¶ Online Sales for Introverted Business Owners
So welcome back to another episode of the Art of Online Business , and we have a treat for you . I can say we have a treat because this is the second episode with Tracy Patterson and it has been quite a treat discussing life and the kind of interesting origin story that you have with you and all the other random banter we had in the previous episode .
But , listener , if you haven't heard of Tracy yet , she is an offer and sales coach for online business owners .
She believes that you don't have to grin and bear your way through their online business and sales and , specifically on this episode , she's going to share a bit more about how to increase your sales when you're one of those people who doesn't like to be in the spotlight , and so welcome back , tracy , thank you , thank you .
Yes , that is one of those people who doesn't like to be in the spotlight , and so welcome back .
Tracy , thank you , thank you . Yes , that is one of my favorite things to talk about , right ? It's like creating that sales style and that offer suite that , like really reflects who you are and that impact that you want to make you know .
Because I mean , if you wanted to grin and bear your way through your business , why didn't you just stay in a cubicle or clocking in somewhere ? It's like you made this leap for a reason . Why hate it right ?
Exactly ? Why hate the life that you jumped from corporate or your day job to have ? That's a good question , I should ask myself Before we hop into the episode . Though the listener , I'm speaking to you . You might hear my voice and think who are you and what happened to Rick Mulready , the host of this podcast ?
Well , I am the host of the podcast now , and if you want to know what happened to Rick Mulready , head down to the show notes below , and there's two links I got for you . One is Rick telling you exactly where he's at Hint , it's on a cool AI project .
And the other is where Rick is interviewing me as the new host of the podcast and you can learn all about me , and including where from the world . Where in the world ? Where from ?
Well , I'm behind my computer screen broadcasting now or recording now , but where I live in the world , which is Mexico , and where I used to live , which was China for 12 years , and how I used to live , which was China for 12 years , and how I became a Facebook ads manager and an expert in things that have to do with online courses .
Now that that's out of the way , tracy this topic about increasing your sales in your online course business when you don't want to be in the spotlight all the time . I found that so intriguing and I kind of latched onto it in our previous episode , which the link is in the show notes below , where I was getting to know you before recording this episode .
So my first question is what do you define as somebody who doesn't want to be in the spotlight all the time Before we get to the cool part about increasing sales ? What do you define as somebody who doesn't want to be in the spotlight all the time Before we get to the cool part about increasing sales ? What do you mean by that ?
Yeah , I mean , it can be a variety of things , right ? So it can be somebody who just wants to protect their energy . It can be somebody who likes to have those boundaries of personal life versus business life versus I don't know whatever other kind of life that you have .
You know , because just because you are , even if you choose to be a personal brand for your business , it doesn't mean you have to be fully exposed .
You know you still have full rights to boundaries , yeah , so , whether it is , you know , one of those kinds of things all the way to just being somebody who you prefer to be behind the scenes and you have that kind of personality drive where you like to do things and you like to be active , you just don't care to ever be the one who is out there in front
of the world . You know , speaking to the I don't know masses , right , there is a place for everyone in entrepreneurship and there is a place to sell your services or your offers or your products for everybody too .
Okay , since you work with people online business owners who don't want to be in the spotlight and your Instagram bio says you also work with HSPs and you had taught me what that meant highly sensitive person and what I understood but I would like you to correct me on is a highly sensitive person is somebody who can get overstimulated just too quickly .
It could have to do with the five senses , but you had to really explain that in a way that I thought was understandable . Too bad , my internet did not agree with us .
Can you explain that again and then we can go into how somebody who doesn't want to be in the spotlight , who could be a highly sensitive person , can still increase their online business sales .
Yeah , absolutely yes . So HSP , highly sensitive person . And for everybody listening , that is not something I created . It's been around since the 90seties and it was created by a psychotherapist . Her name is Elaine Aaron and it does have to do with people that get overstimulated very quickly and on the traditional scale of like the five senses , right .
So that's why we think about , about , you know , like lighting and touch , and that can be into like the social media space of like notifications going off , right , the haptic feedback that we get from texting to the dinging , you know , or the vibration of those kinds of things .
But it also can relate to needing to be on right and needing to be in the spotlight and following advice that says you have to show up , you have to do lives , you have to post , you have to fill in the blank on something , and when it feels like everything is kind of constantly coming at you , that's it's just too much right , it's just too much too often .
So what kind of protections do you , do you put around you ?
And then a step further is also at what point in your business can you just kind of reject those have-tos and just say no , actually , for me I don't need to do that and I can do something else alternatively , and I can use other mediums and I can do other things and still get the kind of results .
