00:00:22Welcome to the third pedal, podcast recorded at the Vandal Lounge. In beautiful Southeast Portland, Oregon, why the third title because even the most badass entrepreneurs gets stuck up and visit Management Consultant. Jennifer McFarland is your third paddle, helping you get unstuck.

00:01:42Thanks doing great. How about you? I'm awesome. I'm so glad to have you here on the 3rd paddle. I'm so glad to be here. Thank you. I love this conversation because sales is definitely a place where business owners off and get stuck. And I would include myself in that book at times. It's, you know, how its Tail's just seems like an obstacle or dirty words and I was asking, you know what I was wondering. Why do you think so many people think of what is a dirty word or an obstacle? I think that they're really two reasons for it. So the first one is when people spend money, it usually invoke. Fear like whatever. We're buying a big something. There's just an element of fear there and so we actually blame the fear that were feeling on the sales person. And so when one has to sell in order to get business or in order to their business to succeed, I think they get nervous that people will blame them for any Misfortune that may come their way. So I think that's one reason why people are thinking sales

00:03:42All over the person in front of them. And so if they've ever had a personal experience where someone made them feel awful about like a product that they selling or the service they're selling, it just creates this huge block is the number moving forward, because they just feel sick with such a bad experience. So yeah, you have to sell in order to stand business, right? So it creates this chicken or egg and because I haven't always had confidence in sales. I'm always curious to know, have you always had confidence when it when it comes to sales.

00:04:32And so you can imagine how well my business was doing at that time. I was really, really struggling. And then I realized actually it's just a skill set and I can learn that. And so I set out on a mission to actually mastered the art of sale, because I knew if my business is going to succeed and I didn't have to go back to a job. This was where it was at. And so I read some books. I attended training and then I start seeing other people's event and during those, I would have lots of sales conversations. And so, then eventually got easier. And I realized, I really had a knack for it. I can really connect with people really well and I realized as long as I felt in alignment and in my own Integrity, while I was having the conversation, meaning if I felt like it was a good idea for the person to sign up for the program and I was willing to encourage that and if I didn't, I was willing to stay.

00:06:29I was a schoolteacher. And so, you know, it's not a secret, that school teachers are not the most well-paid profession out there. And so I remember my goal in this new job, you know, my new business with to make 1,000 more dollars per month than I was making a future and I'm so glad I've upgraded me to remember during an exercise at a training one time and we each other's share. You know, what our money goal was and mine was something like you're free or $4. And the person that I was working with his was $30,000 a month, and I've had three or four thousand a month and I got a lot of work.

00:08:18I don't charge that much even want to say how much I charge because it was sick.

00:09:25Even staying them and you don't have anybody backing it up, then it's just a dream, right? It's it's not going to become a reality. So I really appreciate people that are willing to have the conversation and then that challenges me. Because even now I'm seeing an upper limit again, right? And obviously, I've grown quite a bit from my desire to make three or four thousand dollars a month, which there's nothing wrong with that, but I just wanted more, right? So, now, I've got my new AR for limits and I had someone challenged it the other day. And I realize that the only reason I had that a limit was because I thought that making more than what my goal was meant dizzy, headache business, would like a big team, and I don't want that, right? And then this person help me. See, it doesn't have to be that way. You get to create your business. Anyway, you want. You don't need to put a cap on how much you can earn before it becomes a headache.

00:11:19Focusing on. It's okay to make money and it's okay to like, you know, get out there and invest in the stock market. It's not somebody else's job. It's kind of ours to do. Whatever it is what we want. And like, you know, like we've been hiding our smarts ever since we were in Middle School. In the boys would like us if we were smart. It's like no courage. It takes courage to open up like that. And then you can see the Leaning that people had when you shared, you know, what you're really doing with the stock market. So I love women who are willing to have crazy as conversations. Thank you. And I don't think of it is particularly courageous other part of that is probably because I couldn't really hard. Hide my nerd know since I got glasses in the third grade like I was out at as a partner, like very early on, I was rocking the Holly Hobbie glasses and like all that there is there's no way for me to hide.

00:12:57Yeah, so I'm as far as the rejection if fear goes, I think it's really important to first decide if this is truly an ideal client, and so a lot of times you can release the reject right away. So I was joking no skills in marketing is a lot like dating and so it's it's often can be a next like, right. It's just simply not a match and it doesn't have to be that you know, we have any hard feelings towards that person, right? We can wish them well and send them. Send them on their way, not a match, and sometimes that's not what I knew early on, right? So I took it all in and I felt like rejected by people and I remember this, when women just took control of my entire free consultation. She just overpowered me and Every Witch Way. And so, you know, maybe offer. And and she was a no, and I hung up and then I was like, you know what? Thank God, sending several hours.

