How to win new clients when you hate to sell

You don’t have to wear a checkered suit to sell – in fact, it’s better if you don’t. The best salespeople don’t look or sound anything like the movie types.

We get to see a lot of great practice leaders sell and can assure you: You can get really good at winning new business without ever doing anything that feels off-putting. Because good “selling” isn’t really about asking – it’s about offering. It isn’t taking for yourself: It’s honestly trying to help others.

This article outlines the principles of ethical sales that you can use to put prospective clients at ease. It takes all the pressure off, places the buyer in control, and more often than not, helps you win their business through sheer honesty.

Phase 1: Let yourself be excited about your work

It is very difficult for your client or prospect to get excited about what you offer if you yourself seem bored by it. Most of the accountants and bookkeepers we know love what they do. But they’ve also learned to give what we call the preemptive apology:

“Oh it’s pretty boring, I’m in accounting.”

Who could be blamed for not being intrigued by that? Yet the only way to start new business conversations in scenarios where people don’t directly ask is to talk about your work. You need them to understand what you do so they can be interested in how you might help them. And you can do that by giving yourself permission to be excited again.

These days, you can publicly love deductions. Or chaining ChatGPT prompts together to reconcile deposits. Nobody’s going to ridicule you – science, mathematics, biology, and all manner of “pop-sci” are in. Everyone’s interested if you yourself are interested.

Because, did the public really ever care about exoplanets or Victorian parasols? Not until they heard Neal deGrasse Tyson or Rosie Harte talk about them.

Next time a client asks how your week is going, don’t reply, “Fine.” Say, “You know lately, I’ve been really excited by …” and fill in the blank.

For inspiration, watch Jason Staats, Jody Padar, or Heather Smith.

Phase 2: Tell stories of other client work

Now that you have your listener’s attention, tell them a real story about your work. Be honest, so long as it’s kind, positive, and doesn’t reveal any sensitive details.

For example, “I’ve been really excited lately about a project where this agency in Mexico City is buying an agency in Denver, and we’re trying to work out the valuation.”

From there, let it be a conversation. Not every listener will want to know more, and that’s fine. You are simply sharing what’s going on in your world. Move on with your meeting. It’s just a conversation topic.

But let’s say the client is interested and wants to know more – as often happens when actually, that’s quite relevant to them. Let’s say they tell you that they themselves are contemplating just such a merger. Here’s the very important phrase to use next, to reassure them you are not about to pitch them. “Oh, well, this is probably not the case in your situation, but …” and continue your story.

This phrase takes all the pressure off the conversation. It’s easy for them to say, “Yup, you’re right,” and trust that you have no secret motive. But if it is relevant, they’ll actually feel the need to correct you. You’ll hear, “No, no, this is exactly what I’m experiencing. Please go on."

Now the roles have reversed. They are the ones trying to sell you on telling them more about your advisory work. And because it’s their choice, there is none of the usual sales pitch pressure. You could continue or change topics, it doesn’t matter to you.

You have given them permission to engage on their terms. And because of that freedom, they won’t tense up and neither will you. You can then explore whether it’s worth scheduling a conversation to talk more.

Phase 3: Believe in the value of what you offer

Many people dislike sales because they don’t understand just how helpful it can be for your clients. Maybe in your own head, you think about how your client might be surprised by your price, or how quickly you could complete the work, and so you nervously offer a discount. But this is a mistake.

To an individual or business owner with a very painful problem, parting with some money isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, buying may even be exciting.

A business owner will often gladly pay extra to know a matter is handled and their burden is lifted. They just need you to help them understand how your solution will do just that. Believe or not, if you are good at helping people understand this, you’re better at selling than you thought. Say someone comes to you March 1 asking for help cleaning up the prior year’s books for taxes – but they don’t want to file an extension. Do not think twice about charging a rush fee. That client may be thrilled to pay; the money matters a lot less than their time or the opportunity cost of not having filed taxes – potentially stalling a loan qualification or business transaction.