Or I can adjust my expectations and do other things and still get the kind of results . Or I can adjust my expectations and you know , and do other things and get other results that I want , right ? So you don't that , and that's where you're like . You don't have to be in a spotlight in the sense of on a platform like we are right now .
Some people would be very fine being on a podcast , but it being used on a YouTube might feel a bit too much , right For me . As long as it's live , I'm okay to riff . If I needed to overly prepare , I would get very much in my head , I you know , and it would be a bit too much .
And I would take my mic and I would be under my desk and you would just hear me kind of talk to you like this , and I would be whispering , you know , and that was what I would need to do .
I would be doing some some central nervous system kind of healing and then tomorrow I would be in the woods for a week and then people would see me again , right , so that it's those kinds of of pieces . But to bring that back around to what pieces ?
but to bring that back around to what we can do is we have that power to accept advice and to reject advice of those things that we should do in our business and pulling it back to those base layers of what a business is built upon .
It gives you a lot of flexibility to say if this is the kind of business I want , these are the pieces that I need , this is all the stuff I can play with and that that I can adjust according to my needs and what I want to build and what I want to do . Yeah .
I feel like there's tension here , and I need you to speak to it . On the one hand , me as a person , and who I was designed to be and how I interact with the world needs to be reflected in my business .
So you had written something , and what you wrote verbatim was if there are certain practices and sales tactics that you don't like , here's how to make sure you aren't doing them in your business . And so here's the tension , though there's certain practices that do work for sales , and in the absence of some of those , sales are lower .
So how do you marry those ?
two concepts together . I'm very curious . Okay , so this is a marriage of concepts , right ? So this is where we need to come at it , by realizing that we need to adjust expectations .
So when we are told , if you do X Y Z , then you will get ABC , yeah , If we are choosing to either completely reject or only take some parts of X Y Z , then that also means that ABC is going to look different .
Yeah .
On the other hand , alternatively , if we understand the base elements of why XYZ is being recommended to begin with , then we can make our own version of it .
So then we also will know what kind of our own version of ABC , our own version of the results that we'll get , which can be equal to it , can exceed or it can just look different than what that original advice is Right . So it's taking control and understanding that .
That why it was recommended to begin with , and it's it's like this advice is here , because it's pulling certain levers , it's pulling certain sales parts , and all we want to do is we want to pull those , and we can do that in a myriad of ways .
This person is just advising us on one way that it can look , and they're typically doing that because it's worked for them way that it can look , and they're typically doing that because it's worked
¶ Debunking Marketing Jargon and Sales Tactics
for them . So we ask ourselves are we trying to build the same kind of business that they are ? Yes , no . Are we the same type of human that they are ? Yes , no . Are we actually wanting the same kind of results that they got versus the same kind of results that they are now promising in their copy ? Yes no .
So it's stepping away from that emotional hype and pulling back the pieces so we can be drawn to an idea , to a concept , to a human . Because of that like emotional magnetism , right , because it's like , oh , this sounds good , but the after it sounds good . The question is but do I believe you ? So it sounds good , but do I trust you ? Do I believe you ?
Yeah , so now , once we're in that belief question , then that's the time that we can pull out these other pieces and go but is this also what I want ? Is this what will serve me ? Well , does this fit my life , my business and the impact that I want to make ? And maybe it's a yes , if it is fantastic , it'll be a great investment .
You'll fit in really well with the , with the community , with you know , the , the program , with the program , with the coaching , with the thing that's being involved and being asked of you to do . Or it's maybe a kind of or a no , and you need to kind of move on to something else .
But you can also learn from it by thinking , oh , but what is actually the purpose of what is being asked here , like you know why , why is this the , the concept that's being here ? So what is something that like a sales tactic that you're thinking of . That is , I want these results .
So I'm being told I need to do this , and you're in that , like you're feeling this tension and I can give you an example . And that like you're feeling this tension and I can give you an example .
Let's say , a typical webinar launch .
Okay .
Where we're told that that is the way to attract a bunch of people . Right , put some Facebook ads behind it . Bring in 500 registrants , 30% will show up to the webinar and we can close 10% of those into our offer in an ideal perfect world .
Okay , so yeah , I'm like 30% , 10% , yeah , that's definitely ideal . Yes , all right . So what is the purpose of a webinar ? So that this comes back to these ? Well , hang on before I get into that . You did say you used a word here . That is one of my little jargon busters geek moments .
You said the the way , and I will say anytime somebody hears the word the , mentally put an asterisk on that and understand that is a hundred percent of marketing message . There are a way to do things versus the way to do things . Okay , all right , all right , it's these little , these small little differences that make a huge psychological difference to us .
Especially we're in an emotional state , especially when we're like , oh my gosh , this business has to make it right . I've got it . I've got to make this change . I have to make this next quarter work . I really need to build up my team . I really need to do fill in the blank .