00:14:57Why for their career and their business? And a lot of times there are things in our personality or habits that we're doing that are on our way. And we know that we're going to get confronted with all of that and that they're going to suggest we give up some of these habits behavior is routines that are that are in a way in all of that is really scary. And so, we can just simply say, you know, I can't afford it because now we've created a space problem meeting at Chiefs, this problem of not having enough money keeps me safe from having to make a decision for transformation. It's really, it can be very confronting for people. But that's the conversation. I end up having because they can choose to stay planted right where they are, or they can choose the transformation. It's waiting for them. And it always comes down to, you know, what, where were they on the commitments tail? You know, if you ask on scale, 1 to 10. How committed are you?

00:16:57Not look at that the same way here. Like if your business is really important to you and it's the way that you're going to make money for your family. Why not? Invest in it or commit to it. The way you would commit to a broken bone or broken down car? Absolutely. So you have to talk people through that and as I'm hearing you talk, I'm like, okay, so like I'm learning some new strategies in here because I'm not a hold of like a coach or holistic practitioner in title. But in a lot of ways, people don't come to me unless they want to make a change to come talk to me unless you're ready to transform, and then it does seem like people get right to the edge right leg and they're about to take the plunge and they know that if they agree to work with me, they're jumping off that cliff and something is going to change, you know, and if they are uncomfortable with technology, or they're uncomfortable with what they are asking me to do because they've never done it.

00:18:52Where is great and you just like your body, if you say it and that's not powerful. Right? And it makes people not trust you because your energy behind the Deliverance of your offer. Is it just you know, when you do in my bio you had said you don't help people with the being and the doing of their business. Do the doing is really the sales strategy and how to have that conversation, and how to handle some of those objections. Being is really like being in your body and finding your Center and taking care of your mental well-being and spiritual well-being before you get on the call, right? So that when someone, if they do say something that's jolting, you can just find your way back to Center and not lose your cool. And you make your offer from that same place and they steal that really powerful woman coming forward and then they're attracted to that energy and they want to work with.

00:20:38Yeah, like it's not I mean you just like lost all of all of it. So it is about being grounded. You know, it's it's about being grounded. I I just interviewed somebody a couple of weeks ago named Sally Foley Lewis, and she said that you need to have as a leader. You need to have a magnet in your heart and a compass in your head and I think that's totally true. Right? Like you're attracting people to the Dell conversations with the magnet in your heart, you know, because you have that desire to serve right? But it's the compass in your head that has to say and you have to pay your light bill. Let's let's let's stand in that for a minute and have that uncomfortable conversation so that you can truly transform and help somebody. And also pay the light bill uncomfortable conversations.

00:22:38Anytime you leave your comfort zone, you feel uncomfortable, right? That that's the mirror definition. Like when you're in your comfort zone, everything is comfortable. And we know, we can be comfortably miserable. We can be comfortably broke and we can be comfortably wealthy right likes, but we get to decide our comfort zone in the minute. We leave it. Then it's new, and scary and uncomfortable, and I think the biggest mistake human beings make is when they identify discomfort as being wrong people Ridley, right? It's like exercised, not comfortable, but it certainly isn't wrong for your body. Right? And so, these conversations can be a little like uncomfortable, but it doesn't mean. I think that's the important thing for people to remember. I absolutely agree with that. In like, one of my favorite, I posted on social media. Every once in awhile is, you know, the circle thing. This is your comfort zone and then outs,

00:24:11You know, why do you think many women business owners, you know, tend to do that or tend to under charge for their services. And and what does, what does that actually communicate? Do you think this fact? And I know I've been guilty of it myself in the past. It's almost that I'll take what I can get mentality, right? But then again, if I go back to the dating analogy, do you really want to take what you can get? Or do you want to hold out for, you know, what, what you're really looking for? I know you're not dating Jen. But yeah, but I didn't said you found your, you know, your ideal match. And so that's why we identify who our ideal client is, and likely your ideal client isn't someone? That is unwilling to invest in themselves to. My avatar is, is a woman who really likes to invest in herself and is willing to do that, but

00:26:11We want to play for the shop, like all, I'm not a good match right where men may not have five of them and he still applies for the job and may actually get it and it does not to blame then, right? It's really too. Just how women see you got to go for it. You got to go for it with as much Gusto as a guy can and there's no reason why women that are self-employed that are determining our own value in our own worth. There's no reason why we should be making any less money and if we are, then it's time to look in the mirror and spaced that part of you, that's established, you know, those parameters, but I do know for myself when I lowered my RAID or kind of wheeled and dealed, which I haven't done in a long time, but when I did do that, I found that the work that I did with that client, just didn't go as well. And I think that they lost a little bit. It's not a lot of respect for me again, maybe even unknowingly but

00:28:11What they're supposed to do, whatever that road is, and go after the people are supposed to go after, do you agree with that really focus on who your niches write in practice like magnet and welcoming in the people that want to spend that much on your on your service because I really believe you get what you pay for. And I've learned this three times in as many months where I was just trying to save a little bit of money when I was making a couple of decisions with the higher for certain aspects of my business and and not that the service I got was subpar, but just said I got what I paid for and what I wanted was so much bigger and I am. So I'm realizing like you have to go for what you want. Absolutely. And I think it's true for the ideal client that you want to work with. You have to go for what you want. Put it out there. You know, I work with like you see a lot of

