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There's two types of people who hear consensual sales in the first go, Oh, Eww, Shawna, that is not what you want to say. There are better words to use and the second type here, consensual sales and say, you know what? You're right. I don't want to talk my way into the sale. I don't want to memorize a script. You just want to work with clients who are excited to work with you. Now that's consensual sales.

What's going on podcast listeners? It's me, Shauna. You just get me today, only me. So I wanted to remind you that if you didn't catch the previous episode called, why am I not rich yet with a special guest, Don Kennedy. She's a US Navy veteran, mamma of five, attorney financial coach. She's like this superstar. And she's got that New York sort of sharpness to her. And in that episode, we talk all about making money, like, right.

(00:55): Like it's one thing to be able to make a sale, but it's another thing to be able to like make money and keep it. And that's the conversation that we had last week. So if you miss an episode yet, go listen. It's really great. I actually it's so good. I bought one of Don's programs after we were done. I was like, okay, like help me get rid of like, what do I need to do? So it's a really great episode and I hope you love her as much as I do. And I feel like we've had a couple like of these interview style conversations. The last few times, I feel like I haven't talked to you. Like, I feel like I'm like, do they know that I got a dog? Cause they know my kids are back in school. Like, there's just things that I'm just wondering, like where we left off at, but things are going well over here.

(01:38): Like I said, half the kids are in preschool. Half of them are in normal school. We decided to homeschool my oldest. Well, I don't homeschool her. My husband actually does. He's like a professor and he sets her up with like a little workstation at his office. And then she does experiments with him in the lab. And then she's working on the computer and goes for walks and visits to the library with him on the university campus. So it's turned out to be like a really cool thing for her. But nonetheless, he homeschools her running around the house and doing the kids' stuff and work in the membership. I'm trying to think if there's anything else new. I did get a dog. We did get a dog. Finally. It was weird because since last Christmas we had all been kind of asking, well, let me back up a little bit.

(02:19): I'll just tell you this quick story. So when my husband and I first got married, we got a Newfoundland, which is like a big, it's kind of like a Beethoven style dog, like a Saint Bernard. They're like water rescue dogs are great in the snow. Like it's a perfect Minnesota dog. And we got her when we first got married and she died at the age of nine, right after we moved to Alabama. It's like three weeks after we got here and it was kind of his dog. And I mean, she was my bag too, but I mean, we had the dog and then I had five kids. So I was just like, the dog was like the last prior. It was like the last thing that I was ever thinking about. So when she died, my husband was just like this. He was a total mess.

(02:58): Like, man, he was just devastated. I'd never seen him like that before. And I thought we'd never get a dog. Well, the kids just kept asking. They kept asking the kid asking, I gave asking. And so last Christmas we started kind of seeding the conversation with him, myself because like, I want my kids to have a D like, I want them to have those memories of a dog, you know? So since Christmas we've been asking him to go in on a old English bulldog and I wanted an old English bulldog because I bet a couple of friends who have them and they seem like kid friendly. They're not little, little dogs, but they're not like as big as a Newfoundland. And they, you know, they're like robust, they're stocky. Like they're, you know, you're not, they're not going to break, but they're also not too huge.

(03:39): And they had the short first. So anyway, long story short, he would've bugged in the dog and it had, we're like approaching a year and he's just like, I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to duck. And I finally remembered when we were first dating or when we first got married, he said that if he ever had a dog, he wanted a bloodhound. So I remembered all of a sudden and I was like, Hey John, so let's get a dog, but I'm happy to get a blood house. And he was like, okay, just like that. Right. And speaking of sales, this is like a really great example of you can't ever really talk people into something that they don't want to do. It has to be something that they want to do. So just something to think about. And yeah, so we've got the bloodhound and she's like 10 weeks old right now.

(04:25): And it's crazy because like I knew that we'd have to like train her to like go potty outside and stuff. But I forgot all the little crazy puppy things like she's in the trash or she jumps up on the table or she's like counter surfing or like she's nippy or, ah, it's just like what it was like, was this a stupid idea? But we really like her. We actually named her Roxanne Roxy for short and she's like the red color. So she's, she's funny. She's sweet. Okay. So that's what I have been up to in my life. Just in case you were wondering, like, what is going on with you, Shauna? Where have you been? I, one other foods were talking about me. One other recent development in my life is I was recently recruited for this real estate investment company and they need me to help manage some of their accounts and like, you know, take care of them, make sure they're getting great results and then like upsell them into other like offers that we have in this particular company.

(05:22): And so that's been really cool. It's kind of crazy because even though like, I don't have any time and like every day is crazy and it goes fast and it's wonderful and beautiful. Sometimes I feel like by adding extra things to my plate, like it actually helps me prioritize a little bit better. It helps me get things done. When I know that there's like a lot to do. And I felt this way with the kids too, like having five kids, it's almost like the chaos holds you together a little bit. So it's kind of nutty. I got a job. Well, like, yeah, I guess I did get a job, but it's kind of this thing that's like having your hands in a little bit of everything kinds of, kind of holds me together. And I know my friend Danielle from adulting one Oh one.

