Episode 2: What You Should Really Be “Selling” on Social Media to Actually Make Sales
Afraid of sounding salesy and annoying? Terrified to actually “sell” on social? Learn how to sell with confidence and ease and the SECRET to actually getting people to BUY (and it’s not by selling your product/service) in today’s episode of The Ashly Locklin Show.
Here’s a preview of what you’ll learn in this episode:
The mindset shifts you need to make in order to slay the selling game and have fun doing so.
The difference between “sharing” and “selling” and which one actually PAYS.
How to have confidence in your sales skills.
Why providing free value is the number one way to increase your sales.
Why you shouldn’t focus on selling your product or service.
The 3 things you should actually be focused on selling.
What you need to tap into in order to have people throwing their wallets at you.
What social proof you should be collecting in order to get potential customers off the fence.
Check out The Social Sales Content Bundle here: https://www.ashlylocklin.com/the-social-sales-content-bundle
Show Transcription:
Hello, hello, hello! And welcome to episode 2! Today we’re talking SALES and what you should really be selling on social media in order to actually make sales.
I’m going to walk you through:
the mindset you need for selling on social and how to get over the fear of doing it
the 3 things you should actually be selling
Before we take a deep dive into sales, I have something that will undoubtedly compliment this episode and help you slay the selling game - and this episode just so happens to be sponsored by it, The Social Sales Content Bundle. Literally everything you need to create compelling, scroll-stopping content that converts followers into customers. Headlines, CTAs, sales psychology, my proven captions and calendar to turn your posts into profits! Check it out in the show notes and take your social media selling game to a whole new level!
Alrighty, let’s dive in!
First, let’s talk mindset. There are two mindset shifts you need to make here.
The first mindset shift is embracing sales.
What do you think of when you hear the word “sales.” Maybe you feel icky, sleazy, you definitely don’t want to be salesly! Girl, I feel ya!
When I first started my online business I always told people, “I’m in sharing, not selling. I don’t sell, I just share and then people buy.”
That made me feel better about what I was doing…but it was hurting my bank account. Because there’s big difference between sharing and having people tell you “you’re so inspirational” and selling and having people say, “OMG where do I buy /how do I join?”
The first thing you have to get comfortable with is the act of selling. Selling is NOT a bad thing or a taboo thing. Think of all the things you “sell” in a day. You sell a new dinner idea to your family, a movie on family movie night, a new bag or fancy item to your spouse, a chore to your kid. When you embrace selling and know that selling is a natural part of life, something you do all day, every day, you can master it.
If a doctor diagnoses you with an illness and tells you about the medication that can cure it, that doctor doesn’t feel “salesy.”
When your dishwasher stops working and the repair man tells you about the pump needing replaced, he doesn’t feel “salesy.”
Selling is simply illuminating the solution to a specific problem or need.
So you have to view your work in that same lens. Your customer has a problem and you have the solution. You have an obligation to share it with them, to sell it to them because you know it will fix their issue or fill a need they have.
Back to episode 1, if you have unwavering belief in what you offer, you won’t feel salesy. You’ll be thrilled to help your client or customer with what they need, you’ll know they’ll love it and be thankful for it.
And I know a big issue is feeling bad for taking money from people. How many of you have just given things away for free because you feel bad actually charging someone. This is definitely a female issue- we are naturally pleasers who want help others and we feel bad for charging people. But you gotta put food on the table, you gotta pay your bills and people WANT to pay you.
I guarantee Target doesn’t feel bad charging you for the $300 of stuff in your cart. Target knows you want and you need it.
And so you have to make that same mindset shift and get comfortable with giving people what they want and need in exchange for money.
The second mindset shift is providing so much value that you don’t feel salesy.
If you are showing up every day and saying, buy this from me, join me, then yeah, that’s icky.
But if you are showing up and providing free tips, free value, and then strategically presenting your offer, you won’t come off as salesy.
If you’re in the beauty business and you sell shampoo, what free hair tips, tricks, and tutorials can you provide so that you’re gaining your audience’s trust?
If you’re in real estate, what selling, staging, or pricing tips can you provide so that when your ideal client is looking for a realtor, they come to you?
When you provide hella value (without expecting anything in return), you earn your audience’s trust, and then your pitches are better received because they’re like “wow, I learned so much from you already, imagine what you’ll provide when I actually become a client or a customer.”
To recap this first point, get comfortable with sales and be intentional with providing value.
