073: Reset Your Sales Strategy

Renee Hribar: Okay, I want you to picture this for a second. You finally cleared your calendar. No more scrambling or random underpriced projects that started three years ago when you thought you were gonna be just a VA, and now you realized you're actually an expert in your field and started charging accordingly, right? Not the, "Sure, I can do that," stuff.

No, not anymore. And believe me, I'm saying this because this is the thing that I help clients do, is I help them focus on what's actually important. And nine times out of 10, it's not the revenue, it's their time. Yes, they wanna make money.

Yes, they're going to make money. But more importantly is that they have sovereignty over their time. And this client particularly, as soon as that happened for her, instead of her feeling calm and strategic, she felt weirdly untethered. Like, "Wait, what do I actually do now?"

If that's you, this episode is gonna hit close to home because today we're talking about what happens after you stop the chaos but before the clarity fully clicks. All right. Well, welcome back to the Selling Your Expertise podcast. I'm Renee Hribar, sales coach, TEDx speaker, author, community builder, and I am overjoyed when I get to help brilliant women do what they do best with consistent clients, charging what they're worth, and genuinely stop wondering where the next yes is coming from.

And today's episode is pulled straight from a real coaching conversation, and I'm telling you, this is one of those in-between moments that doesn't get talked about enough, but it is everything. All right, here's the situation. This client had just done something that most people say they wanna do but rarely follow through on. She cleared her plate.

She finished out her clients. She stopped the random one-off offers. She gave herself space to actually think. And instead of jumping into panic mode, which by the way, is what most of us do, she said, "I don't wanna be driven by desperation anymore.

I want to be strategic." And I'm like, "Yes!" The crowd goes wild. I was so overjoyed and celebrating with her.

But then this question hit What do I actually focus on next, Renee? So here's what was really going on under the surface, right? She had two paths. So sh- she's a speaker, she facilitates workshops, she travels and talks to some of the biggest brands around the world.

She also loves to be able to help her local organizations. Um, she's rooted in the local industry in her hometown, and she's also somebody who gets flown to Switzerland to do a talk for a global or enterprise. So she wanted to be able to focus on her time, sovereignty over her time. And at this point, she had two paths.

Because she had been bus- been in business for a while, she had built up her email list, she had built up an audience, and she had the opportunity to offer them a group program. So she could build her group program, and honestly, that is what she really wanted. The other part is that she could focus just on those high-ticket clients, which her and me genuinely felt more practical because she could sign one high-ticket client, make $30,000, have another high-ticket client, could be $125,000, and she wouldn't have to be hustling out there working for those, you know, lower-ticket program people.

But where she was really stuck was, you know, "Should I focus on one or both? What if people don't want any of my new offers? Do I even believe this will work?" Those were all things that were looping in her head, but let me translate this for you.

She had done what she said she would, and it was uncomfortable. So naturally, doubt was starting to seep in. If you've ever heard my Devil's Yard Sales talk, you'll know what I'm talking about. Doubt is the biggest killer of so many dreams, and it genuinely has nothing but air.

So if you, right now, if you don't solve this, it will help you spin out for months which is obviously not a help. Doubt, ugh, she was uncomfortable. She knew she, what she wanted, she did it, and then she immediately started to doubt herself. So- Let me give you the framework that I walked her through, because this is where everything starts to click.

Okay, step one. Stop circling the thing you actually want. She said something that I hear all the time. She's like, "Renee, I've been circling this thing that I really want, and now I'm scared to go after it."

Oof. Right? Ugh. Listen, circling feels productive, right?

'Cause you're thinking about it, you're tweaking it, you're planning it. Oh, yeah, we like planning. Talking about it, I love talking about it. But you're not actually claiming it.

And until you claim it, you won't sell it confidently. You won't talk about it clearly because you're in the middle. You're in the messy middle. And you definitely won't invite people into it consistently, no matter what it is.

Kind of like when people wanna come over to your house, you're like, "Oh, geez. How dirty is it? Did the... When did the cleaner come last?

What state is my bathroom in?" Right? "Oh, no. We washed the dogs in there last week.

