Five stories that are holding you back THE MOST from making sales (and how to shift them!)
This past week alone, my Future You clients have had some pretty incredible wins…
… Signing yet ANOTHER perfectly aligned client.
… Filling over HALF their spots for a photoshoot with weeks remaining.
… Getting THREE new leads in their inbox in the same day.
My inbox has been flooded with good news. And while I’m over here cheering them on (always!), I’m also not surprised. Because I KNOW they’ve been doing the thought work to completely transform the way they show up in their life and business.
Because to get those perfectly aligned clients, you first need to be clear on your message and your marketing. You need to shift the thoughts that you’re not good enough, that your industry is oversaturated, or that you’ll NEVER be able to make a living doing what you love.
To get those spots filled you need to actually BELIEVE you can fill them. You need to fully commit to sharing your value, the results you’ll get your clients, and connect with them on a whole new level. Because flip-flopping your mindset on whether they’ll actually sell is a surefire way to make it harder to show up and almost guarantee that they don’t.
Getting three new leads in your inbox is only possible when you commit to believing in YOURSELF, your business, and your offerings. AND show up accordingly. Because if YOU don’t even believe that what you’re offering is the most incredibly AMAZING thing, than why the hell would anyone else? And if you don't believe it… remind me again why you'd show up for it?
Ladies, this is why mindset is so effing important.
Because if your mindset isn’t in the right place, it becomes THAT much harder to get out of your own way and take the RIGHT actions to actually grow your business.
And yet I see it time and time again on my free coaching calls that these stories can be incredibly hard to shift on your own and frankly, can keep you stuck and not bringing in revenue for weeks, months or even years.
That’s yet another reason it can be so valuable to work with me—because I can absolutely help you to detect those blind spots and move past them so you can create more profit and fulfillment. And listen, I get that it can sound crazy to hire a mindset coach on the internet but I can't think of a more compelling reason than this…
I’m all about offering value before you ever pay me a dime.
So this week we’re talking about the five stories that are holding you back THE MOST from making sales (aka the five blind spots!) and how you can shift them NOW so you can get out of your own way and start making this business of yours work for YOU.
1- You’re keeping personal connections at arm’s length
When I first started my business, I was terrified to get on a call. My palms would sweat, my heart would start to race, and I’d get hives before any conversation. Perhaps hard to believe from someone who has essentially built their business on zoom calls at this point… And yet, I’ll never forget that pit-in-the-bottom-of-my-stomach feeling that came with getting on the phone.
I mention this because there’s a decent chance you may be feeling this way. I used to raise my eyebrows when a guru suggested that businesses are built on relationships and the best way to solidify that relationship is to hop on a call. (Who were these calls with? Where were they coming from? What do we talk about!??? SO MANY QUESTIONS.) And I while I don’t always agree with the gurus out there, this is one thing that I can 100% get behind.
I encourage all my Future You clients to GET ON THE PHONE. Because there’s magic that happens when you get on a call with your potential client. And I don’t mean some weird sales script that you found on the internet. But when you LISTEN and RESPOND in a way that feels genuine and highlights your expertise, that is where you SHINE. Because while there’s plenty of free information floating around on the internet, personalized expertise and people who actually CARE are hard to come by. That is what sells.
Honestly, I was able to shift my mindset around calls when I started to see how easily they converted. Yes, they felt scary at first, but when I showed up as myself and was honest about my expertise and how I could personally help solve the problem of the person on the other end, it was like a door opened that I never knew was there. Because people buy from people and that personal connection is SO important.
So while I know it feels safe and cozy to simply type up another post for Instagram or hide behind your weekly newsletter, I encourage you to get your mindset on board so you can stop hiding behind your screen and start hopping on the phone. And please know it gets easier. Promise.
2- The struggle is more comfortable than the mindset work you’d have to do to move past it
In the beginning of the design business, I spent about a year and a half working on my website. I was so convinced that the “right” clients weren’t finding me because of it. It didn’t have the right look and feel. The copyrighting was off. I needed to hone in more on who I wanted to draw in. The list goes on. And while none of those things are inherently “bad” things to think about, it also wasn’t the real problem. Had I spent half as much time marketing my business as I did designing my website, I would have been booked out for months.
And yet, that website was my scapegoat. It gave me something to point to—to go, “Look here, THIS is why things aren’t working.” But the truth is that the website was yet another form of busy-work and procrastination. It was something I was comfortable tinkering away at instead of doing the real work of trying to show up and get more visible in front of my ideal clients.
I see it all the time in people who hop on my free Stressed to Success coaching calls. It feels so much safer to learn a new photography technique or to take another social media course rather than doing the mindset work to get real comfortable showing up for their audience and actually SELLING their offerings on a consistent basis. Because if there’s one thing that I’ve learned it’s that expertise alone does not equal a successful business. You could be the BEST at what you do, have the most amazing offering in the world, but if you don’t know how to market and sell it, your business will struggle. That’s why it’s so important shift those stories about what you REALLY need to make your business work.
Now for you, maybe it’s a certification you feel like you need in order to do the work you’re feeling called to do (and consequently are already good at). Maybe it’s an email funnel you’re spending countless hours drafting because it feels safer than admitting you don’t have a clear message. Whatever it is, it may be time to take a deeper look at that thing you’re so convinced you NEED to move forward and ask yourself if it might be masking a mindset challenge instead.
3- You’ve got some money stories floating around
Have you ever stopped to question the beliefs you have around money? One of the things I help my Future You clients with is cleaning up the stories they have in their own head about what it means for them to make money doing what they love. You see, so many of these incredible women are hiding behind the belief that they love what they’re doing so much that, “They don’t even have to make money and they would be happy.” Forgive me, but I call BS.
