In a recent sales conversation, it hit me. I realized the most important thing I have gained from specializing.
See, I was having a conversation with a prospect who had done some DIY work on her website’s SEO.
She told me she had done a lot of research and learning, and that she was pretty confident in her SEO work (yes, despite the fact that her site wasn’t ranking well).
So she said, “I see what you offer in this SEO Roadmap service, and I really think I have a good grasp of most of it. Can we just skip those parts, and can I just hire you for a couple hours to work on the things I don’t understand?”
I told her no.
What I realized in this moment is that the most important thing that specializing over the last ten months has given me is confidence.
Because I’m doing the same work continuously and seeing the results for clients, I find that I have SO much more confidence.
Confidence in my process, because I’ve now done it over and over again every week. It’s so easy for me to explain exactly how the project will work, and it’s easy for me to carry out consistently.
Confidence in my differentiation. I know that what I offer is so specific that my prospect can’t just go find 1000 other people who seemingly do exactly what I do.
Confidence in my worth and pricing. I know the work I do is good, and that it will get results for the right prospect, because I’ve worked with businesses like theirs before.
This confidence has caused a serious shift in my sales process, because I feel I can really take the lead and be strong in the sales call.
How I feel now is a world of difference from how I felt as a generalist.
Sales calls used to make me incredibly nervous. I felt inadequate and unsure. Because I was doing different work all the time, I just couldn’t build up this level of self-assurance that what I was selling would be awesome and what I was saying was right.
My new kind of sales call
Here’s what I was now able to say to the prospect who was trying to push me to create a new, lower-cost service for her:
“I have a set process that has worked really well for clients like you in the past. It’s the process that I go through with every SEO client I have, to make sure nothing is missed.
I highly recommend we go through this process for you, to make sure you get the best results.”
I was honestly surprised in myself as I wrote this in an email reply to her, not worrying that I’d lose the sale.
I was able to be strong, without fear that I was misleading her, being pushy, or overselling something I couldn’t deliver.
As a specialist, I knew how I needed to deliver her the best service.
And, lo and behold, she said yes.
Do you fear sales?
Here’s something to consider. If you’re someone who is feeling a crisis of confidence in your worth, unsure if you can defend your services and pricing, I think specializing can help.
Doing similar projects multiple times is powerful. It can build you up to a place where you feel really good about your work and what you’re selling.
Think about some sort of specific service that you can deliver the same way for a few clients. Reach out to them and offer it. Watch yourself grow as you improve your process and better understand the outcomes.
I think you’ll love the power it gives you to believe in your work.
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