SOLO: What to do after you’ve sent the proposal

Leah Neaderthal0:02

If you're listening to the smart gets paid podcast with me. Leah Neaderthal, I help women land higher paying clients in their B2B consulting and coaching businesses. But I've never been a salesperson. My background is in corporate marketing, and when I started my first consulting business, I learned pretty quickly that it's about 1000 times harder to sell your own stuff than it is to sell someone else's so I taught myself how to do it, and I created a sales approach that feels comfortable, makes you feel confident, and that works consistently. And now I teach women how to land higher paying clients in their B2B consulting and coaching businesses. So whether your client contracts are $2,000 or $200,000 if you want to work with more of the clients you love, do more of the work you love, and get paid more than you ever imagined, then you're in the right place. Let's do it together. Welcome to Smart gets paid.

Leah Neaderthal0:53

Hey there, Leah here, and thanks for tuning in to this week's episode. I hope you're having a good week. I hope you're feeling good. I hope you're making good progress in your business. If I sound a little scratchy today, it's because I don't know what's going on. Probably changes season, but my allergies are crazy. I know that sounds like so lame, but you know, we're making a podcast. It's all about audio. So if you hear me sound a little scratchy, that's what's going on. So I was looking at my calendar the other day, and I realized that it's been almost exactly one year since my first appointment to transition my hair to gray. So exactly one year since I started purposely going gray. And if you were following along around that time, you know that I stopped coloring my hair, and I went gray very publicly and very abruptly because, you know, I'm just too impatient to grow it out. And I documented the process in a series of newsletters and LinkedIn posts, starting with an email that happened essentially right after this appointment, about a year ago, and in that appointment, I spent 12 hours sitting in the chair with my poor, amazing colorist, going through rounds and rounds of stripping out my old color, stripping out the sort of dyed color out of my hair. And we started at like, 9am I left there at 9pm you guys, and that night, I walked out of the salon a blonde, and not like a sandy blonde, like some sort of soft blonde, either. I mean, like a bright, bright yellow blonde. But also my hair was completely fried after all of that processing. So I spent several weeks, you know, kind of like rehabbing it, trying to, like, I don't know, make it happier again. So I spent several weeks as a blonde, which was really interesting. So we had a few more appointments. We continued lightening it, and then I started adding back in the gray to match my salt and pepper. So I was finally, like a passable gray that, like looked like my gray. And since then, you know, my hair has been growing out. I've gotten a few haircuts. So the part that's that old, like, processed part that went through all of that hair trauma. I guess there's maybe, like, an inch of that left at the end of my hair now, and the rest is just me. And you know what's funny is, like, when all of this was happening at first, I was like, oh, you know the reason why I'm going to speed this up, I'm going to strip out the color, I'm going to go gray through this whole hair process with my colorist is because I was like, All right, it's gonna take over a year for this to actually grow out. Like that. Just seemed like an eternity, you know, and then fast forward to now. I mean, like, literally fast forward, because I feel like this whole year has just flown by. Is it just me? Does it feel like that's you too? I don't know. Feels like it's just absolutely flown but here we are, and I'm like, 90% all gray, and it's just fun to look back at that. What a crazy journey. You know, maybe in the next few weeks, I'll do an episode about, like, what going gray has meant for me, and, you know, what it's done for me and what it's meant for my business, you know, in the past year. But in the meantime, if this is something on your mind, check out episode 24 of the podcast, which is called going gray as a business owner, that was a fireside chat I hosted, I guess kind of while I was in the middle of this whole process, I hosted it with my client and friend, Meg McKean, whose hair journey really inspired mine, and also my stylist who spent all those hours with me, Yvonne daily and I brought together the larger smart gets paid community to just kind of have a real conversation about, like, what going gray means when you are a business owner. And it was a great conversation. So if you haven't listened to that one, check out episode 24 going gray as a business owner. But today, there's something else I want to talk about, like in this episode, and I was just sort of thinking about what we talked about in the last episode, about the close right that point in the sales process where you kind of help the client decide to move forward. Because women often come to me and they're like, I need to get better at closing. But what I shared in the episode is that getting better at closing doesn't actually mean like getting better at. Asking for the business right, air quotes, asking for the business, or getting the signature, or anything that feels like that