Innovative Approaches to Sales Calls - Starting with Your Website
In this podcast episode, I explore innovative approaches to sales calls, specifically for professionals in the wellness, healthcare, therapy, and mental health services industries. I address the common practice of offering free consultation calls to assess mutual fit between potential clients and service providers. I delve into the challenges of traditional sales calls and offer alternative methods to make the process more efficient and comfortable for both parties involved. I discuss the importance of optimizing websites to provide comprehensive information, including services, pricing structures, FAQs, and addressing client concerns. I then introduce creative solutions such as using VideoAsk, Voxer, or allowing direct bookings to streamline the sales process and meet clients' preferences. By thinking outside the box, you can innovate your sales approach and better serve your clients.
Timestamps:
[00:01:21] Free consultation calls help form connections.
[00:03:46] Consultation calls: conversation or interrogation? Innovate instead.
[00:07:25] Provide upfront information, address FAQs effectively.
[00:12:39] Recorded responses make communication more flexible.
[00:15:53] Simplify onboarding to save time and improve business.
Key Topics:
Essential features that a website should have to address potential clients' questions and concerns before communication takes place
Details to include on a website such as who they work with, the transformation they provide, care plans, and pricing
The benefits of using a Voxer app for communication to provide privacy and work well for busy clients
The value of free consultation calls in establishing trust and compatibility while reducing the need for sales calls
A suggestion to approach consultation calls differently by focusing on building rapport instead of outright sales
Strategies for making the onboarding process simple and welcoming to clients to establish trust from the beginning
The importance of being transparent about pricing with suggestions to list prices directly on the website and provide a range of pricing
Ways to approach consultation calls innovatively, including using software like Video Ask to communicate with potential clients
Different communication preferences of clients, including online scheduling options
The benefits of a question and answer tool on a sales page for efficient communication between website owners and potential clients
[00:00:00] Samantha Mabe: Do you absolutely hate sales calls? Are you spending your time on consultation calls where you're actually selling somebody into your services? This episode is for you. Today, we are thinking differently and innovating sales calls.
[00:00:30] When you work one-on-one with somebody, you want to make sure that you're a good fit for working together before you commit to a long-term service.
[00:00:40] And that's why so many experts in the wellness space, in healthcare, in therapy, in mental health services offer consultation calls for free so that they can get to know the person, make sure that you are a mutual good fit as far as personality, timing, pricing, and the services and conditions that you work with.
[00:01:08] And I know that those calls can be super valuable because you want to have those connections before you commit to working with somebody in a longer container. And people want the comfort of knowing that they have talked to the person that they are then going to be trusting with some very serious things in their life.
Sales calls aren't for everyone
[00:01:32] Samantha Mabe: But what if sales calls are not your thing? Maybe you don't like sales calls because you just do not wanna have to spend your time convincing somebody to work with you, and the thought of jumping on a call to sell them on everything feels really icky.
[00:01:50] Or maybe you're very busy in your business. And so spending time 20 or 30 minutes, multiple times a week on a call with somebody who may or may not turn into a client isn't the best use of your time and you would rather be serving the people that you actually work with and then taking off to spend time with your friends and family and recharge for yourself.
Is your consultation call really a sales call?
[00:02:14] Samantha Mabe: I have been thinking a lot about how we can approach sales calls differently. So the first thing I want to address is: is your consultation call actually a sales call?
[00:02:30] For most people in this space, we would put sign up for a free consultation call on your website, or sign up for a quick chat to make sure we're a good fit. So I want you to consider, are you spending the time on that call actually selling the person, or is it necessary for you to have some face-to-face video time with that person to get to know them, to get a read on them and make sure that you can actually serve and help them down the road?
[00:03:06] If it's the case that you have found that consultation calls are necessary because you need to be face-to-face with somebody, then go ahead and continue to put those on your website, but if those calls turn into more of an interrogation than a conversation, we can think about how we can do that differently.
