I hosted a two-day event last month where I met all of these beautiful souls that are here to make a bigger difference in the world and to build their dream businesses. One of the questions that I got was “how do I reach out to potential clients to make my offer?”

Now this question came in many forms…

What do I say? When do I reach out?

How often do I reach out?

Or

I just don’t know how to start the conversation without coming across as someone who’s calling someone or reaching out to someone or starting conversation just to sell something. That feels slimy like I’m just doing it to make an offer and receive money.

Here’s the thing – I totally get that.

I remember when I was first in the world of sales back in my corporate days, one of the most uncomfortable things was straight up cold calling people that I didn’t know, let alone people I did know!

In order to make it feel better on both sides, I thought about the way I like to approach people that feels respectful and connected. I started to see what I was doing was different from others and began to generate a better result and a better overall feeling when reaching out to people.

I’ve broken it down into four simple steps that I’m happy to share with you today. I lovingly call this the C.A.R.E. method.

C: Connect or Catch Up

Determine the level of relationship you have with the person you are reaching out to. If it’s someone who is more of an acquaintance, you’ll make the invite my saying “Hey! I’d love to connect.” If it’s someone you know well, then “I’d love to catch up” is more appropriate.

A: Ask Questions

Think of this as a normal conversation. You don’t know for sure if you’re going to make an offer unless you’ve caught up with them or connected with them and really got an idea of whether or not it makes sense to make an offer. In fact, it’s nice if you even go into the call without planning to make an offer so you can really focus on deeply connecting with them and getting to know them better or catching up with them.

R: Respectfully Transition to the Offer

If I get the sense that my offer can get them from where they are now to where they want to go, then I respectfully transition to the offer. I would say “you know, based on everything that’s come up, there’s something that I have happening right now that I’m really excited about. I believe it can help you get from where you are now to where you are now, to where you want to go. Do you mind if I share it with you?”

This is KEY to avoiding a bait and switch feeling in the conversation. I always ask a question like this before I make an offer, even on normal sales calls.

E: Empower Her to Make a Decision

Once I’ve made the offer I say, “So what do you think? How does that sound to you?” And I allow the conversation go where it needs to go in terms of them saying “well, wow, I hadn’t really thought about that” or “that sounds interesting.” 

They might ask some questions. They may have some resistance or objections, and it’s totally fine. You know, it’s not about being pushy or salesy, it’s about really being in a space of empowering them to make a decision or at least a commitment to the next step.

If you ultimately talk to someone and ask questions and you realize what they are needing is actually not what you offer, then you can still respectfully transition out of the offer to a recommendation like this “based on what you’ve shared, something I would recommend is…” or offer to connect them with another expert who can help. 

It’s not so hard right? Go out there and show people you care 😉

Want more training like this?

I originally trained on this topic in the Empowered Entrepreneurs Facebook Group. 

 This is a FREE group for coaches and service-based entrepreneurs and I’m giving exclusive live Tuesday at 9am PT in the group.