Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 All right, y'all. Welcome back to another episode of the So Kesner podcast. I am your host, you can call me soap. And in today's episode, we're gonna be diving into an interesting conversation around sales calls. So this is something that it tends to bring up a lot of questions about, do we need it, do we not need it? Um, are are they ethical? Are they not ethical? Is it manipulative? And I wanna unpack that and help provide a little bit more clarity, uh, and intentionality behind the origin of sales calls, the best practices to support them being more ethical, uh, and how to really support both yourself and your clients in feeling really, really good about the process, if necessary, of applying sales calls to your enrollment. So that being said, the first thing I didn't wanna address are just some of the biggest pieces or biggest points of conflict when we're talking about sales calls.
Speaker 0 00:00:54 And the first one is this idea that sales calls are icky and they're sleazy, and we feel like we're manipulative and we feel like we're trying to convince this person. Uh, and I, I really do believe a big reason behind that is because what has been traditionally taught in the industry, and what we have to remember is what we're learning and what we're seeing today has been going on for years and years and years, and likely even decades. And so it's just practices that have continued to be per passed down and perpetuated without a whole lot of insight. Our inquiry, our contemplation, uh, so the, the traditional sales call model is we don't tell anyone anything about our pricing. We, um, withhold information in regards to all of the program details and how it works and all of that. And we get them onto a call.
Speaker 0 00:01:40 The calls the main goal to discuss if it's a fit. When you get somebody onto a call, the next thing you're trying to do is take 'em through a process of really uncovering and discovering their pain, what it is that's really going on, the things that are like hurting them so much right now, and what they really wanna change. And then you go into their desires. What are the biggest things that they wanna achieve? What, what is the, what do they really, really want? How is it gonna feel? You get them into an elevated emotional space. And then the third thing that you do is ask them like, what's it gonna cost you? If you don't do that, what's it gonna cost you? <laugh>, when you, how, how, uh, committed are you to get there on a scale of one to 10, what's gonna get it to a 10?
Speaker 0 00:02:15 And then you present your offering and you say, look, this is how we're gonna get you there, yada, yada, uh, and then of course, you objective hand at the very end. So I know all of this because it's, again, something that's been taught for years and years and years. And in the earlier years of my career, um, it was something that I did not only in my business, but was also doing it for other folks inside of their companies. Now, there's a few things about this that are questionable. Um, and again, we're not, we're not gonna be defaulting and saying, this is the right way, the wrong way, this is bad, or whatever. Uh, but what we wanna do is start to in invite inquiry, start to invite a sense of curiosity, uh, about the business models that are so prevalent in the industry and decide by ourselves, is this something that I actually wanna do?
Speaker 0 00:02:58 Do I wanna do it differently? How do I wanna do it differently? And why, why am I doing it the way that I'm doing it? So, let's unpack, uh, the original strategy for sales goals. If you've been in the industry and you've sold high ticket offers before, then you have likely been told, heard, and even preached yourself that they, somebody who wants to buy into your services doesn't understand or know the value, which is why you have to get them on a call. And if you don't get them on a call and you present the pricing beforehand, they're gonna run away just looking at the ticket price instead of actually understanding the real value of it. So don't put your numbers up front. I personally don't agree with this model. Um, and again, I don't think that it's right or wrong. These are just my personal opinions and perspectives around the reasons that I choose to either participate or stop participating in certain types of things.
Speaker 0 00:03:51 So here's why I don't, I don't necessarily love this one, is we create a, a belief around folks and, and their willingness to make big investments and their ability to understand or know what's best for them. And we think by, by this belief system that somebody doesn't understand the value of what I'm offering until I get on a sales call with them and I present it to them. If that's really what we believe, then what we're saying inadvertently is that somebody who's on the other side of this doesn't have enough self-knowledge, self-awareness to be able to discern for themselves what's best for them and what they need, and if they, if this is right. And what that also indicates is that perhaps there isn't enough being done or a well enough job being done on the front end of us communicating the value of what it is that we do, how it works, how it impacts folks.