When sales calls turn into an interrogation
[00:03:29] Samantha Mabe: I have been on sales calls where I am basically being asked a list of interview questions as far as why someone should hire me to design their website instead of someone else. And I don't like the feeling of having to pressure them and sell them on how I work and why they should choose me over someone else. It's not a good use of my time. It doesn't feel good for me, and I don't think it gives them a lot of good information either, because we're not talking about their business specifically. They're just running through a list of questions that they found online.
[00:04:03] That's similar for so many of us is we want to spend the time that we're talking with people, actually getting to know them and what's going on so that we can use that information down the road to help them.
Successful sales start before a lead ever contacts you
[00:04:18] Samantha Mabe: So how do we then approach these calls that pretty much is standard in the industry if we want to innovate in our business? And I have a couple of ways that you can do this.
Make sure your website is answering questions and communicating important information
[00:04:34] Samantha Mabe: First, what I want you to look at is your website. So before we get to any actual communication with a lead, make sure your website is addressing all of their questions and concerns that you can.
[00:04:52] I like to do this on your services page or a sales page for the specific service or program that you offer. You're going to talk about a lot of things. If you're gonna talk about who you work with, you're gonna be talk about the big overall transformation that they get.
[00:05:10] You are also going to address how you do that. So if you are a naturopathic doctor, what types of things do you include in creating a care plan for them? Do you offer Homeopathic? Do you focus on nutrition? Do you just combine all of these things together in their plan in a way that addresses the issues that they're coming to you with? So talk about those things.
Include your pricing structure on your sales page
[00:05:41] Samantha Mabe: Talk about the pricing. I know this has been a discussion online. I am always one for being as transparent as possible with pricing. So if you have a set price, like my VIP day is a set price, I list that directly on my website in multiple places. If you have a range of prices, depending on what they need, you can list that range, or you can say something like, most people spend blank. And then you are doing what's called price anchoring with giving them an idea of how much this is going to cost for their investment.
[00:06:18] If you do something like my doctor does where I had to do a initial visit, it was a an hour and a half in the office and we were talking and going over stuff, and that was a set price. They told me upfront what that was going to be, and then they told me how much each follow-up visit was going to be per appointment. And then any supplements that I would need are an additional cost on top of that, but I am given all of that information at the appointment, depending on what I need. And so that can be a really good way to lay this out as far as what does the pricing structure look like, and then what is the actual cost.
Use an FAQ section to address all the quick questions you can
[00:06:59] Samantha Mabe: The other thing you want to address are any frequently asked questions that you're getting. So things like, what are your qualifications? Where are we going to meet? If you are in a healthcare industry, you need to address whether or not your services are covered by insurance or how you might work with somebody in that.
[00:07:20] You can also address things like who is a good fit. How do I know that this is going to work? Do you offer some kind of a guarantee? All of those things can be answered on that one page of your website and an FAQ section towards the bottom of page is a great way to throw a lot of those answers together without having to say, have a specific section that says, we don't take insurance, this is what it's going to look like. Instead, you would just have one question, a paragraph of an answer, and people can find the information that they need in order to make a decision as far as moving forward in the process.
[00:08:02] So we wanna give them as much information upfront as we can so that their decision is easier. And when we start talking about whether we want to work together, you are not having to answer nearly as many of those questions. So that is one key to this whole idea of thinking about sales calls differently.
How do your clients want to communicate with you and what serves them best?
[00:08:26] Samantha Mabe: The next thing you want to do is think about your client. Who do you work with and how do they want to connect with you?
[00:08:34] I recently talked with somebody and she said, the thing that drives me most crazy about any of these websites for chiropractors or doctors is that I can't just click a button and schedule an appointment. I don't want to have to call the office and sit on hold and then go back and forth about who I want to see and what time I'm available. I want a calendar that lays out what times are open, I can sign up right there, they get the information that they need, and I just know to show up where I need to be.
[00:09:06] So is that how your clients want to work or is that what they're looking for? Maybe you can include some kind of scheduling software on your website for that initial call and then for any subsequent appointments.
[00:09:21] Or maybe your clients are of a different mindset where they want to talk to somebody on the phone, they wanna talk to the receptionist at your office and make sure they are on that schedule and ask any questions that they have. And if that's the case, maybe sending them to a phone call is the best way to do that.
