'm so happy to be here. I'll take any chance to chat with you.

Katrina Widener: Yeah! Today we're going to be talking a little bit about overcoming client objections. But before we dig into that I'm going to have Lacey quickly introduce herself and everything that she tackles.

Lacey Sites: Amazing. So yeah. My name is Lacey, my business is called A Lit Up Life. I'm a business mentor and success coach. I have a master's in mental health counseling and my MBA. And so I kind of combine those two things. I work with my clients on mindset, strategy, and execution. That's the framework we focus on to grow and scale their businesses. I work with clients at every level --from just starting out to multiple seven figures. And really we just run through the lens of that framework and figure out how to grow their business online.

Katrina Widener: I can tell you guys from my own personal experience that she is an amazing coach. I can credit so many amazing moments of growth in my own business to us working together. So dig in, cause this is going to be amazing information.

Lacey Sites: Thank you.

Katrina Widener: Yeah. So I think the first thing, when it comes to objections in sales calls and really like addressing these objections with your clients or potential clients, a lot of people right off the bat are just incredibly intimidated by it. So I was wondering if you wanted to quickly start off with why it is actually so important and how it can be empowering for people instead of intimidating.

Lacey Sites: Yes. Oh my gosh. Absolutely. I feel like everyone thinks that that's like the worst part of sales, which I totally get. It makes sense why we do. I think even the term itself could probably use a different, vibe around it. I feel like objection feels so icky almost. But what I think is so helpful is if we think about what we do and a lot of our services we provide or coaching or in our businesses, we are helping people work through objections. Most of my job as a coach is to help people get out of the way of their own stuff. And so if we see that we're just doing the work we would otherwise be doing with that client on a sales call, it can get so much easier.

Because what I think can happen sometimes is we show up a certain way on a sales call, and then we show up a different way in our container with that person. And it can feel almost weird. But if we're like, "Oh, well I would naturally work a client through discovering what's keeping them stuck here." Then it makes sense to do it on a sales call. So that's kind of how I try to teach it as it's almost like you're doing the thing you're already doing with clients, on a sales call. And that's where it feels more congruent and it feels more empowering I think, because it's something you're already doing. Where people tend to think sales is like this whole thing that I don't know. It's probably something you're already doing.

Katrina Widener: That totally makes so much sense. And I think too that when people think about objections, they're normally like thinking about it in terms of, "Oh no, this person isn't gonna want to hire me or this person's going to be doubting me." Instead of thinking it as, "This is a way that I can bring them empowerment and allow them to really see my business in a different way and see the results that we can create together in a different way."

Lacey Sites: Absolutely. It's so funny because we could do that as a coach too. We could be like, "Oh someone's not listening to me. Someone doesn't like my suggestion," and get super worked up about that. Or we could be like, "Oh this is part of my job is to help you understand what's best for you and get bought into that and whatever" and so it's so funny how it's like the same lens.

Katrina Widener: Definitely. I always talk with my potential clients on consult calls or on free sessions where I'm like, "My goal is to help you figure out what's aligned with you and what's aligned with your business. And if I'm not aligned with you and your business like that's on you, that's not on me."

Lacey Sites: And thats okay.

Katrina Widener: Exactly. I am in charge of making sure that I'm aligned with you and you're in charge of making sure that you're aligned with me. And I'm just here to give you that information to hopefully make that decision feel easier, feel more aligned essentially. So totally makes sense.

Lacey Sites: And you're empowering them to make that decision as opposed to thinking about it like forcing them to make one specific decision or forcing them to do something. I think that's when sales feel icky, is when it feels like we're taking someone else's power or we're supposed to force them to do a certain thing. Of course it's going to feel bad then. None of us want to be in that position where we're forcing another human to do something against their will. You know what I mean?

Katrina Widener: Totally. Also it's one of those things that I always feel like as the coach too I'm like, "If I forced you to work with me, are we going to have a good working relationship? Are you going to get the results that we both want for this? Am I going to look good at the end of this? If like you hate working with me every step of the way? Probably not."

Lacey Sites: I so agree with that and I think what else happens is sometimes we are taught sales scripts that really do say like, "I have all the answers. You're not going to be successful without me." All that kind of stuff. And then you get into the coaching container and they're like, "Okay well you have all the answers, so tell me." And you're like, "Oh no, coaching is about empowering you to figure out what's best for you." And it's like, "Well what the fuck? Because that's not what just happened on our sales call." That's when it starts to feel bad I think.

