"The key to success in building your business is to get a system that integrates your sales and marketing."

(21:11) - Janet Clark, The Freedom Shift

Although sales and marketing are two vital parts of your business, they are not one and the same, and it's crucial to know the differences.

Do you think you have a sales problem?

If you do, it probably isn't because you're bad at sales.

Most coaches and consultants who are frustrated with their closing rates on sales calls are quite simply talking to the wrong prospects - that is, unqualified prospects.

In the world of online business, the terms "marketing" and "sales" are used almost interchangeably.

"It's like digging for gold in the wrong place. No matter how hard you work, and how good your technique is, you won't dig up any gold."

(2:57) - Janet Clark, The Freedom Shift

Do you actually know the differences between marketing and sales? They're certainly intertwined, and most don't realize that they're different. Marketing and sales are indeed both aimed at increasing revenue, but they're ultimately different functions within your business. That said, defining the difference is vital. You are the CEO of your business, so you're in charge of marketing and sales. In order to make sure you're doing both properly, you need to lay out some clear definitions.

Marketing. The systematic planning and implementation of business activities to bring together the buyer and the seller. This is where you do your prospecting. When done correctly, marketing gives you and your sales team a huge edge and, consequently, a high close ratio.

If your prospects are bad, it doesn't matter how good your salesperson is, you won't have the conversion rate you want. You have to make sure you generate the right leads in order for closing to be a viable outcome.

Sales. Sales is the portion of your business that persuades your prospects to purchase the product that serves their needs. The sales function converts the leads from your marketing efforts into paying clients. It involves more direct interaction than marketing.

Align your processes with the needs of your prospects to see the greatest measure of sales success.

Before a prospect invests in a high ticket program, two questions must be answered in their mind.

Do I like and trust the coach and believe the program works? This question has to be answered for the prospect during the marketing process, which is your opportunity to build up the "know-like-trust" dynamic with your potential clients.

Will it work for me? This is the conversation that takes place on the sales call. Here, the prospect gets to talk through their fears and concerns and any self-doubt they may have regarding your program. It's your job to be there to listen and empathize with the prospect. When you are willing to "stand in the fire" with the prospect, they will be more likely to invest in you and the transformation you offer.

Without marketing, there are no prospects. Even so, a lot of people do marketing incorrectly. They go out and book leads, but do not use qualification processes. When unqualified leads are coming through, the sales team may begin to feel like they're bad at sales.

You'll often hear coaches say it's okay to have a 17% close ratio. Let me tell you now, it is not. If you can only close 10-20 percent of the people you talk to every week, it will drain you and your team, and foster a culture that is not sustainable. No one on your sales team wants to face that much rejection consistently.

"When I talk about the miracle of integrating your sales and marketing, it's important to stick with something long enough for the miracle to happen."

(10:10) - Janet Clark, The Freedom Shift

We have established the need for good marketing and solid sales. What do you need to do as the CEO of your business to make sure that everything aligns to give you the prospect you want?

1. Determine the result you intend to deliver. The people who invest in your program are not looking to buy bells and whistles. They are buying the result that you offer.
2. Determine and define your ideal client. Do this to ensure that you yourself are clear about what problem you solve. Knowing this will help you speak to the right people.
3. Design and price your transformational program based on the product you'll deliver. For more on this piece, check out Episode 3 of this podcast.
4. Determine what marketing channels you'll use. The best way to go about this is to pick one channel and maximize it before you add in any others. Don't go chasing shiny objects.
5. Create your brand identity and your messaging. These assets encapsulate the message that prepares the prospect for a great conversation with the salesperson. Get clear on your messaging.
6. Generate interest and create leads. At the end of the day, this is a nurturing process to warm your prospects up and make them feel both comfortable and confident.

If you can create a process and work strategically with both sales and marketing, you'll experience successful business growth.

Remember that sales is actually the personal part. Your prospect has been driven to the sales call through marketing. They already know who the coach is and they know that the product works. With that established, you can have a true heart flow interaction and soothe your future client's fears.

Research shows that it takes more than one point of contact to take prospects from cold to warm and ready to buy. If you can implement a great marketing process, your sales calls will allow a deeper connection to the prospect and you'll start to close 50-80% instead of 17-20%.

Simply put, this is much more gratifying all around.

So, what are the best ways to implement these concepts?

1. Do It Yourself. The do-it-yourself model may be inexpensive, but make no mistake, it will require a lot of your time and energy, which will be taken from the things you actually want to be doing. Remember that you started a business to work with clients, not prospects. In fact, most entrepreneurs who choose this model eventually hit a ceiling. They run out of time or simply get buried and burn out.
2. Done With You. Find a coach who can guide you to implement these strategies so that they intertwine properly. Guides like these are a rare find, but an experienced perspective is invaluable.
3. Done For You. You literally find someone to build the process for you. This is ideally where you want to go. With this model in place, it becomes easy to clone yourself out of your business and free up your bandwidth for the parts of your business that you love.

Don't let the transformative products or services you have to offer clients be limited by your marketing, sales, or the disconnect between the two. Can you imagine what tremendous turnout you would see if your marketing and sales aligned?

How to Get Involved

If you're ready to leverage your time and offer huge transformation to your clients while scaling your business in a big way, Janet can help. Janet has an extensive background in sales, has closed millions of dollars in high ticket programs, and has the expertise needed to move your business forward. Find more about her work with The High Ticket Freedom Shift program on her website.