Did anybody clean it out after?" And so you immediately panic, and you don't wanna invite anybody into a mess. All right. Maybe that's just me.

Okay, step two. You don't need more options. You need one direction, which makes me really wanna sing a song, but I won't bother you. You have your own music playlist.

So she was try- the reality is she was trying to decide, "Do I go all in on this group or split my energy?" And here's what I told her. You already have your ecosystem. Most people you talk to won't be high ticket, right?

There's only so many whales in the ocean, but there's billions of plankton just off the beach. So it's normal to think that way. And what happens to everyone else? Well, they go into your group program.

So you're looking for whales. You'll catch a ton of plankton, and that's a clear pathway. So again, I know you're listening to this and you're thinking, "Of course, that makes perfect sense." Logic doesn't always love our emotions.

And again, she said she wanted to do it. She did it. And then once she got there, she started looping and looping and looping. And this, I can't say it enough, it happens all the time.

And then that doubt creeps in, makes us second-guess ourselves, and then we fall back into comfortable patterns. What do they say? I mean, I say they, quote, unquote. they say that success, growth, the things you want are outside your comfort zone.

I'm sure I read that 100 times on a poster in the '80s. And so it's on a poster 'cause it's true. Comfort zones are not places for us to grow. She was ready to grow.

She was ready for the next level Okay, so I'm walking you through the same steps I walked her through. Here is step number three. Belief isn't built first. Wait, what?

It's built through movement, action, forward motion. Ah. So this is the part I'm laughing because I literally am imagining all the women that I've worked with on these Zoom calls when I'm like, "Okay, let's do it." They're like, "Oh, wait, wait, right now?

Like right now? Like you want me to send the email now with you live? Oh, I'm gonna write it later." "Okay, send it to me later.

When can I ask you about it again?" They're like, "What? You're gonna follow up with me?" "Yes, I am."

So we do it together is the point. But belief doesn't come first. Action comes first. So now let's talk about this part, right?

because again, she said this out loud, and I respect this so much. She said, "I don't fully believe this is gonna work." Okay, good, because pretending you believe something when you don't, I mean, that's where the weird inauthentic selling energy comes from, right? That's whole, the awkward feeling salesy and pushy, right?

Fact, you don't build belief by sitting and thinking about it. That's where the l- the weird mental loops come from. You build belief by running that room, right? Heading up that workshop, walking into that room being like, "I own the floor, I own the walls, I own the ceiling.

This is my room." Uh, tip of the hat to Irena Miller. She taught me that. Um, you build belief by seeing what works.

Well, how do you see what works? You have to test, just like a good scientist. You build belief by watching your clients get results. Whether it was her group program or whether it was her one-on-one private clients, she was able, by action before belief, watched, to watch them get the results that they wanted, that she knew they could get.

You build belief by refining in real time. Just like I told her, even when something feels basic to you, it can be transformational to someone else. All right, this sort of thing happens all the time. I just wanna say this out loud.

So those are the three steps I walked her through, but I, as I'm saying this, I just can't stop thinking of this other client. She had a group program. She kept tweaking it for months. I mean, new name, new modules, new positioning.

I mean, I've been there too. Meanwhile, she had people literally asking her, "Can I work with you?" But she didn't feel ready, and she's like, "Oh, I'll get back to you." She even sent out a teaser email like, "Hey, get on the wait list."

Three months later, nothing was released because she had it, she was sitting on it like a mother hen on an egg that was already ready already, right? So I mean, literally, people were reaching out, "Oh, I love this. Can I... You know, I love w- seeing you do your thing.

Can I work with you?" But because she didn't feel ready, she didn't say anything, she didn't make any offers. So what we did together was we simplified everything. Same core idea, same transformation, just cleaner messaging, right?

And this is the part, consistent invites. So what we changed was her ability to take action even though she didn't feel ready, and this is the part. In 30 days with consistent invitations, she filled half the group without a launch. How?

She finally stopped circling and circling and started inviting, and she was just inviting people that had already been on her email list, already been in her world. Again, this is another person. This is someone else. So it happens all the time.

