If you’re a business owner selling your product or service online, you’ve almost certainly heard that you need to learn how to build trust with prospects.
You may have heard the popular advice that says you need to foster “know, like and trust” with your audience in order for them to feel ready to buy from you.
But what does that actually look like out in the real world?
Building trust with our people starts by avoiding toxicity at all costs.
We see strategies and tactics that are truly toxic being passed off as “winning advice” all the time.
Today we’re here to call them out so we can kick them to the curb and prioritize trust with the people paying attention to us.
Let’s get into it!
WATCH THIS VIDEO! how to build trust with prospects: 4 toxic sales tactics to avoid
This blog post (and accompanying video) are part of one big in-depth series all about our Empowering Enrollment Experience. This is Part 6. ( Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5)
No business owner out there wants the word “toxic” to be associated with the way they show up in the world.
We genuinely believe the vast majority of coaches and creators out there are not trying to harm their clients during an enrollment process – but often the damage is done all the same.
So how can we be sure we aren’t engaging in problematic behavior during our own sales processes?
The first step is to identify what a toxic sales scenario looks like so we can compare it to a healthier version.
❌ Making your client question their intuition
We’ve already covered the fact that pressure-laden sales processes are problematic for clients because they force a person to make an on-the-spot decision.
In many cases, conventional sales wisdom would tell you that if a prospect is leaning towards “no”, we just haven’t worked hard enough to convince them.
Think about how disempowering that really is!
A prospect can be sitting right in front of us, telling us their gut is giving them a “NO”.
But when a salesperson really wants to turn that “no” into a “yes”, they’ll say or do just about anything to make it happen.
That includes persuading a person to reject their own intuition — and we definitely want to stay away from that.
❌ Accepting program applications from people who aren’t a fit
In the High Ticket Hybrid model, we teach you how to leverage a qualifying application that helps your right-fit clients naturally stand out.
This isn’t a false “application process” in which every person who applies is actually accepted.
In this system, we lovingly turn down applications from leads who do not meet certain criteria we’ve identified as necessary for their success.
If you’re curious about what our application process looks like, you can see it in action for yourself right here.
Sure, it can be hard to feel like we’re saying “no” to possible revenue!
But it’s toxic to accept a person’s application knowing full well they are NOT ready to get the results you’re promising.
❌ Pushing wrong-fit clients when you know they aren’t the right fit
What’s even worse than accepting applications from people who don’t meet key benchmarks for our programs is pushing those people to join your program.
In our own desperation to hit our numbers or feel successful, it can be incredibly tempting to say all the right things to the wrong fit in order to make a buck.
But in the end we know deep down this isn’t worth it.
Clients who are not the right fit are going to come into our programs and have a hard time getting the results they want.
Often, wrong-fit clients will require more time and attention, or perhaps they bring an energy that drains the rest of the group.
The bottom line here is that pushing people who shouldn’t be in our programs in the first place is a one way ticket to disaster for all involved – not to mention it’s totally toxic.
❌ Finding new information that indicates a person would struggle in your program, yet pushing them anyway
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