This video solves common difficulties service business owners face during the sales process and suggests ways to double sales through effective sales strategies. It focuses on solving customer problems, emphasizing the importance of systematic discovery calls and follow-ups, handling objections, and business requests, all explained with practical examples and easy-to-understand explanations. This video succinctly summarizes the key strategies for service business owners to increase sales in just 3 sentences.

1. Understanding the basic principles of sales 🤯

Many business owners miss out on deals despite good service and high prices. This is because they did not properly understand the basic principles of sales. Business owners often cite the huge gap between great service and consistent sales growth as the #1 reason sales are stagnating. To fill this gap, many owners either avoid sales themselves or focus solely on sales tactics such as new software or strategies. However, this method is said to be ineffective in the long term.

The emphasis is on consistently applying a small number of key selling principles. They say that applying these principles will make selling less like pushing a boulder up a hill and lead to financial success that is worth the effort. In the video, we share the five strategies that have made the biggest difference through working with hundreds of service business owners, explaining that these strategies are not complicated or fads, but the core strategies that actually help you close deals and generate revenue.

2. Sales strategy utilizing the 'reality gap' 💡

Have you ever had a conversation with a prospect where you thought it was going well, but ended up nothing coming of it? The customer actively asked questions and nodded, but there was no response to a later email.

The key questions in this situation are:

"Did you mainly talk about yourself or your customers in that conversation?"

In most cases, people tend to talk more about themselves: their services, their processes, what they offer, and the time it takes to get results. But customers only care about one thing.

"Will this solve my problem?"

Customers don't want to buy your fancy process or system, they want to get results for their own problems. The video highlights this important point that the best salespeople understand but that founders and business owners often overlook.

"You're not selling a service, you're selling a bridge between where your customers are now and where they want to be in the future."

The framework used to bridge this gap is the 'Reality Gap Method'. This method consists of three simple steps:

1. Define Current Reality: Get specific about where your customers are right now, what's frustrating them, what's causing them to lose time, money, sleep, family relationships, etc. They say that the more clearly you explain a customer's current situation, the easier it will be for them to convince themselves to work with you.
2. Define Future Reality: Define where you want your customers to get to and what success looks like in a specific, measurable, and meaningful way. Rather than vague statements such as 'I want to grow my business,' the more vivid you can make the reality of the future, the more likely your customers will connect the change from their current reality to their future reality with your service.
3. Bridge Positioning: Present your service as a bridge between these two realities. The important thing here is not to look like a 'shameless salesman', but to act like a 'consultant' who truly understands the customer's problem**. This mindset shift alone can change the entire tone of your sales conversation.

The practical application of all this is simple. For the first quarter of your conversation with a prospect, focus only on their situation. Ask questions, listen, and reflect on the answers. And only after you fully understand where your customer is now and where they want to go can you talk about how you can help and how you can act as a bridge. This process is most important during the initial discovery call and should be applied every time you talk to a prospect.

3. 5 Elements to Win the Discovery Call 🏆

A common mistake service business owners make is offering their solution within 90 seconds of a prospect telling them their problem. This comes from the owners' confidence in their solution and their passion to help the customer, but it can put the customer on the defensive. It's like a doctor who doesn't immediately prescribe surgery or medicine upon hearing a patient's words, but offers a solution only after asking questions, listening, and examining to get the full picture of the problem. This discovery call is the most important step in determining the success or failure of a service transaction.

There are Five Key Elements to look for in every discovery call.

1. Pain: We need to understand not only the surface problem faced by the customer, but also the real pain** hidden beneath it. You need to dig deep into what the consequences will be if this problem isn't resolved and what impact it will have on your customers, your team, and your company. You need to go so deep that the customer is **a little anxious** about this issue.
2. Trigger: Understand why your customer wants to take action right now. Give it a natural urgency by figuring out what has recently changed in the company (e.g. missing a goal, a new competitor, leaving a key team member, losing an important customer, etc.), i.e. 'what caused this deal'**.
3. Return on Investment (ROI): You need to have a clear understanding of the ROI that your customers will get by working with you. You need to show concrete numbers how much value your service can provide to customers, so that they know in advance that the cost-benefit ratio is clear.

   "If customers don't see the numbers, the urgency we've created will never become reality." For example, your mentoring service could help your clients generate an additional £50,000 per month, and if your service costs between £5,000 and £10,000, this could be a 10x return on investment.

4. Budget: Customers must make sure** they have the budget to **invest in this service. This is an uncomfortable question for many entrepreneurs, but putting off budget discussions can end up wasting unnecessary time. It is very important to give your clients an 'estimated cost' to help them understand if they can afford the potential investment.
5. Next Step: Before the discovery call ends, you need to set clear and confirmed next steps. It's not just "I'll send you additional information," it's "We're scheduling the next meeting on both parties' calendars at a specific time and date." For example, if you send a proposal, you should schedule a specific time and date to review it.

"You're exchanging value here. You've put a lot of effort into managing the entire process throughout the call. Hopefully, your customer has also gotten value from the process. Now it's time for them to exchange some value with you by scheduling their next meeting."

4. Effective follow-up strategy 💌

Many buyers have a tendency to say "yes" after saying "no" four times. But most salespeople give up after a few follow-up attempts, and business owners often don't follow up once or multiple times because they're busy with other things. This is like missing out on a huge revenue opportunity.