[00:09:41] But you as the expert in your business, the CEO, the one who is working with clients, can delegate a lot of that scheduling and question answering to somebody else, whether that is a software and your website addressing those questions, or if it's somebody in your office who can help people with those types of things.
What are some ways you can innovate and do sales calls differently?
[00:10:05] Samantha Mabe: So now you know what your website needs. Do I actually need some kind of a consultation, and you've thought about what your clients need. So what are the different ways that we can approach sales calls other than doing a Zoom call or talking to somebody on the phone.
Using VideoAsk to communicate and answer questions
[00:10:27] Samantha Mabe: The first thing that I have seen a lot of people do pretty successfully is called Video Ask. So it is a software where you record yourself on video, introducing yourself, and then you ask a question and the person on the other end can use their phone or computer to record a response. They can do that audio only, they can do it video, or they can type it and it gets sent to you. And depending on what you need, you can ask multiple questions and you would get all of their responses.
[00:11:00] I've used this for some of my testimonials. I also have one embedded on my sales page. So when you go to the Website Design VIP Day, there's a little box in the corner with my picture and it basically introduces me and it talks about the VIP Day. And then it says, if you have any questions, Just pop them in here. I would get an email when somebody submits something and then I could address that, whether I send them an email back, whether I record another video with to send them or we schedule an actual call.
[00:11:36] But that way it's very low lift for me because I don't have to be there all the time available. What I have to do is respond when somebody has a question.
[00:11:48] It's also very low lift for people who are interested in working with me because they do not have to schedule a call, wait till that date comes around, figure out, you know what their questions are. They can just ask away, and then they're gonna get a response in time and they know that they're opening that conversation with me.
Using Voxer to talk with a lead and answer questions
[00:12:09] Samantha Mabe: The second way I have seen this done is through Voxer or some kind of walkie-talkie app. So if you do not need to see somebody face-to-face, but you'd like to hear them talk through things, instead of having it edited out in an email, something like Voxer could be a great fit where you put your Voxer ID on your website, or even you have them submit an inquiry work with you and you send them that Voxer ID and you would then go in and you would ask your questions. They would respond, and it's basically they're recording their responses. You're recording yours in your own time, and it's going back and forth, and it keeps a log of all of that.
[00:12:52] I have done this with some people I've brought onto my podcast where we can talk through, okay, these are the topics we wanna cover. How exactly do we wanna structure this? And it works great because we don't have to both have another time to schedule the call. Instead, we can do that in our own way, wherever we're at, when it's convenient for us.
[00:13:14] That could be a great fit for your clients as well, especially if they've got kids and they're running around and it's summer. Give them a really easy way to just jump on their phone, which they already have, without having to like set aside time and get the kids taken care of and have a quiet space. Make it really simple for them to talk with you so that they can see that you understand what they're going through, and when they do need to come in for that appointment, they already know that you are a personality fit for them.
Allow people to book directly on your website without a call
[00:13:52] Samantha Mabe: The third option is to not have a call or sales process at all. Is it possible for you to just allow somebody to book? So if you're a massage therapist, if you are a salon, if you are an aesthetician, can you simply allow someone to book a time through a scheduling software on your website without you having to go back and forth?
[00:14:19] They book, it dings you have a deposit, they get a reminder, they show up. I just did this with an esthetician near me where I booked an appointment, they confirmed it same day, I went over there, it was great. And being an introvert with an anxiety, I don't wanna have to get on a phone call and say, do you have an appointment? How do I do this? Like, I want those answers on their website. I want it to be really simple.
[00:14:48] So those are three ways that you can address this sales process that are a little outside the box, but I think it's a really important thing to consider as you are looking at your business and your clients, because so many of them are not going to have 20 to 30 minutes to set aside in the middle of the day where everything is out of the way and taken care of. They need help and they need help now. And you want to make that, um, onboarding process as simple as possible so that when they get to you, they already feel like they are welcomed, they are understood, they are in a safe place because you have done that from the very beginning and you've set that foundation up.
[00:15:38] And it helps you in your business because you are not trying to get on a ton of sales calls. You are not trying to spend your time selling people into your services, and you can do more of the actual work you want to do.