(06:01): She's really awesome. That's the pocket's adulting one Oh one that you should check out. She is somebody who has like a whole bunch of her hand and like a whole bunch of different pods. Like she's a firefighter. She was yoga instructor. She takes, she's like a life coach. She does retreats. She's like super cool. And I just resonate with that a little bit. You might do it. Maybe you're the same thing who just kind of needs their hand in a little, like you get excited about doing different things every day or like having variety. Right. So anyway, that's what I've been up to, but are you ready to talk about sales? Are you ready to talk about how to have an amazing sales life? This episode was only going to be a couple of minutes. Oh my gosh. Okay. So I actually wanted to answer one of the questions that somebody asked me inside of our community, our paid membership called speakeasy.

(06:45): And they basically said, Shauna, I have this upcoming sales call, like somebody is inquiring about my service. And based on what she told me ahead of time, I'm estimating that this project is going to run $2,500 and $2,500 is a lot of money. I don't think I can ask her that. So I want to answer that question with you and kind of the thinking process that goes behind my answer of what I would say to you, if that's you. So the very first thing that I want to know is, okay, so $2,500 is a lot of money compared to what what's $2,500 compared to you can't look at money in isolation. Like your numbers alone mean nothing. Your numbers need context. And so I asked her, so I asked my client, I said, well, $2,500 compared to what? And she goes, Oh, well, the thousand dollars that she purchased from me before.

(07:36): Right? So apparently this lady had bought a thousand dollar package from her before and now it's going to be like double that, right. It's gonna be like 2,500. And I said, okay. So $2,500 is a lot of money compared to a thousand. So let's just flip it, right? How much money does this person make a year? What's this person's sales goals for the month? What has this person spent money on before to solve this problem? Right? So like, if you can essentially anchor the $2,500 to a higher dollar amount, the $2,500, it's going to seem pretty affordable comparatively. And this is just like, I really, really like world market. It's like my dream to have like this beautiful home, this big open home where I can host parties and have my friends over and I've got lots of food and we're just always ready for people.

(08:30): And I'd like to think about feeling that home with all the things that world market. So I go to world market and I look around the store and I find things well, find things that I like to feel my home one day. Anyway, there's like a little like wine section in world market and they do something similar. Right? If you're looking at the price tag, imagine you're looking at this price tag next to a bottle of wine. And it will say like $89, 89 in big print for a case of six, right. Then it will say underneath it, $18 for a single bottle of wine. Now the $18 doesn't look and seem like a big deal compared to the $89. Even though you're buying slightly different variations, right? They're anchoring the $18 to the bigger bottle of wine. And I've shared another example once where John and I were running out for coffee when he ran out of coffee at the house and he was like, Oh, let's stop and swing in and get coffee before work.

(09:28): Well, I'm going to Starbucks. Like, I don't know about you. And I go to Starbucks. And as I started driving there, he said, what are you doing? Like, just stop at the gas station. And I was like, ah, nasty. I'm thinking, I don't want gas station coffee. I want to go to Starbucks. And he said, I'm not spending $3 on coffee. Right. But then later that day he turned around and was like, Hey Shauna, can we spend $5,000 on this like investment? And so it wasn't that the $3 cup of coffee was too much. It was too much compared to the 79 cents that he could get at the gas station compared to the nearly free cup of coffee that he could've gotten at home. Right. So it's like people don't view money in isolation and how we spend money. Depends on the context of that dollar amount.

(10:19): Right. Maybe this has happened to you. Like maybe it's something that doesn't seem like a lot of money, but maybe you already spent like a lot of money that week. Right. So you know what I'm talking about? You know what I'm talking about, like where you spend all your money and then all of a sudden it's like, Oh, I don't even have five bucks for this thing. Right. I've spent all my money except that the $5 is too much. It's the way in which you have spent money previously. So the way we spend money changes based on like the information that we have and the way that information is presented. Okay. So where am I going with this? Okay. Yes. Back to the store. So my client, right? Shama, I've got this client, I've got this inquiry. And I think the pattern is going to cost about $2,500, but I'm scared to say the price because there's a lot of money.

(11:05): Well, so you're simply just switching it. Of course, $2,500 is a lot of money compared to a thousand, but how can you anchor it to something that is significantly more than 2,500? Maybe she has a sales goal of 10 K. Maybe she's already bringing in the six figures. Maybe she doesn't have any money and she's not making any money in her business. Then I would kind of rethink maybe offering that maybe maybe $2,500 website copy is not a priority for this person right now. Right. So these are just some things to think about. Okay. So let me just think. So this is the first thing, or that was the first thing. Oh, this is the other part of what I want to like drill into your head is that when you are in this case, if you're about to present a $2,500 package, by the time you presented and are about to get paid for it, they should have already said yes to it.