Yeah .
Then . Then it's like oh , this is the way to do it , oh , this is the next thing . Oh , this is the the . The no , it's a , it is a , a , a , a , which means an option .
I feel like already some pressure has left the room just by hearing that from you . Okay , exactly .
Good , thank you . Thank you , yes , I was like , so pardon the interruption . I like to call these jargon busting moments here .
Yeah .
But to answer the question about a webinar . So a webinar is an opportunity for somebody to get a sample of what it's like to teach , like a sample of what it's like to teach , like a sample of what it's like to hear you teach .
Yeah , so it is an opportunity to see you , to experience you and to kind of go along with it , and ideally it is directly in line with what it is they'd be purchasing , whether that is a course , a membership , a coaching , a whatever right .
So the topic of the webinar should directly relate to what's called pre-launch material , so something that affects beliefs that they have or that they need to have , and concepts that they need to understand . That will encourage them to actually get the results that you're promising and what it is that you're going to offer them .
Yeah , so , by showing up live , then they are getting that bit of time with you , which falls into that category of know , like and trust .
Okay .
Those three magic words that we hear all the time . Yeah , and these levers know and like is marketing , that's a long game . Trust is sales , which is a short game . So that goes back to I like what I'm hearing and I really am enjoying this , but do I believe you ?
Yeah , so when you are engaging with somebody over video , when they're seeing eye contact , when they're getting your personality , when they're watching what's going on , when they're experiencing that what 60 , 80% body language that actually tells people what they're thinking , that real meat of communication then you're speeding up that trust factor way more than the rest of
it . So that is those background levers that you're pulling . So what else can serve that purpose if you don't want to do a way of speeding up know , like and trust by using a webinar ?
Please tell me because I'm very curious . Like no , but what you're saying to me makes sense so far . It's based on , let's call it , personality type or human type , how we interact with the world . Certain techniques , certain methods of selling might not be for us and maybe we bought into it's the way to do it .
But actually what you're talking about is what's the component of this mechanism made up of , or components , and there's other ways to use those components besides a webinar .
There are there are right and what you're seeing it's like people are doing this . You know , through other forms of video , right Through short forms , through you know B-roll and on reels , b-roll and on reels and really , if you are dynamic enough when you speak , you can do a lot through tonality , which is like the variations that you hear in someone's voice .
So if , if that problem that you have , that , that and by by the word problem , like the hiccup , that hesitation , the thing that that's keeping you from doing it , if that is the component that's coming out for like the big , scary word webinar it , then maybe
¶ Finding Joy in Authentic Business Growth
you know the . The audio cast version is something that you can play with as long as you can show up with your voice . Yeah , so anybody who's watching this , they can see my hands , but anybody who's listening can most likely hear my hands . I'm somebody who I , vocally , will talk with my hands as well as physically talk with my hands .
You are expressive .
Not everybody is right , and then again it's nerves , it's all these different things . So some of it is practice , Some of it is understanding . So it's like if I know that that's what it is , then maybe I'm somebody who I need to go a bit more brick and mortar for a while . I need to do local things . I need to show up in different ways .
Maybe I do really well showing up with my group in like office hours or Q and a or coaching calls . So instead of trying to create content for the sake of content , why don't I just extrapolate where I'm already showing up and use it , repurpose it for something else ?
So what I'm hearing is the webinar might be overwhelming , right , but what is the webinar really accomplishing as far as know , like and trust ? And then , how can we build know , like and trust in a different way ?
Exactly , exactly , and there are other options , and then again it depends on what it is that you're doing . Yeah , so you know , like , for you , you have a duality in your business because you have this part where you are like an ads manager . So you are in their business , you're showing up for them , but you do also have those .
You know the , the , the D dip , that done with you and the , the DIY done to it yourself . You know version with , like , the courses side .
Yeah , so you don't have to use the same thing for the same part of your business and you're sitting here with a YouTube version and a podcast version of yourself where , yes , right now in this type of episode , you're showing me , but you have so many other episodes where you're show yourself .
So if you don't want to go , oh my gosh , I now have to create a 45-minute webinar where half of that has to be all about me . No , it does not . That was a raspberry for anybody who goes . What was that sound ? That was me thumbs downing .
You don't actually have to fill it with a bunch of crap that basically is like this is my background and this is why you should buy from me . It should actually be built around a tangible win . Well , guess what ? That's what you do in your Friday episodes . That's what you do whenever you're breaking down somebody's funnel .
That's what you do whenever you're talking about the kind of things that are working right now in Facebook ads .
You're right .
So , yeah , so you can put these kinds of things together in place of this big hairy word that's called a webinar .
I like it because I remember failing so bad at webinars and thinking is there another way ?