Speaker 0 00:04:43 So it just, by looking at these interesting things, it is interesting because we're starting to take away the personal sense of responsibility and power that somebody else gets to have and making decisions for themselves without our emotional influence. So I personally believe that it's important to, at the bare minimum, share a price range for your offerings, especially if somebody's gonna be getting onto a call with you to discuss potentially working with you. And the way that you can do that, um, one is just by having your pricings on your sales pages and on your, whenever your marketing, on your marketing material, so that people can just say, oh, okay, great. Here it is. Now, you don't necessarily need to always have your pricing and your social media posts and things of the sort, but if your social media posts are leading to a sales page, then have it on your sales page.
Speaker 0 00:05:31 If you do applications for people to book a call with, you have a question on there that just asks, this is a point, uh, a program or a service that's between X and X price point. Um, what, what most resonates for you is that I'm excited and I can ready and I can pay in full. Is it, um, I really wanna do this, but I might need a payment plan. It's, um, I don't know if I can actually financially afford this right now. I might need, need something more accessible. Um, and then there's, you know, a fourth option of like, there's absolutely no way I can do this right now. Are there any other lower ticket options, right? So you can just ask people and give them an idea so they have a sense financially of where they're going to be when they get on this call and what they can expect, because we also wanna make sure that we're supporting folks in financial literacy, that we're not just taking advantage of people who may not be as financially literate by withholding information about the investment that they're gonna be making, and then encouraging them to make risky investments off of emotional highs or lows.
Speaker 0 00:06:30 So what that looks like is on a call, instead of trying to focus so intensely on the emotional state of somebody and getting them into a specific emotional state, we work with the actual details of what it is you do, what it is that they're looking for, why it is they're looking for that thing, and what they're wanting to receive to see if there's actually a match between the service, our product you're offering, and what's the client current problem is. And so this is not as a, how would I say this? It's not a sexy approach, right? It's a very fundamental, like, straightforward, no fluff practical approach where you're just having a conversation and you're answering any questions that they might have. You're getting curious about anything about them that might be, uh, a, a curiosity to you to make sure that they're in the right place for your programmer service.
Speaker 0 00:07:26 And the only way that you're gonna know that information is if you have taken the time, uh, before getting onto sales calls to know what your offers actually are, to know who your person and ideal client actually is, and what the baseline is for somebody that's coming into your world. So we're not just bringing people into a service to try to sell them into something to keep them emotionally going and going and going, but instead we're getting really, really clear and practical. So let's backtrack a little bit because I think in this step there's a lot to unpack. And one of the big parts that I really want to, uh, make sure that you are getting from this is that, is knowing who your ideal client is, is knowing what your program or service is actually doing, and what the results are that it provides.
Speaker 0 00:08:11 So if you have not yet developed clarity around these pieces, I'm gonna give you some questions right now. Uh, if you wanna come back later and listen to this, when you're in a place where you can write down these questions and answer them in more depth, feel free to do so. Um, and if you are just in a space right now where you can do that, go ahead and grab a pen of paper, do it. Let's go. Um, so the first question here is, what problem is this service or offer product, et cetera, actually solving what's the specific problem? Now, a lot of the times we get really big answers, things like, oh, it's helping you feel empowered, okay, but we wanna get more clear. We wanna get a lot more specific on how empowered in what way, empowered in, in what definition, right?
Speaker 1 00:08:55 Uh, so you want to start to break that down. Okay. Well, um, it's empowering them in their financial life. It's empowering them to, and then again, what does that mean? What does it actually look like? It's empowering them to feel like they have a sense of clarity on their finances, and like they have a sense of clarity on how to actually budget. Um, so then the next question that I would ask is, okay, great. What are the end goals to where when somebody finishes a program or a service with you, how you know that they've been successful in the program, what are the things that they would be walking away with, whether tangible or intangible that you can say you've achieved this, this, this, and that. So if you're somebody who does more tangible stuff, it's simpler, right? It's more straightforward, as in, you'll have a mood board, you'll have a sales page, you'll have X, Y, Z.