phrase like always be closing right? Because you get better at the close by doing a lot of things right along the way. And when people say, I want to get better at the close, what they really mean is, how can I make it more likely that my client is going to say yes, right? And how can I help that process along? But as I shared in the episode, you don't get better at the close by like practicing the clothes. You get better at the close by doing a lot of things right at different points in the process. You know, by communicating your value clearly and in that very first interaction, you get better at closing by showing up consistently and letting people continually see the value you provide, so that they're a lot warmer when they come into the sales process. You know, you do it by being able to talk price upfront and by helping your main contact sell into the company on your behalf, and just a lot of things that go into leading a successful sales process. So when you look at selling, it's not about how to sell, like capital S selling right like it's one thing you do. It's about doing a lot of things right, and making sure that at every moment you're making the right next move. Because when you know what to do at each step, not only does it help clients say, yes, right, that's what we want, it gets you clients and revenue and income and all the things we want for our businesses, but it also solves what I think is an even bigger problem that women face in getting new clients, which is that in the sales process, you can feel really powerless. So knowing what to do at each step of the sales process doesn't just get you revenue and all the things we want, it also makes you feel more in control, because that's one of the things that makes selling so challenging and sometimes like soul crushing, is that it feels like you just have no control, right? Like your client has all the cards. They decide your fate, they have all the control, right? And you're just sort of sitting there like a sitting duck. And that's especially hard for women who are Type A overachievers, myself included, who just we need to be in control, or like, at least feel like we're in control, right? I mean, there's a reason I don't like to gamble, I don't like to play, like blackjack or whatever, because I feel like I can't control it. So this is very real. This like, need to control things. And when you don't have control in the sales process, it can feel like you're on the back of a roller coaster being whipped around by the process. Or, you know, what can be even worse is that when you feel like you're sitting there alone without any information from the client, just sort of crossing your fingers, or, you know, like holding your breath while someone else out there just decides your fate. So knowing how to sell is really about how to regain that control so you're more in control of the process. And so one of the points in the sales process where a lot of women feel very little control is after you sent a proposal, and it feels like you're sitting there, just like waiting for an answer. And that answer can come quickly, or it can take a long time, and it might be what you expect, like, maybe you expect a yes, or it might be a surprise, like, you know, even though the client came in super hot, you know, you were sure that they'd say yes, then they come back with a no, and you're like, wait, I'm sorry, what? And then there are answers that aren't a no, but, like, aren't really a yes. And these are kind of common too, you know, like, we've decided to push the project out, or we're waiting for the new cmo to start, or, you know, any number of things. I always say that the best answer to a proposal, the best response is a fast Yes, right? Like, that's what we want, right? We all want a fast Yes, but the second best answer is a fast No. So that you know, you don't have to just sit there twiddling your thumbs like wondering, and you can actually get on with your life, but the worst answer is a slow No, right? And if you've ever gotten a slow No, you know how painful that can be. So if knowing how to sell, how to get clients, is about regaining this control, and this point right here where you've already sent a proposal, is one where you feel like you don't have much control, because you've sort of already sent the proposal, and you feel like there's nothing you can do at this point, then let's look at what you can do. This is what I want to share with you in this episode, and the things that we're going to talk about here aren't what you can do to help them say yes at this point, because yes or no, you know, that's actually not the issue in this moment that we need to solve. That's not what's wrong that we need to fix, because at that point, the problem that you're facing in your business isn't that you might not get the client or they might not say, Yes, you know, the problem to be addressed in this moment is that this is the moment where you might feel just incredibly powerless, and that's the problem that we can solve right now. So the problem we need to solve right now is to help you regain control and regain the power in your business. So I'm going to share three things that you can do after you sent a proposal and while you're waiting for a response to gain control. So the first thing that you can do is follow up effectively. And I know that this one seems like a little obvious, right? But. What I see so many