And , like I just well , now I have a service-based business Facebook ads but I'm speaking more to my previous business , where I did find other ways of selling my course , which is why I find it so appropriate or so intriguing that we met each other inside of the mixer mind , a group designed for people to collaborate in , or yeah yeah , a group designed for
people who want to collaborate with each other yeah , yes , and , and think about that like , the way that you have been doing , these collabs have been over video , they've been talking to different audiences , right , which speeds up that idea of trust .
So you can still do that over a longer period of time , right , and that's going to work for a different type of buyer anyway . So this is again where I I try to make sure that everybody understands that these things are layers . These are layers , layers , layers , layers .
It's not just like an A-B situation , but it is a fullness that works with the spectrum of humans that make up your audience , works with the spectrum of humans that make up your audience .
Yeah , cause some people buy quickly and other people kind of hang around for a while and buy when it's ready for them , and you want that because you don't want to force somebody to buy when you are ready . You want to be available when they are ready for you .
Yeah , that's good .
Yeah , because that is also how you keep from having , you know , horrible situations with customer service , right ? You know , like , how you're not trying to meet people who you're like oh my gosh , I thought this was fantastic , but now I'm sitting here trying to change all of my , all of my content , all of my coaching to meet this .
You know , this group of people who really they're . They're not supposed to be here yet , right ? So you go from thinking I just had this fantastic launch and I just had all of this great stuff and , oh my gosh , I'm so excited to .
Basically , you're needing to split these humans into different cohorts because they are at such a different progression stage , and that's on you needing to look back at your launch material and seeing who are you inviting in and at what stage , and what kind of emotional techniques are you pulling in and making people feel like they need to get in now , versus letting
them understand that you'll be there when they're ready ?
Wow .
So I guess in several words and some of them are your own words what you're saying is is it's possible for , let's say , different types of online business owners not with different types of online businesses , but different personality types , different types of people to have a sustainable business and grow their profits and impact without sacrificing who they are in
order to become the kind of person that could sell an online course ? That's what you're saying .
Yeah , exactly Right . And this is a course , this is a done for you , this is a done with you , this is coaching , this is membership , this is anything like that . Right , as .
Long as you understand these core components , then you then have that freedom to play , which makes it beautiful because you get to have the business that when you look at it , it's like looking in that mirror and seeing yourself in every single piece of it , and that makes you really excited .
So for the listener who wants to become excited again , who wants to have the freedom to play in their business as like they are not having to like put on this facade or this other persona that just doesn't fit for them and at the same time , have a sustainable business and grow Like . How do they find out more about this concept from you ?
oh gosh , I do . I do enjoy geeking out about it , but , yes , the the best place to probably go is just hang out with me on my website it's it's my name , tracy , with an ie , pattersoncom , and you know , and you can find out all of all of these things that I that I talk about .
Yeah , that that would probably be the be the easiest hub to find these things .
Okay , tracypattersoncom , I will put that in the show notes . A link there Do you have . I think you had mentioned before not before we hit record , but when we were talking about podcast things you have a wait list for a group coaching program .
I do , I do , yes , and we are opening the doors again in April . And this is for people who , like you , already have a successful business and you almost feel guilty for not liking it right , because it's like , wait , I'm doing well , so I should be more grateful . And it's like , wait , I'm doing well , so I should be more grateful .
And it's not about that . It's okay to look at it and be like it is sustaining me , but I don't like the way that it's fitting me . It's no longer that match and we are going to break those things down and move it , because you don't have to pivot , you don't have to burn it all down . You know .
You don't have to do all those kinds of , you know , emotional cleansing things and social media posts about it . We can actually just bring that back into alignment and find which of these offers actually fit you .
What is your unique sales style and what is it that will make you just look at this and be like , oh my God , this is exactly what I've been wanting .
This is exactly what makes me feel like this is my business and not this kind of like Frankenstein monster pieces of all these different you know gurus and techniques that I've just kind of ended up with , and I don't recognize this as that dream that I've been wanting to put together this as that dream that I've been wanting to put together .
Yay , because that just feels to me like business is becoming joyful again and not this dream drudgery . Yes , wow , cool .
¶ Finding Business Authenticity Through Hope
Well , thanks for coming on the podcast and spreading a bit of hope and I hope , like the listener who has felt like their business , though good , profit-wise , wasn't quite them or like they had to show up as somebody else when they really would love to do it a different way , I hope , I think they're going to leave this episode encouraged that there is another
way and that you've given them some tools to discover the components that make up that different way . Yes it was my pleasure yeah . Let's do it again . Let's do it again . I believe , so until the next time that you see me or hear from me , dear listener , be blessed and take care and talk soon . Bye .