Speaker 1 00:09:42 But sometimes if you're doing things that are a little bit different, like, uh, what is the word? Uh, intangible things like man mindset work or transformation work, you want to get clear on what the processes will support the client in doing. So, for instance, this might be like, you'll have the ability to know how to self-regulate with the specific tools like breath work, like, um, yoga meditation, to know how to track your system when you're going into an activation. And then also come out of that so that you're not feeling overly charged. You'll be able to better manage stress and overwhelm by having more organization in your day-to-day life. Um, you'll have a better sense of how your mind works, so that instead of going into emotional spirals when big things come up, you can go through the process of checking in with yourself, tracking emotions, making decisions from a grounded and rooted space, right?
Speaker 1 00:10:35 So these are things that you can start to look at and say, okay, well what, what am I actually doing right? How do I actually create a business and an offer and a sales process that is really clean, that is really ethical, and that is really transparent in both the reception of the client, but also for you as the business owner, so that you can build a happy brand that feels really good for you and for the world. So what I would invite you to do if you're listening to Lil Live or, uh, wherever you are, is to take some time and really sit with that. What are the things that your clients are walking away with, the skills that they wanna have, the, um, the tools that they wanna develop, the mindset that you wanna develop, the practicality of what it is, what they're gonna be able to do after this, what they're gonna have finished at the back end of it.
Speaker 1 00:11:22 Um, and I get both rounds. I really, really do. We have our agency, which is in, in some sense, easier, quote unquote, because we can say, you're gonna have this funnel with these landing pages, with this email sequence, with this automation. And, and so that tends to be easier to communicate. But I also do trauma resolution work. And trauma resolution work is a different conversation because clients will come and, and they'll kind of get curious of like, what is this? How does it work? And say, okay, well, some of the objectives, some of the end goals of this work is to be able to support you to feel like, like you can handle life. And what that looks like is being able to feel a deeper sense of connection to you and to life to where instead of feeling like you're constantly running on empty and you're going, going, going and not able to stop, you can move through life feeling a lot more calm, cool, and collected.
Speaker 1 00:12:10 And you'll be able to notice that on a day-to-day basis, you'll be able to have a better sense of, um, who you actually are and what you stand for. You'll be able to hold better boundaries and speak up for yourself when you say, actually, no, this isn't, this isn't working for me. And that won't put your system into a spiral. Instead, you'll be able to do that, and you'll hold that energy confidently because you've done the internal work to work with regulating and working with feeling a sense of safety in holding set boundaries, right? So that's how we can start to take the intangible and make it tangible, is by helping our clients see, and by us looking and, and reconciling with, okay, what are the ways in which this is actually showing up, and how this is actually impacting and supporting myself and my clients and the people that I support, uh, so that you can utilize that to communicate what it is you actually do.
Speaker 1 00:12:59 So we're overlapping a few things here. We're talking about sales calls, but what we're really talking about is marketing and messaging. Um, and in addition to that, we're talking about really understanding the depth of your work and what it is you do, and how to communicate that clearly so that the call isn't necessarily about taking somebody's personal experience with the pain that they're in, the thing that they say they want, and then utilizing that to force them into, or, or manipulate them and or coerce them into si signing up for your program or service. So all of that being said, let's come on back over here. Um, and we're gonna go back into the conversation of the sales calls. So your sales conversation, um, and actually let's backtrack because before you get on the sales call, the things that I would encourage having set up, one is a space or a place, whether it's a Google doc like this, could literally just be a Google Doc.
Speaker 1 00:13:44 We've sold programs with just Google Docs, especially when it's the bait around and when it's the first time we're testing an idea or concept, it's just a Google Doc with all of the relevant information, with the clear objectives and outcomes of what we want to help our clients achieve with the clear outline of what we are looking to support them with in regards to the content that we'll be teaching, and we go more in depth with this. Um, and then additionally, we have on there the pricing details, whether there's a payment option, the payment plan, um, if they wanted to pay in full, and any other FAQs, general questions that we know they might have about the program or service. Uh, and then obviously logistical details when it starts, uh, deliverables as far as like coaching calls, things of the sort. So at the bare minimum, having something like that, and it literally can just be a Google doc where you have that information there, it's organized in a clean way.