Katrina Widener: I love that you brought that up because that's also, I don't know. I feel like oftentimes business owners are like, "Give me that roadmap." And I know with you I was like, "Okay I guess I'm going to try these things you suggested, but this is terrifying and feels really uncomfortable, but oh they worked out in the end. Cool."

Lacey Sites: Exactly. It's so much harder than just following a script or something initially, but then it's so much easier long term because you feel like, "Oh I know how to nail this again, and again." Versus freaking out on a sales call, cause someone's taking the conversation in a different direction that doesn't fit your script or whatever. Right?

Katrina Widener: Totally. That's exactly it. Okay. So for people who are like, cool, but how do I do this? What is the technique that I'm going to use when I'm on this call? How do I actually go about doing this? What advice would you give them?

Lacey Sites: The biggest thing I would say initially is just be present enough to get curious. I think we so often miss all of the things behind the thing that they're saying, because we want to get to that "yes" so much. So somebody is like, "I'm worried about money," and you're like, "Oh, I have a payment plan. And I have this and I have this and dah, dah, dah, and you jumped right to all the answers. You weren't even curious about what that means for them, what that looks like for them, how that impacts them. Again just like in coaching, if someone came to you and was like, "Oh I don't want to get visible on social." You wouldn't just be like, "Oh okay. Well have you thought about in-person networking?" You'd be like, "Why is that? What makes you not want to get visible what's coming up for you?" So it's almost like not wanting the sale so much that you lose all presence and curiosity. And when you can just get curious and ask questions, not only is that going to tell you so much more about what's going on for that person, but it's going to make that person feel really understood. And it's not going to feel like a sales call, even if it is a sales call. You know what I mean?

Katrina Widener: Definitely.

Lacey Sites: Like yeah objections are going to feel icky because you feel like you're a dancing monkey trying to prove to someone why that shouldn't be an issue versus being really, really curious about why it's an issue for them.

Katrina Widener: I think that's something that a lot of people are going to be like, "Oh duh, why have I never thought about it that way beforehand?" But I think too that oftentimes when people are thinking about objections, they're thinking about "Oh I have to... I have to convince them, or I have to get them to see the things away that I'm seeing them," instead of exactly what you're saying, getting curious. And I also like to tell people oftentimes you can answer some of these objections on your sales pages, on your marketing before you even get on the call. And then when they do bring it up on the call you can also refer back to what you've posted on your website, or what you've included in your marketing messaging and that kind of stuff of, "Oh yeah totally. I've already thought about this. This is how we're going to work on this together," basically, as opposed to just being like, "No you can do it anyway." The one that I hate so much is "If you really were invested in this, you would just put it on a credit card. Or you would do X, Y, Z," and it's like...

Lacey Sites: I hate it. Its the worst. Totally

Katrina Widener: And really approaching it from also this person's just another human. And having that human to human connection as opposed to seeing it as this big scary sales call. Instead of "I'm just having a conversation with another person."

Lacey Sites: Exactly. It's like we were saying earlier, people do this thing where they're like, "Sales is something different that I don't know." Versus being like, you're just literally talking to another person and you probably know how to do that. So like, you probably are much more equipped to do sales then it feels like you are. But where it feels bad, and I think this is what you were kind of getting at there is when it feels like we're almost on different teams or something where it's like, "I'm on team 'I want you to say yes.' And you're on team 'You want to say no.'" And we're almost fighting it out? Of course don't do that that's super ick. That's where all sales feels bad.

But if you can be like, "We're both on the same team to get you to the answer that's most true, most aligned, most serving you. Then yeah let's do it." And sometimes that does mean talking about "Is money really what's going to keep you stuck here?" That's okay. It's okay to have that conversation. As long as we're coming from the same team. I'm not on the opposite team, trying to fraudulently got you to put something on your credit card, you don't want to put on it or something. Right?

Katrina Widener: I think that's such an impactful way to describe it too. Because oftentimes people do feel like, "Ugh okay I'm going to hop on a sales call." I felt this beforehand too as the client, where I'm hopping on the sales call and I'm like, "Okay but you're not listening to me. You're not taking my knowledge about myself." And I have done a lot of work to get really aligned with my true decision making and knowing myself and being like, "Uh if I'm genuinely saying this, I know this." And it can sometimes feel like the person on the other side is denying who you are and what you believe in.