That leads me to the second point of this episode- which is being intentional with what you are actually selling.
The most common mistake businesses make is selling the product instead of the solution.
Selling the product instead of the solution.
No one cares about the product itself, what people care about is what that product will do for them.
What problems will it fix?
What emotions will it evoke?
What benefits will it provide?
So instead of focusing on selling the product, there are 3 things you need to be intentional about selling:
The solution - what problem does your product or service solve?
The emotion - what emotions will your ICA feel after using your product or service?
The benefits - what results will they experience?
Here’s one of my favorite examples that I once heard: people don’t buy a 1 inch drill bit because they’re excited about the drill bit.
They buy it because they’re excited to hang up a shelf, which will then allow them arrange all their books and nick nacks on the shelf, which will make their office look professional, organized, and inviting, which will then make them feel good.
So instead of focusing on the drill bit, the salesman needs to focus on what that drill bit will actually do and how it will make the customer feel.
problem - the customer has an unorganized office and a shelf sitting on the floor, the solution- the drill bit will allow the shelf to be installed
emotion - the customer feels stressed and overwhelmed with the mess, the drill bit will make the customer feel accomplished and excited about hanging the shelf and getting organized
benefits - the customer can now be more productive since the office is organized and the space promotes increased productivity
Another example, for those of you in health and wellness. Instead of explaining every ingredient in the supplement you’re trying to sell, or every workout that comes with your program, you want to focus on the transformation your client will experience. How will they feel in a month after using that supplement? Will their bloat be gone? Will their cravings be gone? Will they be down to 1 cup of coffee instead of a whole pot because they wake up with so much energy? Will their pants be looser, so they don’t have to unbutton them whenever they sit down? Will they feel sexier and more confident in the bedroom?
Women make purchases based on emotion. This is why it’s so important to niche down and really understand your ideal client avatar- as I talked about in episode 1.
If you know your client is struggling with hair loss, you don’t want to ramble on about the bottle of shampoo you’re selling. You want to paint the picture of how she’ll feel when she notices less hair in the drain, when she has to upgrade to thicker hair ties because her strands aren’t just growing, they’re getting thicker, when she can go out in public without worrying about people noticing her bald spots.
If you’re selling skincare and you know your ICA is struggling with melasma, dark spots on her face, you don’t want to focus on the cream you’re selling. You want to call out her pain point in an enticing heading, you might say, “Embarrassed by those dark spots on your face and crying over the 10 different concealers you bought to hide them? I feel ya, mama and I was there too.” And then share your story or a customer’s story of how the product you offer faded those pesky spots. Paint the picture of how she won’t be stressing over whether someone is looking at their mouth or at her dark-spot-mustache when talking. How she can ditch the concealers and feel confident without any makeup on.
Collecting testimonials or before and afters is SO important - this is called social proof and sometimes what gets people off the fence. So I recommend having a folder in your Google Drive with screenshots of photos, a document of testimonials, that you can tap into and use at any time. And then most importantly, create a highlight on your IG page with those testimonials and/or before/afters.
So to recap, stop trying to sell your product or your service. The thing doesn’t matter as much as the solution matters.
People aren’t buying the thing, they’re buying the solution to their problem. They’re buying the emotions they’ll feel and the benefits they’ll experience.
No one gets excited for a tube of toothpaste, they get excited for the whiter teeth they’ll be flashing.
So every time you go to make a post or do stories, ask yourself if you are focusing on the “thing”/the product or the service you are offering OR if you are doing it justice by selling the solution your ICA has been looking for, the emotions they’ll feel, and the benefits they’ll experience.
To recap everything:
First, you gotta work on your mindset and fall in love with the art of selling. And along with that, provide so much value to your audience that buying from you or joining you is a no-brainer.
Second, stop selling the product and focus on selling the solution, the emotion, and the benefits.
That’s a wrap on episode 2! Thanks for tuning in, take a screenshot, tag me @ashly_locklin, tell me what you thought of the episode or any requests you have!
And I’ll catch ya later! Now go out there and make some money moves!
Show Notes:
This episode is sponsored by: The Social Sales Content Bundle
The Social Sales Content Bundle
Everything you need to create content that converts followers into paying clients and randos into lifers! Proven caption formulas to grow your following and make sales, 125 Headlines, 105 CTAs, interactive content calendar, 6 exclusive video trainings to help you nail your niche & make more sales, and so much more! A must-have for all female entrepreneurs!