Speaker 1 00:14:31 It says, Hey, this is the program. This is who it's for, this is how you know it's right for you. Here's what's included deliverables. Here's what I'm gonna be teaching, the actual content itself. And then here is what my objectives are for you. By the end of this program, the things that you'll walk away with, the skills, the tools, the knowledge, the outcomes, uh, and then here are, are the pricing details. And this is also, again, the formula. If you're writing sales page copy, that can go straightforward into creating really clean, clear, epic sales pages. So you have that Google doc, somebody reaches out their interest in working with you, you send them the information that they, that they can use then to sign up. Now, let's say you have a filtering process, right? So the reason why applications and sales pages are, sorry, sales calls were originally created was not fully for the purpose of coercion, but more so to filter and make sure that people are in the right space, and that you're bringing in the right people into the right places and not bringing in anyone who's perhaps not quite ready for the work that you're doing or maybe not be, may not be the best fit.
Speaker 1 00:15:30 Um, a really good example of this is, again, I, I have a private practice for trauma resolution work, and I do a lot of really great stuff, but if I am bringing on a new client and part of the intake or screening process to make sure that they're a good fit, um, there's certain questions that I'll ask about mental health, about, uh, medication, about things like suicidal ideation, um, depression, et cetera. And if there are things on there that are showing me that this might be outside of my scope and that this person may need more additional support outside of what I can personally offer for them, then I have to disclose that with them and let them know like, Hey, I really appreciate that you want to do this work and that you wanna work together based off of what you're sharing here. It sounds like what might be a better fit?
Speaker 1 00:16:16 Is X, Y, Z a abc? Or if it's something where I'm like, I think I can help you in this regard, but I really want to make sure you also receive additional support for these pieces. So for instance, if somebody is like looking into the possibility of medication, I can't go there. It's not within my jurisdiction to be able to support somebody on deciding on medication regardless of my personal experience. So I would, I would go and collaborate with them and say, I wanna make sure that you also have additional support and that you're working with a psychiatrist or somebody who can support you on if you're thinking about getting a medication, and I'm happy to support you on the somatic component of it and working through the embodied experience of trauma resolution. And so it's a collaboration, not a this or that, or not me trying to be all of the things for a client.
Speaker 1 00:17:02 And I think this is really, really important because a lot of the times we look at sales calls and application forms, and we just take the questions that were handed, right? Or whatever our, our, uh, mentor coach or business program or course gave us. That's what we then take and turn into our application questions, <laugh>. Uh, and typically those are questions like, name, email, what are your biggest three, what are your three biggest challenges right now? Um, what are the three biggest goals that you have? What's the biggest pain in your life? Right? So it's, it's all of the questions that are leading up to the call so that it can continue to dig deeper into those pain points and into those problems. Um, again, I, <laugh>, rufuss is saying, hi, guys. Um, I don't necessarily agree a hundred percent with this model, and it's not to say that it's bad or wrong, but I think it's, it's important to recognize where are, are we just blindly following and taking on practices that may not actually be in our best interest, right?
Speaker 1 00:17:55 It may not actually be in the best interest of the client. So in this scenario, what I would look at is what are the things that you need to know before you get on a call with somebody to determine whether or not they're gonna be in a right, the right fit for you? What are the things for you to know, okay, this person may not be in the right place right now in their life or in their business. This might be something that's a little bit out of my, uh, scope of practice, et cetera. Um, and by asking those questions, you're helping to, you're helping both the client and yourself discern, is this actually a good fit? Is this actually something that's gonna work? So some ways to look at this for, um, somebody who does more technical stuff and like branding your sales pages.
Speaker 1 00:18:38 Um, my, my business partner Mel, she's a brand web designer. She's been in the industry for a long time, and some of the questions that she asked is like, you know, how long have you been in business? How many, um, how many years have you been offer been, uh, delivering your offer? Are you clear on who your ideal client is? Um, so that she can understand and get a sense of, okay, this person, if they're brand new to business, they don't actually know what their offer is and they haven't really worked with any clients. They're not really in the right place to come and hire her for web design because those, she could do great work. The work isn't going to be as impactful as it could be for somebody who's more established. And so she would refer and recommend them out to go and get the support for her program, um, so that they can then come more prepared for her services later down the line.
