Grow Without Hiring

[00:00:00] Ken: I know you relate to this. You look and see a competitor, someone with a big audience online. You lose a deal and you see those other people succeeding, and you say to yourself, they are not smarter than me. They are not someone who knows more than you do.
[00:00:18] Ken: And here is the simple problem when it comes to looking at others who sometimes appear to be lapping your business. It's not that they're smarter than you
[00:00:28] Ken: you're allowing those people to lap you because you're afraid of this word or really this idea. You're afraid of being uh oh, too salesy. You're not losing deals though, because you're too salesy. You are losing. Out on opportunities and having a larger, more significant following because you're not salesy enough.
[00:00:51] Ken: And I actually will argue today that you have embraced an idea around salesy. That is because of the people [00:01:00] to the extreme degree who truly are sleazy, slimy. They are the used car salesman, so to speak. But the real reason you say that you don't want to be quote unquote salesy is that you're afraid of what others will think about you.
[00:01:17] Ken: And we often cover this up with these fun words, these nice words. I'm not trying to sell someone. I'm trying to provide value. Am not here to get a deal. I'm just building relationships. But it's all code for the same thing. I don't want you to judge me for trying to grow my business.
[00:01:40] Ken: I've been a part of Elite Masterminds where the entire purpose is to not actually sell or pitch anyone. In fact, in some ways I have that as part of my own mentoring program. But even in those situations, people do business together. They still are there in some ways [00:02:00] to raise their profile and or have those people to introduce them to others.
[00:02:04] Ken: So the truth is we are all looking to sell. We're all looking to sell, and we're all also looking to buy even the people that are only networking or providing value. Like I said, a moment ago.
[00:02:20] Ken: The one shift that made me more money than any LinkedIn hook or viral lead magnet was the shift that we're talking about today, and it's why I've closed over $50 million in consulting or professional services 50 times more than a lot of my peers, because I'm not afraid to do this. Ask for the sale
[00:02:40] Ken: instead. A lot of founders and consultants and people that I've spoken to over the years, they constantly are stuck in the sales friend zone. I remember someone telling me, yeah, it's been working this deal. They're going on and on and on. And then finally I talk about it and transparently, it wasn't even that large of a deal in terms of what I typically help people with.
[00:02:59] Ken: And [00:03:00] then I learned that they've been nursing this thing for 10 months, hyper focusing on it when the reality was. They were stuck in the sales friend zone and arguably not even in the sales friend zone anymore.
[00:03:11] Ken: They were in the place of no sales consideration.
[00:03:15] Ken: See if you relate to this, the sending of just checking in emails. You wanna reconnect with old coworkers, you might even travel a long distance to meet with prospects.
[00:03:27] Ken: I've had clients travel on planes, arranging networking type events, but never putting themselves into a place of consideration for those prospects because they were afraid of creating these no pitch zones. Early on in my career as a consultant and founder, that also was me.
[00:03:49] Ken: I did way too many coffee chats. I did way too many dinners and picked up the tabs for lunches, and I met with important people. Sometimes they were very high up in their [00:04:00] organization or they led the area that. Was specifically gonna green light the thing I would do for them, but I never turned the corner.
[00:04:07] Ken: I never actually made myself a consideration because it was through the lens of networking or handshaking or just getting to know you. And this was extremely costly for me, especially as I grew out my business. And got to a stage where I had a team and I had a lot of clients.
[00:04:26] Ken: I live in an area that is notoriously bad for traffic. So if I spent an hour stuck in traffic to go meet with someone, did that meeting, let's say 90 minutes. Also another hour, hour and a half. Getting back to my office, I've blown at least half of the day, if not more, and you know when you contact Switch as well.
[00:04:46] Ken: This is just something that doesn't allow you to actually make that day productive at all.
[00:04:50] Ken: So this is especially personal to me because I used to do this all the time, but also because I handle this problem, this [00:05:00] mindset issue almost every single week with my clients, and maybe you listen to these conversations and maybe you read my content online or you read my weekly briefing and you begin to think, this guy's all about the sale.
[00:05:13] Ken: This guy's all about closing more deals. It's not though I also ensure that my clients get results or otherwise they don't stay with me very long. And I really do care about helping people. Ultimately, why I've succeeded as a consultant is not unlike you. I just happen to know what I was talking about.
[00:05:29] Ken: So I happen to get involved more in marketing and sales, but that ultimately is what motivates me, helping people, seeing them succeed, honing my craft, and being an expert. But please don't conflate being an expert. With the inability to ask for people to pay for that expertise.
[00:05:49] Ken: So I am constantly challenging my clients on this front because they'll send an email or a message that just says, Hey, just checking in. We haven't spoken in a long [00:06:00] time. Thought it'd be great to do a catch up. And you know what's really hard to do after that kind of message? Let's say they even agree because they're someone that you know.
[00:06:06] Ken: When you start out those kinds of conversations that way, even with a cold conversation and you say, let's use the historically bad, I'd like to expand my network, please accept my connection request. You immediately put yourself into a place where no one takes you seriously, or they accept under the context of quote unquote, in that case, expanding the network.
[00:06:29] Ken: And then you come along and you either do a pitch slap, which is something that provides zero value and or they go along with the conversation and then you don't know how to do this. Turn the corner into a legitimate sales consideration.
