(how to not do the same)

Hi Reader,

I've been so traumatized by being pressure-sold that I forgot to sell when people actually wanted me to.

Last week I hosted my first ever open office hours. I opened it up to y’all - it was awesome. New faces, familiar faces, and even a handful of current clients! Really good questions the whole way through. It was everything I hoped it would be.

And then, with about a minute left on the clock, someone asked, "So….can you tell us how it works to work with you?"

D’oh! I forgot to leave room at the end for those who wanted to hear about it. I had made it clear that there’d be no pitch in this office hours, but that doesn’t mean I can’t create the space for people who wanted to hear about it. Most people had already jumped to their next call. I gave some rushed half-answer and that was that.

The second we ended, it hit me. Some people came wanting to know how to work with me. And I never gave them the chance to find out.

And it reminded me what I tell my clients ALL THE TIME:

If you don't tell people how they can work with you, how will they know how to work with you?

I didn't take my own advice.

I'm so allergic to the pressure-sell, the pushy close, waiting-for-the-credit-card on the call, that I swung all the way to the other side of the pendulum. I built an hour with zero room to even mention what I offer. And the irony is that the people in that room actually wanted me to.

There's a difference between pressure-selling and making it easy for someone to say yes. I forgot that for a second.

Here's how I share my offers on the regular, without the ick:

→ In the P.S. of my posts ​
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It's subtle, it sits at the bottom, and anyone who isn't interested can skip right past it. The people who want the next step will find it. (read more about this here)

→ In the comments of my posts​
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Promoting an event or an offer? Drop it as a comment, every single day, even on posts that have nothing to do with it. Your post delivers the value, your comment offers the obvious next step.

→ On your profile

It should be very clear what you do, for who, and what the next step is to work with you. My about section? Has my usual, “DM me “LFG” for deets, and yes - people actually dm LFG from it.

→ It's totally fine to post/email about your offer directly, too. ​
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But limit these as they just don't tend to perform as well, because people can feel when they feel like they're being sold to on LinkedIn. The move is to lead with something genuinely useful, then point to the door. Value first, next step second.

And yes, lesson logged. Next time, I'm leaving 10 minutes at the end of an event. Even if it was pitched as a “NO pitch” event. Some people actually came to get pitched to. And those who want to leave early, can!

Till next time!
Natasha

P.S. Good news, this story has a happy ending. Even with zero pitch, that same person who asked moved forward with me. Turns out some people will find their way to you if they really want to. But why make them work for it?

P.S.2 And that’s a wrap - cohort 5 is officially SOLD OUT! That "final call" email I sent Monday? It led with value straight from my members instead of me doing the selling, and that's what did it. Same principle as everything above. Lead with value, make the next step easy, let people walk through the door themselves.

New here? Hi - I'm Natasha! I go on lots of LinkedIn tangents (and a few motherhood/entrepreneurial ones, too). My goal is to help make your experience on LinkedIn empowering AND profitable. Seriously. It's totally possible. Subscribe below! See you in your inbox! Subscribe! ​