Speaker 1 00:19:24 So this is an interesting conversation, right? Because we're getting into where we as business owners are saying yes and not right now. And that can be really, really hard to do, especially for somebody who's coming from a financially staed place and you're really good at a lot of things. It can be really easy to try to take on all of the different pieces and parts and projects and think that, okay, I can do this all. But the reality is that's what's going to set you up for failure in the long term because it's gonna burn you out, and it's gonna have you moved in so many different directions and not feeling really, really clear in your messaging and your marketing and your offerings and what it is that you're actually doing on a day-to-day. So things that you can ask in regards to the more, uh, intangible work would be things like, uh, ha do you have any serious mental health?
Speaker 1 00:20:11 Uh, uh, what is the word? Illnesses? Um, have you been diagnosed with anything? Um, any type of mental health, uh, pieces, um, have you ever had depression or anxiety? Right? So these are, are you on any medication? Um, these are questions that you wanna be asking just to get clear on like, okay, where is this person at? Because if they are answering that they have had some serious stuff and you have not been professionally trained for that, then it is really, really, really important that you are supporting them and having the right support for those pieces. And then getting clear on what your boundaries are and how you can support them in the right places while staying in your lane. Um, and what I mean when I say that is you're staying within your scope of work. You're staying within your scope of practice. You're not going and trying to be a therapist for somebody who needs real therapy work and co cognitive behavioral therapy, um, support, but instead you're helping them with the mental mindset pieces, which is fantastic.
Speaker 1 00:21:04 Well, they go and get additional support to work through some of the severe depression that they're currently navigating, because again, if you have not been trained in that, you should not be touching that support on the outer, outer pieces of it is within your scope. Stay within your lane, stay within your scope of practice. So, um, you, you have the questions on here. Now, some of the, the things that I look at on this whenever we're creating applications for programs is we just wanna know what are, what are the things that are important to us? And this is why it's not gonna be a blanket application form or intake form, or for enrollment form for sales calls or enrollment call. It's gonna be different for every single person based on the business that you run, the type of people support that you support, the type of work that you do, because your requirements per se, are different.
Speaker 1 00:21:53 And what you need to know and what you can do is going to vary depending on your training and your skills and your experience and your background. So really taking the time to say, okay, what are the things that are nos for me? What are the things that like, I, like, these are the types of clients that though I would love to support. I know I can't, and are that it's outside of my scope of practice. What are the parts that I really, really love and enjoy doing and that I thrive at that are the best part of me? And what are the things that like, maybe are somewhat in the middle that I'm a little unclear on, and I need to spend more, a bit more time untangling the parts that are really clear and are for me and the parts that maybe are not necessarily what I should be focusing on and doing.
Speaker 1 00:22:35 So when you have that, turn those into the questions so that you can ask. I if you're doing any type of mental, emotional, intangible work, please look into making sure that you have questions that are, uh, screening for any type of serious trauma, so that if somebody does have that, regardless of whether or not you're trauma informed, you need to make sure that they also have additional support outside of you by a trauma trained professional. Um, and this is really about the safety and wellbeing of the clients that you're working with. Now, obviously, if your work is a lot less tangible or a lot more tangible and a lot more clear and straightforward, like something like automations, funneled, VA support, et cetera, just having really clear boundaries about what it is that you actually do is important. <laugh>, okay? So you've got your application form and the client fills it out, and then they book a call, right?
Speaker 1 00:23:18 That that whole part is pretty straightforward. The difference on the conversation of the call is it becomes less of a conversation about this individual and, uh, the pain that they're going through and their deepest desires and getting them through the emotional rollercoaster. And instead, it's really getting clear on like, Hey, you know, tell me a little bit about where you are, what you're looking for, what you're wanting to get out of this program service or container. Cause what you're wanting to understand is, do they, do they have a clear and realistic idea of what they're gonna be receiving from working with you? And is there expectations of what they're hoping to get, uh, feasible? Is it something that you actually provide? So it's helping them understand, okay, well what, what it is it, what is it exactly that you're looking for support with? What would that look like to be able to achieve that?