But also as the person being the one making the sale. It can also feel like "I want you to be in the place that you want to end up in, but you're so distrustful of me. You're so used to people doing this other type of sales that you're really convinced that I'm trying to sell you into something you don't want." So what would you say to those people?

Lacey Sites: I think that's so, so relevant what you're saying there. Yeah if I've had bad sales calls before, which by the way, I have too and happy to talk about that. But then when you get in that container with someone, you're immediately assuming you're on different teams. And so I think if someone comes onto a sales call from that place, what you want to do the most is really ask enough questions to make it feel like you care to understand them. So I think that's a mistake I see a lot of people make in sales calls is that they just ask a few questions and then they're like, "Oh yes this person is a right fit. Let's roll." Kind of thing. Well the person still hasn't warmed up enough or felt like you understand them enough. So I always ask questions until I almost can't think of more to ask. Right? Like really, really get them in that place where it's like, I'm willing to spend most of our sales call finding out about you asking about you that's super disarming. And I don't mean disarming so that we can get the sale. But I mean disarming of "Oh your walls come down and now we can have a real dialogue about it."

Katrina Widener: Totally. I know from my own personal experience being on these sorts of sales calls on both sides, right. Being the person that's being sold to, when you feel seen and heard and listened to and understood, it's going to be so much easier to say yes. And as the coach, I know that you and I have talked about Human Design beforehand. We have the same decision making authority, which is "wait a day." I have literally told clients that have been like, "I want to work with you." And I'm like, "Cool. I'll let you know tomorrow."

Lacey Sites: Yep. Yep.

Katrina Widener: If It's not the right decision for me too, then it's not going to be a great working experience for either of us. And I think that oftentimes people are so caught up in, "I need to make the sale. I need to bring the money in." That they're not thinking in terms of, "What's aligned with me, is this the best choice for me? Are they the best fit for my group or for my coaching style or for whatever it is that your service or offering is." And if you take that time, then you also have to understand why somebody else would need to take that time.

Lacey Sites: Absolutely. And if you see the goal of every sales call as a "yes," you're doing your clients and your business a disservice. Because like you said, sometimes someone might not be the right fit. So the goal can't be yes no matter what.

Katrina Widener: I think that's super, super important for people to hear. That slight shift of mindset, instead of looking at it as a "yes every single time I need to book every single sales call." And I know that people use those metrics too. It's like "I book 97% of all of my sales calls." That's more of an indication to me that you're not aligned with yourself, or you're not listening to someone else then that you're such an amazing coach or such an amazing business owner. But that's a whole other story.

Lacey Sites: No it's true. I remember at one point in my business I had a hundred percent conversion rate and I remember saying to myself, "I'm not being as discerning as I should be being. This should not be my goal. This actually does need to shift." And it was actually a turning point, you can almost use that to be like, "Oh great. That's the ultimate thing, everyone says yes." Or you can be like, "Wait, there needs to be more discernment here."

Katrina Widener: And I think to kind of tie it back to where we initially started too. By both trusting yourself and what you and your business need, but also honoring the other person on the call. That's such an empowering way to work with someone even before they're hiring you. It's a way to make them feel really valued and seen before they spend a single penny on you. Even if they decide not to work with you, it gives them that interaction. It gives them something to move forward with on their business, which is so empowering.

Lacey Sites: Or they come back and hire you later even. I've had that happen often in business where if you give someone a really good experience on a sales call, they will so often come back even if they didn't buy it immediately. Because a lot of people aren't giving great experiences on sales calls to be perfectly honest. So it's like they circle back to that. Cause they're like, "That was amazing. I want that."

Katrina Widener: Yeah. I think that's something that so many people overlook too. I have had so many instances where people have done a free session with me or consult with me and the timing was wrong or just like something wasn't the right fit at that point in time. And then a year later or two years later, they're like, "Hey, I got so much value out of that. Can we work together?" I'm like, "Oh great. You did? I didn't even know you did because that was two years ago."

Lacey Sites: Yes. And it gives you a warm pipeline that keeps coming off the fence over time, as opposed to it feeling so transactional in the moment.