And here’s why…
These women would not be coming to me with their life and business challenges, looking to expand, grow, and create more than they ever dreamed possible if they were content staying exactly where they are now. Truth. But one of the things that your brain is so good at is keeping you safe. It feels safe to hide behind the story that you don’t need to make money—that you could simply chalk it up to a hobby without ever having to shift your beliefs around sales, acknowledge that you want more income, and do the work to understand your true value. Yes, that sounds like a whole hell of a lot less work. But it’s exactly IN that mindset work that you grow both personally and professionally.
If you’re reading this, feeling like there’s definitely some money stories you need to sift through, then go ahead and download my money mindset journaling guide for business owners. I’m giving away one week of my most transformative journaling prompts so you can unearth your money stories and start making more it. This guide will bring up the exact thoughts you have around money that may be holding your back from charging your true value, getting more visible, closing more sales, and thriving in your business so you can shift them and start seeing more money in the bank! Because you get to choose what you believe, and it might be time to rewrite that money story so you can create a thriving life and business.
4- You’re stuck in “research” mode on the hunt for passive income
With all the ads and messages floating around about passive income, so many of my Future You clients come to me caught up in how lovely it sounds to basically generate money while they sleep. And don’t get me wrong, it’s possible. It’s just that so often they’re hung up on that IDEA more than the bigger vision they have for what they’re passionate about, where their skillset lies, and the strategy that will get them there.
They’re left in a sea of ideas with no clear direction and that kind of expanse can be overwhelming. So what do they do? They bury their heads in research-mode, following anyone and everyone who’s made it work. Cue more overwhelm and comparisonitis. If you’re constantly on the hunt for one more person with a “secret” to passive income or a exact ten-step process. Stop. Please. Because the real secret is that there is no one exact process that will get you there and often time passive income isn’t so passive.
Even the Airbnb we run out of the ground floor of our house is anything but passive. It’s the business in which we quite literally make money while we sleep. We do almost no marketing on our own. Bookings come in with little effort. And yet, there’s still quite a bit of communication that happens on our end, cleaning to be done, and bills to be paid. Look, I’m not complaining. We make a pretty penny doing it, but it’s certainly not passive by any means. And quite frankly I think it’s time to shift the conversation around people who have “made it” on passive income.
So if you find yourself scrolling Instagram with your comparisonitis flaring up, wondering what they have that you don’t, I’m here to tell you the difference is simply that they took action to put in the time and the work to get there. And I think that’s more empowering than any ten-step process.
5- You’re not doing anything at all
When you’re feeling stuck it can be easy to think that you need to take time off to “figure it out.” I see this happen all the time for people in life and business. And yet, I think it’s the single worst thing you can do on your way to clarity and focus. You see, I’m a strong believer that we get what we want through small, consistent efforts. Not only that, but we FIGURE OUT what we want through that same process. We use the polarity of what is and isn’t working for us as a guide.
And the same is true for mindset work as well. Simply KNOWING that you can use affirmations to uplevel your mindset isn’t the same as integrating them in your daily life. It’s the small, consistent efforts of reciting them or writing them out each day that uplevels your mindset bit by bit. That’s exactly why I help my clients couple this mindset work WITH the right actions that are going to bring them more of the results they want.
When I had my ‘aha’ moment that my NYC life was not my forever plan, I didn’t say, “Well, I should probably take a few months off work and see what I want to do next.” No, conversely, I stayed exactly where I was and started taking small steps toward putting a plan in place to move. I researched healthcare plans. Brian and I discussed places we’d like to live. I transitioned out of my full-time job by freelancing with that same company for a few months. I started reaching out to build my own client base. Essentially, I started taking small steps toward what it was that I wanted.
And the same is true for you. If you’re feeling at a loss for what’s next for you in life or business, the worst thing you can do is stand still and wait for a grand epiphany. In one of my favorite books, Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert, she talks about how inspiration finds you when you’re working and I couldn’t agree more. Don’t worry about being on the “right” or “perfect” path (because I don’t believe there is such a thing!). Start by taking small actions toward what it is you THINK you want and you’ll gain clarity from there.
The bottom line:
It’s easy to hide behind your own stories instead of doing the mindset work you need to step outside your comfort zone and take the actions you need to land more sales and create massive success in your life and business. Consequently, it’s that EXACT work that will move the needle more than any other strategy, certification, or online course you can throw into the mix.
But I also know that it can be hard to see your own blind spots and exactly how you’re holding yourself back in life and business. If you’re looking for some strategic mindset coaching, personalized to you, sign up for my FREE Stressed to Success coaching call.
During this 30-minute mindset and strategy session, I’ll help you uncover the mindset shift that will make the biggest difference for you, so you can start taking the RIGHT ACTIONS consistently and start saying “no” to the things that aren’t bringing in results. (Goodbye overwhelm! 👋) Because if you want wins like my clients are getting, I'm your girl!
Together, we'll:
→ Get to the root of why you're feeling feel stressed and overwhelmed
→ Talk about the core MINDSET shift that is going to change absolutely everything for you, so you feel lighter, empowered, and ready to start making bank
→ Go deep on what’s working, what isn’t, and the one right action you can take this WEEK to start getting that first or next client
In other words, we're going to look at your mindset and then you're going to know exactly what to DO to see results from it! Talk about stress to success. :)
Tell me in the comments below:
What’s one story about sales you told yourself in the past that you’ve decided to shift?
Photography by Jennifer Morgan Photography
