Connection and consent are key in making your sales pitch heard

Beliefs and behaviours of consumers play an integral role in why people buy

It is possible you may have already received that message in your email on in your LinkedIn direct message that is asking you to buy a product or invest in a service you are not familiar with. What did you do with it? Did you delete it? It is fair to say a large percentage of folks who annoyingly pop into your space with unsolicited requests do so unsuccessfully. Why? They haven’t connected with you or asked permission if they could pitch to you. Connection and consent are key in making your sales pitch heard by your prospect.

A connection-consent approach is key to closing a client

You may think that the way to capture the attention of your dream client is to have a really solid product and to market it well. And while this is true, the product only makes up a fraction of what convinces a client to buy-in. Another large component of their decision-making is the way they perceive the person trying to make a sale. Are they simply full-steam ahead in a sales pitch or have they uncovered important details as to what the client needs or wants first? This is a connection-consent approach to selling.

Is there a natural connection with the person giving the pitch? Does this person seem trustworthy? Do they seem credible and connected enough to the undercurrents of a prospective client’s brand to really take it, run with it, and get real results? These are the sorts of questions that your dream client is asking themselves when they encounter you.

It’s human nature to grow and learn from our life experiences, both in business and personal. The events we’ve been through go on to shape our beliefs, behaviours, and how we perceive the world around us. The nature of each unique human’s perception of the world has been heavily studied by scholars and scientists. But what we don’t consider enough as business owners and service providers is how these beliefs and behaviours play such an integral role in why people choose to buy.

Social media has tried to connect us, but has ultimately left us less connected than before.

When social media first surfaced, it presented an incredible opportunity for people online to connect with anyone around the world. And this wasn’t an invalid assumption. There truly is real potential to connect online through social media.

Then came along the opportunity for businesses to market themselves on these platforms. Somewhere along the line marketing products and services trumped the desire to connect with the humans online. That’s the reason we are now living in a reality where prospective clients are receiving onslaughts of cold message DMs on their social media accounts, and frankly? They hate it. No one likes being cold messaged on social media. And, let’s face it, as a female founder, dealing with creepy messages in your DM’s is not what you want on your to-do list.

When the only purpose of it is to make a sale, not to make a connection it doesn’t work. Definitely not for female founders running small businesses. There’s nothing personal about a cold message DM. Maybe you considered yourself the person who was doing it right, and making it more personal. But a lot of people do it. The problem is when it’s done in a very impersonal way and even inappropriate. Since people see this happen it is assumed this is how it’s done.

I am here to tell you it’s bad advice. 

When you’re cold messaging just for the sake of a sale and not connection, you’re making prospective clients and customers feel like they’re nothing more than dollar signs to you. 

No one wants to be looked at like that. 

Realign that authentic connection with your audience by asking permission

Now, this isn’t to say that social media is all bad. The fact of the matter is, it isn’t inherently a bad thing at all. What makes the difference is whether you’re using social media as a tool for ‘good’ or for ‘evil’.

I believe that you can increase the value of what you offer simply by understanding the behaviors centered around why your ideal audience would buy your products or services, to begin with.

And what isn’t talked about enough when it comes to prospective clients is the matter of securing consent before actually pitching a sale. If you don’t have permission to pitch, what you have to say is going to fall on deaf ears.

Consent selling converts 80% more than no context cold offers.

Using a permission-based, consent-driven approach to your sales method and process is what’s going to create a more authentic relationship with that convinces someone to buy and to what you’re selling. You are more than just a product. You are a person selling a product, who is looking to connect with another person who has a need you can help with.

SmartCat Marketing values authenticity and transparency in all their work and recommendations.

SmartCat Marketing believes that there’s nothing more effective in offering a service than authenticity, connection and asking key questions when a client opportunity presents itself . You shouldn’t just be looking for any old client to work with—you should be honing in on your dream clients who are a perfect fit for you. When you find that right connection, you and your client will be on the same page, align your resources and make real magic happen. That magic will lead to tangible and scalable results.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get you selling more using a consent-driven approach.

If you hate the idea of cold DMing salesy content, I invite you to grab my sales framework. It was created when someone asked me what are the stages you need to go through to attract and win a client and feel proud of the process. It’s a simple sales process that works in hearing that “YES” from your prospect.