00:30:00I think it really comes down to, I'm, I'm really passionate about the idea that women can create for themselves, the life in the career, their dreams, you know, like, I, I loved being a teacher and I felt like I was doing my part to save the world, but I was always low on money and I didn't have a retirement funds that was being contributed to you, because I taught adult education and this was a different set of 12. And so there is no future for me. I had to be the one that would that was going to pay for my my future as a married woman. And so that is what got me to start looking into the coaching industry and what was possible and I'm watching all these people, you know, create wealth on their own terms and I wanted a piece of that. And now that I've seen my own money mindset shift and change and, you know, by my level of well, shift and change, you know, for the decreasing, you know, credit card, debt, as opposed to, you know, which 0% APR card. Can I put it on?

00:32:00The day that made them say you're so right, you know, you hit the nail on the head. I love that. Like that is so meaningful and get the text. You know, I sold my first $3,000 package or $5,000 a month and I'm the one that they think I'm just text and tell me, you know, I just love that like and it's not about the money. It's about like what possible what do you want to create? What's possible? And let's go. Let's go crazy that no matter what what that is, right. So I said earlier, I was laughing at my $3,000 a month and I do, you say that that's not a good goal cuz at one time for me it was right, but it's just that every time I up level so to my goals, right? So no one should be ashamed of where they are with their goal setting, but they definitely shouldn't be putting a cap on it. And I think I'm so grateful to have been reminded of that this week for myself, you know, that I had a changeable and

00:34:00You need, you need to refocus your goals because if you don't know what you're working for, then you're just going to be flailing around. I think, you know, so yeah, absolutely $500 a month. But then as soon as you hit that, you've got a raise it up because you don't want to make $500 every month. And I think, you know, I loved learning about setting bronze silver and gold level goes because, you know, you can set that bronze level like, yeah, I can get there. And then when you see yourself almost there, jump to your silver goal, right? And just to let those are always increasing and he reminds you to keep moving forward. I think some people especially sales employees, you know, contract sales people for other companies when they know that they were hitting their goal. They're like, oh good. Now I can relax the rest of the month. I hit my goal, right, but when you were in your own business, it's like

00:35:47To help them, learn the income. They want. What would that be?

00:35:54And take action in together. So I was a few years ago. I hired a Healer and I looking back on it. I realized that I had wanted her to wave her magic wand and make me all better without me actually having to do anything. Right. But homework or the journaling? I was supposed to do, right? I I I didn't give it my all and so, it's so important to be willing to take action. But to me, like, literally the best move that I've made is hiring Support over and over and over again. And sometimes they weren't the best investment ever. But the learning I got made it a good investment, right? And so I am now a huge fan of research reviews, testimonials chatting with people and then just being super clear what you're looking for. Cuz it's interesting when you hear someone to offer like if you're not in their bench.

00:37:51And so don't try to find the least expensive coach because I bet that whole which may not have the confidence to push you in all the right ways. If you hire a pretty extensive coach, number one, you're going to take action because you are not going to waste that much money. Right? Right. And hopefully but number two is that coach charging go super high rates at the testimonials for proved that they've really created some great things with other people. Then I think that's a pretty good track to say that that's possible for you to land and getting specific and ask him the questions about what it is that you're seeking. And can you help me with this and have you helped somebody in this specific way? Because when it comes to like get finding a coach, I think you can be really specific about those things and making sure that your specific needs are going to be met.

00:39:00Yes, but yeah, I think the most important thing is to invest in yourself. I had spoken to a woman here in Denver, who's who's very successful, but she said she bootstrapped it the whole way and she wishes wishes. She didn't, she wishes that she took money out and hired support instead of taking as long as she did to create her really successful business and that really stuck with me. Cuz I've been investing myself this whole time and it's scary, but it always comes back to you. So that's, that's the number one thing. Absolutely. And I think that what both of us can speak to is whether it's on the getting a business coach, which I have multiple. But then also with the work that I do, either way, if you're not getting support on the text side or on the business side or or with Finance, any of these different areas social media, you could be going.

00:40:20In the long run. If you have to go back then it start over, right? Yeah, I've made that mistake. It's so painful. When you try to save money and then you end up spending more because you just basically threw away. What? You just sent me on so that you can start start again and Knots not money is off of time. Right? No. Yes the time part for sure. Yeah. Does X money and we forget that? Yeah. Thank you so much for being here. Do you have anything to offer? How can people reach you? And I sure do my website is almost done which is Kate Coach K T collins.com. And so right now that is just the landing page where you can grab my ebook and that is how to get good at selling your service without feeling uncomfortable.