women doing is actually following up very ineffectively, you know, like the emails that are like just checking in or, you know, like a lot of coaches will tell you to send an email with an article that you found that might be interesting to them. But like neither of these work, I'm going to talk about the checking in one in a little bit. But let's look at the like sending an article one it's actually a complete waste of time in this part of the sales process. The place in the sales process where that approach might be helpful is like when you're nurturing a relationship and you're trying to stay top of mind. It's not in the decision part of the sales process when you've already sent a proposal and you are looking for an answer, because at this point, what we're talking about now you're, like, done offering more value, right? If they want the value of your intellect, if they want to experience the way that you think about the problem, if they want the value of your expertise, they're at the point where they need to pay for it. And so we're not just going to, like, give them more value. But I really think that the problem of this approach, of like, here's something I found that's interesting to you, or whatever, in this part of the sales process, is that it really feels like it's in this vein of like, if I keep giving you more, then you'll like me, and then you'll say, Yes, right? That's something that women do so much because we've been socialized and raised to be liked, and we think if we have to sort of keep giving more, then they'll like us, and then they'll say yes. But the thing is that your client's going to decide whether they want to move forward based on so many other things, you know, how you've positioned the value to their business, whether they, you know, understand and need that value, and a number of other factors that just have nothing to do with, like, whether you've given enough free stuff, right, and especially free value. So we're not going to just keep sort of like tapping him on the shoulder and saying hi, like, here's more good stuff for you that I am sharing with you, and here's more value. So what do you do instead? Well, we follow up, but keep it laser focused on the value that the client is looking for, putting the value front and center, like in the first sentence, so that you're reminding them, you know, remember, this is how your business will be different as a result of working together. This is why this project is important, you know, not to me, but to you. And this is actually why that like just checking an email doesn't work, either because people tend to check in about the project or the proposal, like just wanted to check in on the proposal, or whatever. But clients actually don't care about the proposal, and they really don't even care about the work. They only care about the value that the work will deliver to their business. Okay? And then the second part of an effective email is leading the client. This is something I talk about all the time with my clients, this concept of leading the client, and it comes from the idea that, you know, clients are crazy busy, they won't do anything that feels like work. You know, even something like scanning their calendar to find an open time might feel like work given everything else they're doing so leading the client, giving them something to react to, instead of forcing them to come up with options. So it's the difference between saying something like, let me know when you're free, versus something like, let me know when you can chat. Or do you have any availability for 20 minutes on Tuesday or Thursday, right? Giving them something to react to. So if you're interested, I have an example of a follow up email template that works really well, where I sort of give you the text and also break down step by step, like why it works, and you can sort of copy that format and use it for your own follow up emails. If that's something that you are interested in you want to copy for yourself, just email team at Smart gets paid.com and put follow up email in the subject line, and we'll send you the link to get that so the first thing you can do to regain control in the sales process, follow up effectively. Your clients may or may not respond right away, and ultimately, they may say yes and they may not, but at least you've done everything you could to keep it moving forward. All right, so that's number one, follow up effectively. The second thing you can do after you send a proposal while you're waiting for a response is find your look alike audience. So the concept of a lookalike audience comes from Facebook advertising, actually, and even though we're not going to run any Facebook ads, the concept can still be really useful for us. So a lookalike audience means people who share similar characteristics to an existing audience that you already have. So like, let's say you sell gardening gloves, and you have 5000 customers who have purchased gardening gloves from you, and you want to get in front of more people who like gardening so that they'll, you know, buy your stuff too. So with a Facebook lookalike audience, you upload the list of customers who've already bought your gardening stuff, and Facebook like uses their massive number of data points to find commonalities between your people and the larger Facebook audience, and then they start to show your ads to people who have similar characteristics to

