#131: Afraid of Asking? This Sales Guru Is Showing You How to Pitch by Just Being You! with Annie Ruggles

Stuck in sales avoidance? Here’s your ticket out! On this episode of Teacher Turned Entrepreneur we’re hearing from someone who knows how to turn the least sales-y of people into pitching powerhouses! Annie Ruggles, Founder & Dean of the Non-Sleazy Sales Academy, shares with Host Dori Roberts, the stumbling blocks that all too frequently stall our businesses:

o   Underpricing.

o   Over-babbling.

o   Never asking.

o   Assuming marketing will get you over the finish line.

If you’re someone for whom marketing is the comfort zone (or a safe place to hide!), this is your invitation to look at sales in an entirely new way. It’s about customer service and, above all, just being YOU. Annie shares valuable tips to make what you’re selling more accessible to whomever is buying – whether through pricing transparency or just learning to be quiet and give them the space they need to consider what you’ve got to offer! At the end of the day, says Annie, we can buff up our images and tinker with our websites all we want. But if we don’t find a way to connect authentically with would-be clients, it’s hard to get out of first gear. “Marketing is a pathway to more,” she says, “but if you don’t ask you don’t get! So ask!”

Loving what Annie has to say? Head on over to her podcast, Too Legitimate to Quit, or check out her fabulous Master Class!

Here are key takeaways from the conversation:

·       Is your solo venture thriving because of a superpower that you’ve figured out? You may be well-positioned to coach and teach others how to deploy savvy skill!

·       Sales is an ethics and values game. If you’re bringing on people who don’t share that, your brand is going to start to evolve past you – and not necessarily in the right way.

·       You can care for people and charge for that service simultaneously. It’s to be expected!

·       Think sales is all about being pushy? Shift that mindset. It’s about customer service!

·       If you don’t feel comfortable with sales, look for a different guru, tactic or school of thought. There are all kinds of approaches to suit every style.

·       Marketing may seem comparably shiny and fun, but sales has to be a major leg of your business’s stool.

·       Your job on a sales call is to listen – not to talk! How else can you know what the customer really needs?

·       Your venture is about who you are – so bring that authentic self into the sales process!

·       Stop trying to be affordable and focus instead on being accessible.

·       Are you dodg