Speaker 1 00:24:02 How is it that you're wanting to go about that? And then you can share more about you, okay, well, this is how we work. This is what we do, this is what we would deliver. This is the objectives and the end goals. And then you can get into the curiosity and the questions of what it is that they're unclear on, what questions that they have, things that are coming up. And then you can then support them and figuring out if it, it does make financial sense for them, and if it does feel good, and then go forward with the onboarding process where you send contracts, you always send contracts, friends contracts, and then payments. Um, so that is the way that I would go about this process. Now, I know one of the questions that always comes up is, well, what about when people have adoption?
Speaker 1 00:24:41 Uh, and objection handling is an interesting one. I I don't necessarily love objection handling. And here's the reason why. Um, I have personally experienced some of the harm from folks using some of these techniques to try to cure objections, especially when things have been, what would be the word, financially risky or out of reach, right? I remember one time I was on a sales call with somebody, um, who I was considering hiring for one-to-one support, and I was sharing like, you know, okay, well this is <laugh>. She wanted to charge $5,000 a month for support. And I was like, woo, that's a lot of money. Um, <laugh> and I, you know, I said, I was like, okay, I think I need to really like sit down and think about this. And of course, you know, this is one of the big objections that's always coming up, um, and that folks are like, well, this is how you work through that.
Speaker 1 00:25:38 And so she started asking me questions and digging into things like my inner child and my wounds and my fear. And this is the sales call granted, right? This isn't, this isn't me having hired her on a sales call. Uh, this is her on a sales call trying to get me to purchase a service. And then she essentially brought up something along the lines of, um, how my, my inner child and my trauma is keeping me from being successful. And if you know anything about me, my system does not do well with other people. <laugh> poking at my shit. Um, and at the time I was in a really, really emotionally vulnerable space because I had just had my son, um, I was still in the depths of postpartum. Um, I had yet to be diagnosed for, uh, uh, what do you call it? Premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Speaker 1 00:26:25 Uh, and I was also struggling with postpartum depression. Um, so when this person said that to me and, and kind of started picking at that, I was like, no, no, this is an immediate no for me, because right now it's, you know, you're not necessarily looking out for my emotional best interest. It's just looking at the, the financial gain of like, oh, you just need, you know, three clients and then you're gonna be able to make that. And I'm like, but right now that doesn't necessarily make financial sense for me, and I'm not in an emotional space to where I can, uh, go out and implement in the way that it is that you want me to go and implement to be able to do that. And I can't put my system into that level of stress and anxiety to try to then push past and will my way to make the <laugh> the massive moves in order to create the financial things to, or the financial wins, to just be able to afford this <laugh> on top of my living expenses.
Speaker 1 00:27:15 Um, and unfortunately, I, in a lot of the conversations, these things aren't talked about. We're not asked about, you know, what, what are your financial expenses right now? Like, what is your budget? What actually makes sense? How much time do you actually have, right? Because these are the things that matter. And for whatever reason, it's so interesting, like the personal development world and, and the online business world, it feels, sometimes it feels like they live in a little bit of a fairytale. And I get it cuz I didn't learn, like I didn't really understand numbers and financial budgets and have real financial literacy until my, like, until cash was born. Really, it was when I started to really dive into numbers, like really understand them because I had a lot of, like, I grew up, semi financial stability was never really a thing, let's just say that.
Speaker 1 00:28:03 And, um, I had a lot of debt and like very financially immature growing up. And I, I didn't understand numbers, I didn't understand it. I, my idea or mindset because of the, the culture of, of the personal development world was I'll just make more money. I'll just make more money. I'll just make more money. And I did, I did. But the issue with that was the more money I made, the more money I spent because I never knew how to actually look at my numbers and understand what was coming in, what was coming out, what was I actually profiting. And I always just assumed that the money that I was bringing in was my revenue or my, my profit for the year. When in reality my profit margins were fairly small because I was spending as much as I was making and sometimes I was spending more than what I was making.
Speaker 1 00:28:47 And I think this is the problem for a lot of folks and, uh, in who are interested in, in doing some of this work is one, uh, the industry kind of the sets up the standard that you have to invest really, really big to be able to make big changes. And the reality is, you don't <laugh>, you don't, you can invest in things that are much more accessible. For instance, with my trauma resolution work, at the time that I'm recording this episode, I offer ad hoc sessions at an incredibly accessible rate of one 50 per hour. And then in addition to that, I offer sliding scale for folks who are in a place of, um, the less financial security or stability where there's financial uncertainty. And those are at like $90 per session. So there is things and, and services and people out there who do offer much more accessible pieces and places for you to go.