Katrina Widener: Definitely. I think that's just so impactful and empowering for people listening to this to hear too. This is how we can approach these, "scary sales calls" in a way that feels empowering for both sides.

Lacey Sites: Absolutely. And I think just remembering that energy doesn't lie. So it's why going in with good energy of, "Okay, I want to pick you, too. I want to empower you. I want to ask you questions. I want to be curious." All of that energy is so good and people feel that. When you go in with the energy of, "We're almost against each other. And my job is to convince you, and I want you to do a thing and whatever," that energy doesn't lie either.

It's almost like if you compare sales to dating, cause they think it helps. It's like if you went into dates being like, "My only goal of this date is to make sure I get asked on a second date," You're showing up entirely differently than if you're like, "My goal of this date is to be fully myself and see what the other person's like and decide what's the best fit." That energy of, "My only goal is to get you to ask me out again," is probably not going to get you the result you want.

Katrina Widener: Right. Right.

Lacey Sites: And that is how it can feel on sales calls.

Katrina Widener: And the thing is, I've heard that dating reference too. And I think sometimes about it is like, I meet someone for the first time and then you try to sell to them immediately. And it's like asking someone to marry you the moment that they met you. And it's like, of course that's gonna feel gross. And that's not going to feel aligned for them. They're going to be like, "Ooh, what are you doing?"

Lacey Sites: Exactly. It's so true. I think it's almost like all of those things we talked about. Empowerment, curiosity, really caring about the other person. That is the energy that feels like, "Ooh yeah!" Versus like, "Ooh, what are you doing?" Right?

Katrina Widener: Right, definitely. I have a friend who did a consult with a coach. And they're like, "If you're not making $10,000 months yet, then why aren't you working with me?" And she left the call and she was like, "You know, it didn't feel great, that wasn't a great alignment." And she let the person know and she's like, "Oh I don't think this is the right time." And they emailed her back and were like, "Well, are you making $10,000 months yet?" And she was like, "Um if I was going to be at all convinced to work with you, that's not the way to be like shamed and guilted into it." So it totally flips the script on how we approach sales and how we approach these kinds of conversations. So thank you so much for sharing all of this.

Lacey Sites: Exactly. They're not going to remember what bonus you offered or what thing. They're going to remember how you made them feel. And if it's shame and guilt, they're probably not signing up for six months of that.

Katrina Widener: Right! Right. I love that point. I love that so much. So do you have any last tips or last messages for anyone who's looking to address objections and really increase the we'll say good energy of their sales calls?

Lacey Sites: The thing I try to think about, that I think is really just a helpful practical tip, is to almost say if this wasn't about sales, what questions would I have here? Or if this wasn't about me getting a sale. So say this was about my client deciding if they were going to hire a VA. And they had a time objection, and a money objection, and a readiness. What questions would I ask there? And then how can I translate that here? When you can create that neutrality around it, where it just feels like, "Oh what questions would I ask if this had nothing to do with me?" That's so different and so much easier. And I think it really puts people in a position of feeling like you truly are just there to support them. As opposed to in the position again of trying to convince them to do a thing. It's like the client with the VA. I don't necessarily have to make sure no matter what she gets a VA right now, but I'm certainly going to have a lot of questions around that.

So I think just really being in that place to be like, "If it wasn't about me making the sale, what would that look like?" Even if it was about money or hiring someone else, what would I want to know about that. And from that point it really gets so much easier.

Katrina Widener: I think that shift of mindset too is so important because then people are looking at it with less stakes, right? Less pressure. It feels easier. It feels like something that's a little bit more achievable as opposed to this " Oh my gosh I need to get the sale. I need to bring this money in. Et cetera, et cetera." So thank you so much for sharing that.

Lacey Sites: You're so welcome. Thank you so much for having me. I love this conversation, love talking to you about sales, and love just sharing this because I think it can be so much easier than we make it out to be and that's kind of the point.

Katrina Widener: Oh my gosh totally. So just to end things off, how can people find you after the call?

Lacey Sites: Best place to find me is I have a podcast called LITerally. I coach one client for six months at a time on there, so you get to listen to all the behind the scenes coaching. Or in my Facebook group, The Lit Up and Loaded Entrepreneur.

Katrina Widener: Thank you so much for coming on here, I really appreciate it.

Lacey Sites: Thank you so much for having me. Have a good week.