[00:06:43] Ken: So I'd much prefer you to do this. How about something like,
[00:06:46] Ken: Hey name. Great to see the work that you're doing at insert their company name. And it brings me back to when we were at and you share the name of your past employer.
[00:06:56] Ken: Since then, I've been helping target types of [00:07:00] clients, similar clients to them, achieve these kinds of outcomes, do these kinds of things.
[00:07:04] Ken: And I'd love to share what's working right now. I just did this exact thing and then spelled that out for the last two or three clients, and this is what happened on the other side. Wanna compare notes next week When you compare that versus the previous notes, doesn't feel overly complex, but it's sophisticated in a lot of ways because you're placing relevance, you're placing yourself also into the position where if you have that conversation, they also know that that's the work that you're doing.
[00:07:33] Ken: Simpler version is how you anchor these conversations, changes everything. If you begin to think back about what you've done the last number of months, or maybe even the last year, how many times did you actually get stuck in the sales friend zone or you just weren't sure how to do that?
[00:07:50] Ken: Turning of the corner for a friendly or warm lead
[00:07:54] Ken: and coming full circle. When you see that other person that's doing better, that's lapping your business, that seems to be [00:08:00] getting. More attention online or seems to be growing, it's because you were too timid to ask and your prospect was saying yes to someone else.
[00:08:09] Ken: So instead of thinking about salesy as sleazy or manipulative or it being a trick, you're actually tricking yourself more, which is the irony. You are pretending that you don't wanna sell things, you're pretending that you don't have an offer. You are pretending that you actually are there not just to provide value, but to actually grow your business.
[00:08:30] Ken: So I actually think that a lot of people appreciate this and I know because I hear it all the time. Ken you or upfront about what you're doing here? I didn't guess I understood and saw some of the value and the fact that you actually did some research. But I also knew that you were here to do business in a world today that is all about manipulation, where buying preferences have shifted, where skepticism is at an all time high.
[00:08:57] Ken: Just try to be a little bit more clear and [00:09:00] upfront. I recently talked about modeling ourselves more after Mr. Rogers being that neighborly consultant.
[00:09:07] Ken: He actually wasn't pretending to be someone else. He actually played himself effectively on his show. When you put on the consultant hat and you start being this other character versus yourself, that's actually what salesy looks like.
[00:09:21] Ken: People appreciate those that are upfront. You're clear, you're confident, and I actually want you to do this. Give them a chance to say yes or no. The no is actually as important.
[00:09:35] Ken: And by the way, please don't equate this with simply volume alone. There is an element that I talk about with people when they say, oh, I couldn't get any leads or sales. And I say, how many people did you reach out to? And they say, three.
[00:09:47] Ken: But I'm also not saying to. Blast the entire internet with something that sounds like the messages that I've been talking about. Spend a few minutes to actually show someone that you've looked at their profile or looked at their business, [00:10:00] know them better than they know themself as that lighthouse client that I often talk about, and then you don't even need to have something that is hyper-personalized.
[00:10:08] Ken: Remember, in episode 13. I talked about this concept. It's not about selling to your network, it's about providing value to your network.
[00:10:17] Ken: When you provide value, though, remember you also have to ask for the sale, and that is what I'm talking about when I'm asking you to be more salesy or perhaps to just redefine what that word really means.
[00:10:30] Ken: I recently shared a huge win for one of my marketing consultants I've been working with for about 18 months. It's someone who's been in business for more than a minute. They've been in business for about a decade or so. But they also got very comfortable.
[00:10:44] Ken: They also got used to not asking for the sale because they were also afraid to be salesy,
[00:10:50] Ken: but being challenged and pushed on this. They broke into a whole new market when they made this shift, and it's not that it happened overnight. I actually had to [00:11:00] hammer on this point. That's the benefit of having someone like me around, and also a community of expert peers who are also taking action and getting outta their heads.
[00:11:08] Ken: A lot of times it comes by me highlighting the difference between the sales friend zone and the revenue zone language.
[00:11:17] Ken: So I'm gonna ask you this week to be more salesy. The cost of holding back isn't embarrassment. It's lost revenue, it's lost clients, it's lost momentum. It's someone else getting the deal that you should have. I remember talking to. My wife one morning back when I was running the agency, and she had this really great insight for me.
[00:11:38] Ken: A lot of people need what you're doing. They just don't know it yet. I'm sure that resonates. You need to do the same thing, tell more people about what you do, ask for the sale. The prospect doesn't ghost because you asked too directly. I promise you that. They ghost because you never gave them a reason to reply.
[00:11:59] Ken: If you love [00:12:00] this episode, I wanna recommend another one for you to double back to episode 13. The Offer Mistakes Costing You Big Money. Also a hard hitting sales conversation for you.
[00:12:09] Ken: Beyond that, that's where we'll end it today. If you learn something in this conversation,
[00:12:13] Ken: just one thing.
[00:12:14] Ken: And you know, I like to keep this actionable. You know, I like to challenge you. So if you learn something today, please consider leaving a rating or review. it inspires me and keeps me going. And also lets me know what you want to hear about. You could also send me a note on LinkedIn. Let me know you're listening to the podcast and what's hitting for you or sign up for the weekly briefing. Both of those are available in the show notes.
[00:12:35] Ken: that's it for now. As always, hard hitting actionable content. Challenging you today to be more salesy. We'll talk again soon.
[00:12:43] Ken: and look forward to having another conversation about how to grow without hiring.