(12:01): Like you're never presenting an offer and I'm talking about the pricing. They're like, get them to sign until you have like agreed on everything upfront. So when you save $2,500, it shouldn't be like a surprise. Like it shouldn't be something that catches them off guard. And I think this is what happens when you're moving through the conversation too fast. It's all of a sudden like you drop the price. And the person's like, Oh, I don't know. Like I got to think about it, right? You don't want to do that. By the time that you present the offer, by the time you drop the price, they should be describing your offer. They should be describing your package. They should be justifying the package. Right. So when you go to talk, when you go to say, all right, like I'd love to help you do that. Like, are you in front of a computer?

(12:45): We can go ahead and get the deposit or the first initial payment or the first invoice here taking care of right now, today that should come easily and effortlessly if you do everything upfront. Right. So when you're feeling scared, like that tells me that you're, you're moving through the conversation too quickly and you haven't fully heard what they're saying. I mean, sales selling is just giving somebody something that they said that they want it. Right. So if you're not doing that, if you get to the point in the conversation where they're like, Oh, I don't know if I want, I need to think about it. That tells me that you need to listen longer and listen deeper. And I've actually been talking about this on social media lately. It's not just like listening with your ears. Listening is a full body experience. Sometimes you have to tease out the answers.

(13:39): Sometimes you have to read between this line. Sometimes you have to get them to clarify. Sometimes let's see it as just asking a question, right? Listening is hard. I'll tell you this little story and then I'll have to let you. And then, then we'll wrap this up. I have a very charismatic, evangelical background for a really long time. That's how I grew up. That's I did the mission trips. I did the campus crusade for Christ. Did all the sort of evangelical culture for a long, long time, fast, forward, long story short. I ended up when you're a Christian, you don't convert to Catholicism. They actually say like, you're just confirmed. Or they just say, you're welcome back. And I was, I actually was for sake of a better word, like converted to Catholicism. So I made my way back to Catholicism when I was a little bit older and like the preaching, the preaching, like I was like my, my evangelical nature.

(14:27): Forgive me for not having better words. If you're a Catholic listening to this, but the preaching, right? What they call the homies where the priest speaks was so boring. It was so painful when you're so used to like these charismatic leaders who can lecture for like an hour. And you're like totally engaged. And then all of a sudden to like, listen to this Catholic sermon where it feels like you're going to fall asleep and it's like a hundred minutes, but it's really only like eight minutes. And it's like the longest eight minutes of your life. So I learned this little hack. I learned this little hack, which was to prevent myself from falling asleep. When I first started going to mass is when they're talking, repeat back what they're saying? Like say what they're saying, because humans have the ability to hear faster than somebody can speak.

(15:22): So that's why you're just like, get to the point, get to the point. Where do you say, like, where's this going? And you can like zone out. So I'm sharing this with you because listening is actually really, really hard because we have, this is a long way of saying, Oh my gosh, this is turning into a crazy bit, but you have this natural humans can hear faster than they can speak. Okay. So if you're not engaging, like your mind, your body, everything, when somebody is speaking, you're not going to be able to hear, you're not going to be able to hear what somebody's saying. And it's so important to hear what someone is saying and not just the words that they're speaking. Okay. Okay. So I'm going to leave with this. These are the things that I would focus on. If you have an inquiry who, Oh, this was, Oh, let me just, one more thing is I'm thinking about this from like a mindset perspective, just because you wouldn't pay for, like, your services actually happens.

(16:19): I've heard this from my client. Who's a florist. She's always saying like, I wouldn't ever buy, I never buy myself flowers. I would never say thousands of thousands of dollars for flowers. I would never do that. And this might be coming up for you too, where it's just like $2,500 is a lot of money. Like I would never spend that money on this. I just want you to know that when you do that, you're robbing your clients from making their own choice and that's wrong. I think that's really, really wrong. You can't have consensual sales and not be letting people decide for themselves how they want to spend their money. I have heard this once before, and I'm trying to remember who I heard it from, but essentially, if you can imagine your client at one time or another, we'll have $2,500 come into their life.

(17:09): True or false. That's true. They'll probably at one time in their life have $25 come into their life. If they don't spend it with you, they're going to spend it on something. They're probably going to spend it on something else. And most of us would probably know that we spend that money on something really stupid and regret it. Right? So if you are not giving them that choice, like you really are. It's not up to you. That's what gets me like, it's like not up to you. Okay. Then my client said, and I'm going to end with this. Then my client said, well, what if she just doesn't buy? Well, if she doesn't buy what you've to her, let's cocreate a new offer that she can buy, right? So maybe you start with one page or two pages, or maybe she needs something else. Like sell her something else. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can co-create okay. If you want to learn about the consensual sales framework in a more advanced way, you can check out our free masterclass clients and money.com. Again, it's clients and money.com. It'll walk you through the 3.5 step process to booking, happy to pay clients. Who's in the consensual sales method.

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