Five Steps to Authentic Sales
How to Promote & Sell Your Holistic Online Programs
by Crunch Ranjani
You’ve put in countless hours of work to build your online offer. You’ve spent days tweaking and editing. You're confident your content is perfect and will change your ideal client's life, because of all the research, heart, and soul you've poured into creating it. Now, finally, you’re ready to launch your offer to the world!
Your website goes live … and crickets?
What’s going on? Why aren’t people registering for your online course, joining your membership, or signing up for your coaching program?!
You see, despite having the absolute best, most life-changing, fantastic offer in the world - nobody’s going to buy it if they don’t know about it.
Optimizing sales for your holistic online course, membership, or coaching program doesn’t have to be hard. In this article, we’ll outline five simple steps to a successful, profitable launch.
1) Post Quality, Engaging Content
You have a wealth of expertise to share, so start sharing it! Step 1 to a successful launch is to create content that is meaningful to your audience, and that resonates with them.
I see this so often with the changemakers I work with - they have so much to share with their audience, but are often wondering what to post online. A great place to start is by creating content that aligns with your signature offering, or the course, membership, or coaching program that you are trying to promote.
Now, this is not about being salesy, or aggressively posting “SIGN UP NOW!” five times a week. What we should be aiming for is to create value for our audience. Share little tidbits that make them go “wow, I didn’t know that!” or “yes, that’s such a great perspective!”. Give them useful information that they can put into action immediately.
It is also a great idea to offer a range of content types. Some people love videos, others enjoy reading in-depth articles, and yet others just want to binge listen to a whole bunch of podcasts as they clean the house. Experiment with different types of content, including long form, educational content, blogs, videos, and podcasts.
Tip: Remember to include a clear call to action with every piece of content you put out (more on this in Step 3)!
2) Build Your Following
Once you’re putting out great content, the next step to a profitable launch is to build your following. Now, that doesn’t mean paying for 10,000 followers on Instagram, or following 50 new people every day in the hopes of them following you back. What you need to do is to grow your audience with like-minded people who align with your content.
How? Simple.
Relationships are the key here. Build authentic relationships, networks, and friendships through Facebook groups, online memberships, and other digital communities. Leave thoughtful comments on posts, or share useful information with the aim of helping (not selling!). Avoid sending messages or emails with a sales pitch to people you have not connected with previously, as this does not create authentic connections.
If you need a little extra hand, boosting your posts on Facebook and promoting your posts on Instagram can also help to put your content in front of a larger audience, increase your following, and improve community engagement.
Tip: On Facebook, share posts on your personal page as well as your business page to reach a wider audience, and make your posts public so people can share them!
3) Create an Educational Sales Funnel
Before you get spooked by the term “sales funnel” and start panicking, let me explain what a sales funnel really is, and how it can fit into your holistic marketing strategy.
If you imagine a funnel, it has a large top section, a smaller middle section, and a narrow bottom section, and helps liquids flow easily into a container. A sales funnel works similarly, to help your audience flow easily into your paid membership, coaching program, or online course.
So what’s the key to a successful sales funnel that guides your audience to becoming paid clients? Being supportive of your ideal client avatar.
You can offer an attractive "freebie" that provides your ideal client avatar with great value - this is often an excellent call to action for the free content you share. Some examples are a free mini-coaching call, a workshop or training session, eBooks, guides, and templates. Create a landing page and set up automation for your freebie to add people who sign up for your freebie to your mailing list. Promote this free offering in content you publish as a way to build your email newsletter list. Continue to provide educational content, resources, and value for people who have signed up to support them, and nurture your relationships with them.
Tip: Pick a brief topic from your online course, membership, or coaching program as the subject for your freebie. Keep the content consistent to each specific launch!
4) Connect with Prospective Clients by Listening Deeply
Now that you’ve provided incredible content, built a loyal and engaged following, and guided interested prospects into your sales funnel, the next step is to connect with them individually. Offer a kind, compassionate sales call or email and listen deeply to your client's needs - this will help you (and them!) see if you are a good fit to work together.
Always begin your sales call by asking your prospect about themselves and their goals. Never lead with a sales pitch! The aim is to understand them, their goals, wants, and needs. Be fully present, listen deeply to their needs, and respond with kind, compassionate suggestions.
Never make a sales pitch on a connection call. If they express interest in your offer, feel free to share more about the value you can provide them, but your objective on a sales call is not to “seal the deal”. It is always best to send a follow up with more information.
Tip: Instead of a sales pitch, offer your client the information they need to make an informed, consensual decision. Offer clarity and transparency about the next steps of your registration or onboarding process!
5) Design a Clear and Transparent Sales, Registration, and Onboarding Process
If you think your job is done once you get them on a call and they say “YES!”, it may be time to review your onboarding process. Recently, I was interested in signing up for an online course with a creator I follow. They always provided great free content, I loved reading their email newsletters every week, and I was ready to buy their course. I went to their website… and there was hardly any information at all about their course! I left their website feeling disappointed. I sent an email inquiring about further details, but they simply said “All of the information is on the website.” Needless to say, I didn’t end up buying their course.
That’s why having a clear and transparent sales, registration and onboarding process is SO important to a profitable launch, no matter what you’re offering. Here are some ways to ensure your prospect converts into a client:
Have a thorough sales or landing page that offers in depth information about your offering. In addition to what the offer includes, be sure to list start and end dates, the course duration, investment required, payment plans, deadlines, and any other information they will need to sign up.
Clearly explain to any potential clients or students the steps involved in signing up for your programs. Better yet, guide them step-by-step through your registration process!
Create a user-friendly registration and checkout process so that your potential client doesn't abandon cart! Abandoned cart rates are at almost 70% globally, and 21% of this is because of poor checkout experiences.
Tip: Have a trusted friend, family member, or colleague test out your sales, registration, and checkout processes to ensure everything is running smoothly!
I’m a firm believer that selling doesn’t have to feel cheesy, sleazy, salesy, or scammy. By following these five steps, you’ll be boosting sales for your holistic offering in no time at all. The key is to lead with your heart, create value for your audience, and let kindness and compassion guide you.
If you are an entrepreneur or community organizer wanting to launch or grow your online business, nonprofit, or community project, and are interested in learning more about holistic sales strategies, please feel warmly welcome to join me for Simple, Authentic Sales.
In this 3-week course, we will explore designing an authentic, genuine sales strategy, generating visibility and engagement on social media, creating a clear, strategic sales and onboarding process, and much more. We’d love to have you join us!