The video emphasizes the importance of follow-up, using the example of his coaching client 'Terry'. Terry disliked follow-up because it 'seems desperate, like chasing people around and begging for a job.' So he would just send one email and if he didn't hear back, he would move on. However, all 16 potential customers in his pipeline were silent, and in the end, not a single one led to new business.

But when Terry sent out a simple re-engagement email, four people responded, two of whom became paying customers, generating over $30,000 in additional revenue per month. Terry had already considered these prospects a "dead deal," but by following up, he generated new revenue.

Emphasis that follow-up is 'professional', not 'urgent'. Founders who consistently follow up show that they truly care about helping their customers move from their painful current reality to a better future.

So how do you follow up effectively without annoying people? There are two important types of follow-up:

1. Value Follow-up: After a discovery call, instead of simply sending an email like "How are you?" or "I'm following up on our conversation," you should send useful information.
   • Related case studies
   • Brief insight into your situation
   • A framework to help solve the problems discussed After providing this valuable information, you should always ask to proceed to the next sales step. Whether it's scheduling a meeting to review a proposal or delivering a case study to a decision maker, every touchpoint should move the deal forward.

     "It's much less annoying when there's a request for value. There's an exchange of value in email." Example: "You mentioned on the call last week that you don't have clarity on

2. Breakup Email: Used when a potential customer remains completely silent despite multiple contacts. This may be your last message. Example: "Name, isn't sales.com mentoring right for you at this time? Thank you. My name." This may seem counterintuitive, but this message is very effective at reactivating cold prospects. Because it takes all the pressure off the customer and gives them the opportunity to explain, "Yes, but…"

   "Yes, but we need to get our finances in order." or "Yes, but you have to get Jeff's approval." These responses will help you identify and resolve customer objections to move the deal forward.

5. Handling objections and requesting business 💪

There's a scenario every business owner knows. The discovery call went great, and the customer seemed genuinely interested. At the end of the call, when we talk about investing, the client says, "I need some time to think about it." Most of these objections tell us from experience that the deal will not go through.

But the important thing is that opposition does not appear out of nowhere. It stays quietly dormant throughout the conversation and then bursts out at the end. The best salespeople don't just overcome objections at the end of the call - they prevent them from forming at all.

All objections raised by customers fall into two broad categories:

1. Circumstances: Superficial objections such as time, money, suitability, etc.
   • "There is no budget right now."
   • "I'm so busy I don't have time."
   • "Now is not the right time."
2. People: Opposite opinions related to the opinions of other people.
   • "I need to talk to my business partner."
   • "You must report to the board of directors."
   • "You should discuss this with your spouse."
3. Themselves: Opposition related to self-doubt, fear of failure, past bad experiences, etc.
   • "I've tried this before and it didn't work."

Find out which category your objections fall into and then proactively address them during the call. For example, if a client mentions that they've had sales training in the past but didn't get results, that's a warning sign that a counter-comment of self-doubt will come later. At this time, we must address this issue head on.

"What do you think was wrong with your previous training?" After listening to the customer's response, I ask: "So what needs to be different this time to really make an impact?" This second question will help the customer inform themselves how to handle the objection. If a client tells you that the reason their previous training didn't work was because of 'lack of accountability', you might ask: "So do you think that if I give you responsibility, everything will go right?" At this point, the customer has no choice but to agree to your offer. Because they came up with the solution to the problem themselves.

Once you've dealt with all the objections, it's time to call for business. If you skip this step, your chances of achieving your sales goals will be lost. Many business owners feel like a call went well and then become weak at the last minute.

"Think about it and call me back when you're ready." Comments like this cause all the momentum that has been built up** to be lost, and customers end up going back to their busy lives and ultimately unable to make a decision.

How do you ask for business without looking like a salesman? Here's a simple framework in two sentences. After the pain, the trigger, the ROI, and the budget have all been identified, we use the 'Micro Close'.

"Based on everything we just shared, does it make sense to get started right away?"

This is not a forced or manipulative question; it is an honest question that elicits a clear yes or no answer.

• If you say "Yes"**, proceed immediately to the next step (sending an invoice, etc.).
• If you say "no"** or offer a counter-argument such as "you should think about it," ask a follow-up question. > "Okay. So what needs to be solved, fixed, and prepared to proceed with this project?" After asking this question there will be **silence for 10 seconds**. This silence may feel uncomfortable, but the customer is actually probably not as uncomfortable as you are because he or she is thinking about the answer to the question. This answer will tell you exactly what the real obstacle is blocking the deal, and in most cases, it's an issue that can be resolved right away during the call. Once you've resolved the issue, repeat the micro-closing question again.

  "Okay, we've got that out of the way. Based on everything we just shared, does it make sense to get started now?" This process is repeated until all objections have been addressed and a clear 'yes' or 'no' has been heard. If the answer is no, update your CRM and celebrate any results. The only way to increase sales is to add more people to your sales system, take them through each step, and finally get a 'yes' or 'no' answer. Don't bring emotional baggage to the sales process. This whole process is much simpler than you might think.

In conclusion 🌟

The key strategies presented in this video contain everything a service business owner needs to be successful. Remember these key points:

• Sell 'results', not services.
• Make a 'discovery call' like a doctor.
• Follow up to get clear answers.
• Resolve objections before they arise.
• Don't be afraid to ask for business. (Use 'micro-closing' questions.)

This process doesn't require complex software or a specialized sales team; it simply requires a series of simple steps, some consistency, and a willingness to have the occasional uncomfortable conversation. Sales is ultimately just a conversation between someone who has a problem and someone who can solve that problem. 🤝