Want to make your sales not sleazy?
Stop inviting people. Unless you’re really inviting them.
Have you ever been invited to a dinner or wedding and expected to pay for attending?
Me neither.
If you were, and had to pay, you’d be thrown off
—or feel really weird, like WTF.
That’s the same feeling your prospects get when they receive all these “invitations” to groups, cohorts, case studies, etc.
It feels sleazy. All the trust you built… down the drain.
The reason?
It’s a dick move.
These “invitations” NEVER talk money.
Until late in the(ir) sale. ????♂️
It’s about tricking you into moving down the funnel to “prove” people are going in within the sales process. Doing this is dishonest —with your customers and yourself.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing?
If I invite someone, I’m not expecting them to pay (guess that’s why it’s called invitation…).
Or is it that we’re taught not to talk money early in the sale because “ugh, icky”.
Don’t trick your customers. (they’ll know)
If you want to make them feel exclusive, premium or whatever, besides the invitation to join, let them know there’s a price attached to it.
And, PLEASE, make it evident.
They’ll make the decision to follow through or not, based on the full story and knowing what’s expected. Don’t trick them. They’ll know.
A way out ↓
“Hey! I’m inviting you to this exclusive, invite-only [whatever you’re selling]. Here’s what you’ll find/get/learn:
- Benefit 1
- Benefit 2
- Benefit 3
- Benefit 4
- Benefit 5
The price to join this invite-only [blah blah] is $XXXX.
Hope to see you there. If you have any questions, please hit me up. I/we’ll be glad to talk.”
There you go.
Not-sleazy-selling 101: Don’t Be A Dick.