Speaker 1 00:29:38 And if financial resources right now are not as readily available, then it's important not to just put yourself in a risky financial position because you feel like you need to in order to move through whatever it is you're moving through. In addition, uh, for the service provider or, or the person who's offering the service, it's getting really, really clear on what your numbers actually are and what they need to be so that your people can say yes and doable work that you do with them without putting themselves in a financially risky situation. Now, my personal rule of thumb here is, um, I, I like to price my services in accordance to what I, uh, what I predict somebody's annual revenue is gonna be. So if I know I'm working with business owners who are in the 80 to 120 K price range or annual, um, salary range revenue that they're bringing in per year, 20% of that is a pretty decent chunk, right?
Speaker 1 00:30:31 We're talking like $24,000 per year. So I know that there's a budget of like around $24,000 per year. And then I price my services accordingly to support that. Now obviously if you're working with different tiers or different levels of, of businesses, you're working with corporate industries or you're working with like high level folks who, um, have much higher salaries, then you can adjust your pricing accordingly. But if you're wanting to work with a demographic that is in a price range, uh, or in a, um, what is the word I'm looking for? The, the, the wage range that their annual salary is in is under a hundred thousand dollars per year, then it's important to really consider, okay, what is an actual budget that would make the sustainable for the person to invest in the types of services that I'm offering? Well, also making sure that you're paying yourself an equitable salary.
Speaker 1 00:31:20 Now, obviously I go a lot more into this than previous episodes, so if you haven't checked those out, go back and watch the ones on financial literacy. Um, but that's being said, full circle. Let's come back over here. Ah, we are going on a we're going on a full ride today, my friends. This is my mind. Um, so, uh, you have your cough, you talk about the pricing, and then the person decides whether or not it's a good fit and they say, okay, I am really interested, but I need to think about this. Then you can ask, okay, great. Is there anything, anything else that you need more clarity on or information that you need on, or any questions or anything that you're uncertain about in regards to this? Or is it just, you know, needing to do your own processing on it, right? So we wanna make sure, yes, obviously that they're a hundred percent clear and they have all of the information that they need to be able to make that decision.
Speaker 1 00:32:11 Great. Um, and then you let them take their time to make that decision. It is not your job to make that decision for them. It is not your job to sit there and tell them how they're going to do all of this. You wanna make sure that they feel really good and that they're coming and they're making the decisions from a grounded space, from a neutral space, from a place of feeling like, okay, this does make sense, even if sometimes it might be a little riskier, right? We're not saying don't take risks. We're saying take calculated risks that are coming from a grounded regulated space. Big difference, big difference, <laugh>. So, uh, the other one might be something like, I need to talk to my spouse. Let them talk to their spouse. <laugh>, Jesus. It's, it's ridiculous that I have to say that, but it's like, of course you need to talk with your partner about making a really big financial decision that's going to impact your entire family.
Speaker 1 00:33:03 Of course. Please take your time and let me know if he has any questions or if she has any questions or if they have any questions. And I'd be happy to get on the call with both of you and answer any of those or address anything. Cause I wanna make sure that this makes sense for both of you. I wanna make sure that you're both on board and I wanna make sure that it does make financial sense as well. The other question, uh, or the other, uh, objective that is normally addressed, he is, we've got, oh, the money, money is simple, folks. If somebody says something that is, is out of their budget, believe them. Believe them when they say that. We don't need to try to tell them about how their finances work and where their finances are. If somebody says, you know, this is just not something that I can afford right now, great, great.
Speaker 1 00:33:47 Ask them, what is their budget? What is like, is there, what, what type of service are they looking for? And what price range? Ideally, if you've done everything else that we've talked about on this episode, then you don't need to worry about that because they'll already know your pricing coming into it. And that's not gonna be a question on the call. It'll just be, oh, okay, yes, I can see like, this obviously isn't the right service. So here's some alternative options that are more cost effective or more affordable or more accessible based on what your budget is. So that's a pretty straightforward answer, right? Great <laugh>. Um, sometimes, so there might be the question of like, folks who really, really wanna do something and they might just need a, a different type of payment plan. This is 100% up to your discretion over the years, I've had different opinions on this about like, no, it's a hard thought.
