Heather Holtschlag Case Study: Heather and Jaime Tardy Call #2

HEATHER & JAIME TARDY CALL #2

This video is part of a series of case studies featuring Heather Holtschlag. If you’re just joining us, I recommend you start here.

I must say, I loved being a part of this thoughtful coaching session, which is packed with information you can use. Get your notebook ready!

In their last call, business coach Jaime Tardy talked with Heather about defining Heather’s ideal client, her unique selling proposition (USP), and writing a freelance business plan. If you haven’t watched the call and done the homework yet, I highly recommend it! You’ll get so much more out of this call if you do.

What we didn’t talk about was how in the world Heather is going to attract her ideal client, and the all-important topic of prospecting.

I brought back Jaime Tardy, founder of Eventual Millionaire, (because I think she is fantastic and she is a pro at prospecting) to coach and mentor Heather, and give her some ideas to help her move forward.

In this call, Jaime helps Heather (and you!) build on that foundation. You’ll get:

  • A sales strategy to land your ideal clients/audience (by getting them into your sales process)
  • A mindset that helps you LOVE selling (how to ‘soften’ your sales approach)
  • The exact things you can do (i.e. how many ideal clients you need to reach out to) to meet your sales goals
  • Ideas on how to come up with your sales and closing ratios
  • The difference between inbound and outbound marketing

And MUCH MORE.

Both Heather and Jaime are moms so you’ll also see an amazing conversation between one mom business owner to another.

Today, we are talking all about sales and making sure you always have potential sales coming through whether you have an offline or online business (Heather found a client at the local gym while working out!).

If there is one thing I have learned from running a business it is: Don’t wait until business starts to slow down to scramble for new business!

Watch the call

Sales doesn’t have to be icky!

Jaime launches right into taking away the negativity in sales. After a first job selling vacuum cleaners left a bad taste for sales in her mouth, she had to relearn how sales could actually be fun.

One way she takes the negative aspect out of sales is to focus on learning your sales ratio, which is how many people on average you need to talk to in order to make a sale.

This isn’t a metric Heather will know at first, but eventually she should learn how many physicians she’ll have to to talk to in order to get a new client. This mindset shifts the goal from landing a new client – which we can’t control – to making a set amount of sales calls, which is something we can control.

Outbound versus inbound marketing

At about the 6 minute mark, Jaime explains the difference between outbound and inbound marketing. In short, outbound marketing is where you’re making cold sales calls or taking out ads, while inbound marketing is where you’ve built a sales funnel where prospects continuously find you.

Outbound marketing is what most new business owners need to do at first, before they’re well-known. But as you become more established, it’s easier to build a funnel where people find you. And that, obviously, will save you a ton of time in your business!

The sales process

If you’ve always hated the thought of selling yourself, you really need to listen at the 10 minute mark! Here, Jamie tells Heather all her secrets on how to sell successfully:

Step 1: Chat with people (because people like to buy from or work with people they like!)

Step 2: Bring them into your sales process (with an offer of help, or a free introductory product)

Step 3: Try to sell them on your service or product (because by now you should both already know that you’re a great fit)

It’s important not to try to sell to a prospect too early in the process, Jaime says. The whole process should be you getting to know their pain points and problems, asking deep questions, and discovering if you’re a good fit.

Your Homework:

Let me ask you this:

What if the majority of your current clients stopped using your services all of sudden? Or what if the products you were currently making good money from stopped selling?

One thing I noticed from the past is that I spent 80% of my time on my current projects and 20% on attracting NEW business/projects, which left me always scrambling when my current work would end.

When we have expectations that a customer, subscriber or engaged member will continue their business with you month after month, continually renew contracts, or buy the same amount that they did the previous month/year, we are taking serious risks with the survival of our business.

In sales, we always talk about ‘the pipeline’ and if you don’t always have potential sales/revenue in the ‘pipeline’ your business will suffer and you will usually be left starting from square one.

Here’s where to start:

  • Create a list of all the places you can find your ideal client
  • Reach out to ten new prospects that fit that criteria
  • Practice the sales techniques that Jaime recommends – ask tons of questions, and get to know them before you start selling

As you go, keep records. How many prospects do you talk to before you get a new customer? Record what worked and didn’t work in your conversations and tactics, and always keep experimenting!