Are you getting lots of sales interest but not enough sales? I feel you—this was a painful spot for me and my business.

If you’ll forgive the preachy title and the preachy words that come after this colon: it was entirely my fault I wasn’t getting more sales. This means–and I say this with love–it’s also your fault you aren’t getting more sales, WHICH IS A GOOD THING!

Yes, I mean it. This is your fault—and you should feel grateful.

Why? Because it means you can fix it. When something is your fault, it’s caused by your actions. If you change your actions, you change the result. 

And that’s what this blog is about. The actions you’re messing up on and what to do instead (again, with love).  

Reason 1: You set the wrong agenda

A sales call is about diagnosis–your job is to figure out the client’s problem and then see if you’re the right person to help them fix it. 

Yet so many freelancers start calls by talking about themselves (stop doing this and use the anti-pitch instead).

Here’s the agenda you can use on Every. Single. Sales. Call: “Today, I’d love to 1) Learn more about you. 2) Learn about the challenges you’re facing. And 3) See if I’m a fit to help. Is there anything else you want to make sure we talk about?” 

Don’t overcomplicate. 

Reason 2: Starting sales calls with an intro from you

It feels intuitive to introduce yourself. After all, this has been drilled into us since preschool. But in sales calls, a simple truth prevails: the person only cares about their problems. Yes, they might care about you in the sense that you’re another human, but they don’t actually care about what you do, they are if it will help them. 

Know this simple truth and act on it. Follow your own agenda (the one you set every time now that you read it in Reason One, above)—ask about them first. 

Reason 3: You aren’t guiding the conversation

But wait, you say! Stefan! I’m supposed to let them talk about themselves. You just told me to do that. 

Yes. You are. But you also only have 20-30 minutes on this call to figure out if you’re the right person to help them solve their problems. This means a small tangent is fine, but you have to bring it back to the agenda.

While you need to be polite about this, you can directly bring people back to the agenda. 

Two of my favourite phrases:

• “Amazing! So you already told me about [past agenda item]. Thinking about [next item]...”

• “I love that. But I also want to respect your time, do you mind if I ask about [next item on the agenda]?”

They acknowledge the tangent–I don’t want to dismiss them or their feelings–but it brings us back on track.

Reason 4: Not asking next-level questions

Someone asked you to possibly write a blog post for them. Why?

Well, it’s for a marketing campaign. What’s the campaign goal?

The goal is more revenue, of course. Great, who is the ideal customer?

There’s always a next question. You need to be curious enough to ask it. This will help you understand if you’re a fit to help them or not.

Here’s an example: two companies asked you, a freelance writer, to write a document for them. Both told you they were for marketing campaigns. No problem, right? Just pick the one who pays the most? Or take both!

Well – let’s ask some questions.

When you start scratching below the surface, you realize Company A wants a thought leadership blog post based on a talk the CEO gave two weeks ago. Company B, on the other hand, wants a press release. 

Suddenly, the “same” project revealed itself as two very, very different pieces of content.  

Here are some of my favourite next-level questions:

• What are you trying to achieve that makes you think [the project they talked to you about] is the solution?

• Do you only need [project] or do you have other [skill] needs?

• What do you need to achieve to feel justified spending money on this, whether with me or another freelancer?

Reason 5: Talking about money on the call

I can already feel people judging me for this. Let me explain.

As soon as you start talking about money, a weird thing happens: people obsess about it. We as humans have some pretty emotional attachments to money and talking about it triggers those emotions. 

Why on earth would you want to do that?!

Your work is the vehicle that drives a client from problem to solution. Money is simply the fuel. 

So focus on… wait for it… the agenda from Reason One! (scroll up)

First, you need to understand this person. Then you need to understand their problems. Then you need to see if you’re even the right person to help them solve it. 

If you are–and you’ve agreed roughly on the deliverables–send them an email after the call with your prices.

If they ask for your prices on the call, say you scope things custom to ensure you match their needs–which you can say honestly, cause you just spent the whole call learning about their needs!–and you want to make sure any number you give them, they can count on. 

You are a solution provider

If you’re getting a lot of sales interest (as in, booked calls or email outreach) that’s wonderful. But if you’re not actually closing the deal, that’s a problem.

The good news is you’re generating interest. The neutral news is you have to up your game. The good news again is you are totally, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt capable of upping your game and winning.

Good luck.