Speaker 1 00:34:31 You need to have everyone on the same payment plan. Um, you can have, you know, more, uh, what is the word? Uh, spread our payments. So it really just depends on your business and what the product or service is. Personally, I find that if it's like an ongoing container and it's a set amount for like the total of the container, you can look at like how you can split the payments. If it's a product like something that's a diy, it's, you know, you can't really have too much leeway on that. Um, but if it's a service or like a course or a group program, I think there's a little bit more flexibility. Um, and you can look at offering potentially like extended payment plans. Obviously you wanna adjust accordingly in your pricing. Um, but we're not talking about creating like outlandish taxes or like outlandish interest rates.
Speaker 1 00:35:15 Uh, we wanna make sure that we're, we're charging equitably and also protecting yourself financially. So that is the financial objection. We've got the spouse objection. Um, then I need to think about it. And the, it's not the right time. If somebody says that something's not the right time, <laugh>, listen to them. <laugh>, listen to them, listen to 'em and just get curious, like, okay, great, you know, let me know what, like what specifically is it about right now that's not feeling like it's good for you? And then, um, getting, just getting clear. I'm like, okay, great. Like, I totally appreciate that and you know, when you're ready, I'm here. I'll be here. Because if you're building a sustainable business, you will be <laugh> because you've set it up so that you don't have to put financial pressure on people to have to join. Now, um, in the case that you're doing something like a cohort model where you're like launching a program and you have a group starting all at the same time, uh, then it might be more so of like legitimate urgency, right?
Speaker 1 00:36:15 Like the card is actually closing and you do this once a year. Like, that's real, that's real. Um, then it is just having the conversation. I'm like, I totally get that. And you know, if you want to, um, if you want to wait for the next round or the next year and you want to secure your deposit for that, you can start doing that now. Um, but if you know you aren't quite ready, that's okay too. That's okay, right? I, and I think all of this is speaking into a much bigger picture. I'm so proud of this fucking episode. It's great. All of this is speaking into a much bigger picture of how we in our businesses are either choosing to support a change, a shift in the culture, or we're just perpetuating the same things happening in the, in the bigger scheme of capitalism and corporate world, uh, and dressing it up as entrepreneurship and impartial empowerment.
Speaker 1 00:37:01 When an actuality front <laugh> continuing to do the same things just in a different space is not making a change, it's just perpetuating the same problem. And this is why people burn out. This is why we see people who are getting into serious financial debt. This is why we see burnout happen, overwhelm, anxiety, all of the things is because when we're just perpetuating the same problem, but dressing it up in a different way, we're not changing things. So when we start to move away from the sense of like, I need everybody to invest now, and I need to show them how to do this and, and help them push passion will their way or whatever, uh, we start to create more space for people to come from a regulated space, to come from a grounded place to feel more financially literate, to feel more financially stable, to make better decisions about how they wanna do things.
Speaker 1 00:37:46 And that, my friends, is how you change the culture. So I hope that you enjoyed this episode. It was a little bit of a longer one. I know that there was a lot to unpack here, so I hope you enjoyed it. Um, and if there's any other questions that are coming up, you can always reach out. Uh, pay h e y at the sacred period, c e o Hey, at the Sacred Period ceo, um, that is our email for the teams. If there's questions, anything that you wanna submit, um, as, as far as like requests, uh, feel free. Otherwise, if you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world to me. If you could leave a review and a comment and just like five star, whatever you're on, um, that really helps this podcast start to get seen, start to grow. And I just love feedback. I love feedback. Feedback is great.
Speaker 2 00:38:34 If you, you hated this episode. I, I mean, let me know why. What, what, what specifically. I hope I won't, I mean, I'll, you know, it's fine. Um, <laugh>, I won't be offended, I promise <laugh>. Uh, and then if there's any other topics that you're interested in that you want me to go deeper on, feel free to just email them to us and we'll be happy to get them on our radar. All right, y'all, that is it for today, and I will see you on the next episode.