So if you're hearing this and you're feeling this, I don't want you to feel alone. I want you to feel empowered. Sovereignty over your time, sovereignty over your decisions is within your reach right now. This moment, this instant, you decide.

And here's the big shift I want you to take away from this episode. You do not need certainty to move forward. You need direction, and most importantly, and this is very unsexy, repetition, right? Do the reps, right?

My one perfect pushup. My one perfect pushup does not give me tank top arms. I've gotta do planks for minutes and minutes and minutes every single day, and I've gotta do squats however many. Don't tell my trainer.

I forgot how... I, when I'm working out, I can't count. It's like I just lose my mind. My whole body is keeping me al- it's all focused on keeping me alive.

Keeping me alive. But the reps, the reps are what matter, the repetition, the consistency, and I know you've heard this before. Hearing it is one thing. Understanding it, yeah.

Doing it, that's what I'm asking you to do. Because the moment you stop trying to figure it all out, I mean, dang, girl, if you figure it all out, call me. I'm gonna hire you. But, 'cause it's never gonna happen, 'cause it's always changing.

It's always evolving. The more people you talk to, the more you refine your message, the more you refine your deals, the more things change, the better you get. So start to actually have conversations, and that is when everything starts to get clearer. All right.

Here's your action steps, 'cause you know I can't leave a podcast without giving you some action steps. So this is your homework assignment. Number one, decide your primary focus. Do you wanna invite people to a paid workshop?

Do you wanna invite corporate clients to a workshop? Do you wanna invite people to a discovery call? Do you wanna invite people to a one-on-one VIP day? Do you wanna invite people to a one-on-one coaching agreement?

You figure out your primary focus. What is one thing... And I know you can do so many things, but what is one thing you're gonna decide to focus on, at least for the next week? Number two, I want you to talk to one person this week about it, minimum.

Like, decide on the focus, and then talk to one person about it. Invite them to a conversation. Not a pitch, not a presentation, just a conversation. What is a conversation?

What is a conversation? Define a conversation. It is at least two humans asking and answering questions of each other. That's it.

It is just two or more people asking and answering questions of each other. I always think of, when I s- when I talk about having conversations and just talking to people, not pitching people. I know. I'm a sales coach.

I get it. We do and will make offers to people who are qualified, but right now, we're not even there yet. So I always think of the... Back in the day, I used to always get asked, "If you could have dinner with five people, dead or alive, who would be at your dinner table?"

And it was just this like opening line that we would say sometimes at these cheesy business dinners we'd have. inevitably, someone would say, you know, Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King Jr. and the Pope, and, you know, z- what... I mean, they were just, of course, amazing people.

But what would they be doing at dinner? Having conversations. What is a conversation? It is two or more people asking and answering questions of each other.

So what I'm suggesting here for your homework when I say talk to one person, it's not about how you could rebuild their website. It's definitely not about how you need to redesign your offer. It's definitely not you joining a 30-s- day challenge and creating 27 reels. Just conversations.

I get it. All that stuff feels productive, but unless it's actively putting you in a position to have one, at least, genuine conversation with someone where you're asking questions to them, hearing their answer, asking other questions, then they ask you questions, and you give answers. If that's not what's happening, then none of that other stuff matters. So with people here in your ecosystem right now, I bet you there's at least one person you think might be, or know, someone who would be your ideal client Conversations, not presentations, not proposals, just actual conversations.

How many times did I say conversations? it's like that song, "Roxanne." All right. If you know, Because here's where your clients actually come from, is those conversations.

So if this episode did not annoy you with the word conversations, if you feel like you're in that in-between space right now, I want you to know this: You are not alone, and you're definitely not behind. I hear that all the time, "Renee, I feel so behind." You are not behind. I promise you.

I promise you, you are not behind. You are right at the moment where things actually start working, but only if you take consistent action. I know it sounds so boring and unsexy, but that is what works. And if you want support around turning those conversations into real clients, well, head over to askmecoach.

com. That's A-S-K M-E C-O-A-C-H.com. That's where you can find all the different ways to connect beyond this podcast.

All right. Go have those conversations. Have a great week. I'll see you next time.