Sales conversations can often feel difficult, especially for women. Some feel that they have to be inauthentic, pushy or salesy to be able to close deals, and that mentality reflects in the calls that you have – your belief that your calls will be pushy and awkward means they end up that way. So how can you change your mentality and prepare for successful, confident sales calls? Follow these five tips.

1. Establish a protocol

To start with, plan out your protocol. What exactly do you need to do to make the call a success? Clearly communicate with your client about your protocol before, during and after the call. Do any preparation work before the call. Inform your client of anything they need to bring to the call. Once the call has finished, send over any necessary materials and do so promptly.

Remember to plan out how the call will take place. Will you use a mobile phone? A service like Skype? Will you call your client? Do you send reminders before calls? I would recommend always communicating that you will call the client, and using their own time zone so they do not need to spend time converting and will feel taken care of. If you feel organized and ready, you will come across that way.

2. Establish yourself as an expert

Enter EVERY sales conversation knowing that you are the expert. Your client has come to you because you can help them to solve a problem. You are not being pushy, and there is no need for awkwardness – lean back in the call and ask questions. Genuinely listen to your client. You do not need to prove yourself to them, as they are already spending time talking to you. Engage with the conversation comfortably as your professional self.

3. Take charge

This can seem scary, but it is necessary. You are the expert. Lead the conversation. Through active listening, guide the conversation so you find out everything you need to know about your client and their goals and challenges. Ask follow up questions to go deeper for more information and show that you are truly listening. You do not want sales calls that are taken up by your client asking you questions – retain control. This will make your client feel safe and respect you as the expert.

4. Hold space

Hold a sacred space for every client that you speak to. Make them feel comfortable and valued, and show that you are listening to them actively and genuinely. Make your client feel that you are interested in helping them and that you are invested in their future success. Listen to their circumstances and goals, and avoid buying into any excuses. You need to hear their struggles and return them to a place where they are seeing what is possible. Always remember that your client must both believe in and desire change for you to be able to help them. You need to hold space to be able to serve them properly.

5. Do not solve their problems

Many women approach sales calls as an opportunity to solve problems. That is not what they are for. Use your sales calls to assess whether people are a good fit for your products or services. If the wrong people buy your services, they will not achieve the things they are aiming for, and this will cause stress for you and them. Assess whether the client has a goal in mind, whether they are happy with their current situation, why they are having trouble reaching their goals. Assess whether you feel you can help them. If you can, you are likely to make a sale, but you do not need to solve their problems on this initial call.

Once you have followed the above tips, you will find that sales calls feel a lot less daunting and awkward. Instead, they can be an enjoyable time to stand in your feminine power. The perfect preparation will be reusable time after time, until sales calls feel natural and your calendar is full of potential clients. And if you are serious about mastering your sales conversations and increasing your confidence as you increase your bottom line, check out this VERY limited time offer to get 12 full weeks of training and coaching with me! http://rebeccamatias.com/sales50/