Leah Neaderthal14:49

the people who already bought your gardening gloves. Right? So that's a look alike audience, a group of people who have similar characteristics to an existing audience, or, you know, people who have already purchased Okay? Yes. So how does that relate here? Because if you've put together a program for a potential client and put it together in a proposal, then it's really likely that there are other people, other clients in your world, who might benefit from that same program. And when I say program, I just want to quickly clarify. I don't mean like a group course or an online program, I mean a set of services that you're offering to this client. And I like the idea of a program more than package, because, you know, in my methodology, calling it a program allows you to still do custom work for a client. You can totally put together a custom set of services and custom work and call it a program that you're tailoring specifically to that client. And a lot of my clients do a lot of custom work for their clients. So program gives that flexibility. Whereas, you know, the word package implies like it's the same thing over and over, which, you know, understandably, a lot of consultants don't want to do, which you don't have to do. But back to the look alike audience. So if you think of creating your work as a program, then there may be other potential clients who could benefit from that program, because they might be struggling with the same problem that this program that you've just put together solves, right? So that's your look alike audience. So think through Are there people you've talked to who might have the same problem? Are there people who have referred clients to you in the past, and might they know somebody who could benefit from this program too? It's absolutely worth reaching out to those people with a quick email, just being like, Hey, I hope you're well, you know, remember that we talked about that XYZ was a problem in your company, and I've actually just put together a new program, you know, or service to solve that problem. Would you be open to a quick chat about it, something as simple as that, you know? And you have to, sort of like, massage it for your own clients in your own situation. But that's the gist. And the reason why this works is because you're showing them that you thought about them, you know, you remembered them, and you're offering something awesome, and just to sort of manage expectations, because this is B to B selling, right? Just because you offered, it doesn't mean that they're gonna write back and be like, yes, we're in. Where do we send our check? Right? Like you still have to do a sales process, but it's certainly worth seeing if they're receptive. And that actually leads me to the third thing you can do after you've sent a proposal, which is, keep filling your pipeline, keep showing up, keep talking to potential clients. I know there's such a natural tendency to like, if you're going down the path with a potential client, there's such a tendency to like. Want to stop doing other types of business development. You know, stop reaching out to other people in your network, stop posting on LinkedIn. You sort of like, take your foot off the gas, but when you do that, then you really are, like, taking your fate out of your own hands and putting it into the hands of someone else, this person who you've already sent a proposal to, because you're saying, you know, listen, I'm just going to wait here and not do anything for myself until I hear from you. And that is a really powerless place to be, you know, feeling like you shouldn't or can't move forward based on what someone else does. That's like, maybe the most powerless position to be in, and it puts you in a total scarcity mindset. And when you're in that mindset, you know, that shows up in so many other ways, because if you, you know, haven't been filling your pipeline this whole time, it puts you in the mindset of, like, Okay, this has to work, because you don't have other things in the works. And that also means that if the client comes back to you and says, you know, can you do it for less or, you know, asking for this or that, you're more likely to say yes because you really need this client. And if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that I talk a lot about teaching our clients how to think about us and teaching our clients how to treat us. And if your scarcity mindset causes you to, you know, agree to every little request in the sales process, then that sets up the same dynamic when you actually start working together. So it's so important to keep filling your pipeline regularly all the time, and waiting on a proposal that you've already sent out. And you know, like I mentioned, I don't know if they're going to say yes to your proposal or say no, but I do know that regardless, you'll be in a much better position if you've continued doing business development, you've kept having client conversations, and if they say yes, you'll still be in a better position, because you've been showing up this whole time and you have options. So if learning how to get clients is about bringing control back to you and into your business, then being proactive about business development keeps you in control of that process. So send an email to a previous client to see you know how their business is going. Post on LinkedIn with your thoughts about something related

Leah Neaderthal19:29

to your industry. Send a newsletter out to your list. Take a few minutes a day to do something and really make it part of your routine, but just do something to continue doing business development. All right, so those are the three things you can do after you've sent a proposal and you're waiting to hear back. Number one, follow up, effectively. Number two, find your look alike audience. And number three, keep filling your pipeline and listen. I hope that what you take away from this episode is that when you send a proposal, you can do. Lot of things right leading up to it, but you can never control the client, but you can always control what you do and how you show up in your business, and that is power. Tim, hey, everything we're talking about in this episode is part of the system. Women like you are learning in the academy. In the Academy, we help women consultants install the two systems. Every B to B consultant needs a marketing system to consistently attract the right clients and a sales system to lead a sales process to a yes and get paid more for every contract. So even if you've only gotten clients through referrals or word of mouth, in the academy, you'll learn how to attract and sign clients outside your network, how to lead a sales process with confidence, and how to get paid for your value, not your time, and there's no cold calling or cold emailing involved, no changing your services or making a course, and you won't use any pushy sales tactics. That's just not our vibe. So if you like what you've heard here, the academy may be your right next step to learn how you can get these two systems in your consulting business and make progress faster and with fewer roadblocks. Head to smart gets paid.com/academy and apply and we can chat about next steps. All right. See you over there. You. Transcribed by https://otter.ai