Over time, you will find this kind of certainty is bewitching to clients. Small business owners are bombarded with vendors and service providers trying to tell them anything they want to hear. When someone stands up for their quality and pricing and says, “If not us, I can recommend another,” it stops that owner in their tracks. You have softly declined them, so they know they can trust you to be honest.

Rather than turning people off, sticking to your prices and timelines tends to make people even more interested in working with you, not less. And it puts them in control. Now they’ll negotiate with themselves, because they want it and will come back.

To prevent yourself from negotiating with yourself and leading with a discount, save your pricing in PDF and never drop the price unless you get something in return.

Remember, don’t compete on price; compete on value. You are worth it.

Phase 4: Realize that selling is helping

Very few people ever buy something simply because they are talked into it. More often, they are talked into it because they already secretly wanted it. They tend to buy because it’s worth it to them. In business, that’s often because they have a serious pain they need solved.

You are probably focused on your pricing. The customer is probably not. If it’s above their budget and they need it, they will find a way. Very often price objections are really something else. If you properly convey the value of what you’re offering in terms of their potential pains and gains, they will seriously consider it.

To think in their terms, ask yourself, what’s the:

• Cost of an audit?
• Cost of miscoding check deposits for a year, then having to pay for a cleanup?
• Cost of not estimating taxes and paying fines?
• Value of staying financially solvent enough to make wise decisions?
• Value of insights into whether to hire or expand?

Write those numbers down. What is $1,200 for the peace of mind that they are getting all deductions they are owed, and reducing their audit risk by working with you? What is a $2,000 per month advisory service versus hiring someone full-time for $8,000? What is a $10,000 value-based fee on a real estate transaction where the buyer made $1 million? Get inside your buyer’s head and really sit with the idea that they wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t good for them.

And if it wasn’t good for them, you probably won’t be convincing them to buy. It’s that simple.

Selling is helping. People buy out of self-interest. Every time someone buys something from you, they are believing that what they will gain from you is worth more than the money they will pay.

Phase 5: Be ready to lose the deal

If you start wanting a client’s business too much, things can fall apart. When most of us want something, we get nervous and either become too deferential or pushy, and this alarms the buyer.

The best way to combat this is to not need the deal in the first place.

Be ready at any time to lose it. Because if it’s not meant to be, it won’t be, so why stress? For most people, this thought pattern calms them. If you compromise your price, service levels, or culture to force a “Yes”, you will likely regret getting the client that comes with that “Yes”.

Do not, however, let buyers think on it for too long. They can lose momentum and allow other matters to become the priority. Then the pain points (i.e accounting cleanup) will be far messier and more expensive. If they say, “I’ll think on it,” encourage them to share their reservations or questions while meeting so that you can save them time and give them all the information they need to make a decision.

This is an opportunity to practice radical honesty. Ask them if you can pose a few questions, and run through hypothetical scenarios:

• What if you don’t buy bookkeeping? Is there any downside?
• What if your partner says no to filing jointly? Then what?
• What if the transaction stalls? What happens then?

These hypotheticals cause people to plan for scenarios. Sometimes they realize that all paths lead to buying, so they might as well. Or that none do, and you can get to a quick “No” and save time.

You have other things to do, and other people to help. Often, a quick “No” is far better than a slow, “Yes.” Because a “No” isn’t forever. People who you’ve helped decide not to buy often return when ready.

Let customers do the selling

If you’ve followed these phases and gotten comfortable with these principles, you are likely now putting clients at ease – while also conveying what you sell and its value. The easy rule on knowing when to push or retreat is, “Would I appreciate someone doing this to me?” You never have to do anything that feels salesy, and in fact, you’ll be more successful if you don’t.

Put them in control. Give them an invitation to hear what you’re excited about. Know your value so not to confuse it with no-cause discounts. Know that by selling, you are helping.

Do all that, and you’ll be successful at selling without ever having to sell.