Listen Now:

We've all been there – our prices are so low they make us sick but the idea of RAISING them makes us… well, you get the picture.

That's why we've asked Kathryn Calhoun – online business coach – to come talk with us about pricing strategies and how normal, everyday people (read: not sales rockstars) can sell at prices that don't upset the tummy.

Find Kathryn on Facebook

For Kathryn's free guide on how to sell even if you hate selling, visit https://kathryncalhouncoaching.com/simple or click the button below:

Alyson Lex 0:01
One of the big problems that I see all the time with customers, clients, potential prospects, people in my audience is they don't know how to price their stuff. And they think that competing on price is going to be the way to win. I'm not even going to go into how wrong that is or why that's just a race to the bottom. Instead, I am going to introduce Catherine Calhoun, an online business coach, who knows how to get you selling at your work without wanting to puke? So we're going to talk about all kinds of really good sales and pricing strategy stuff today. Catherine, thank you so much for being here.

Kathryn Calhoun 0:45
It's my pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. Ladies. I am big fans of both of you.

Jennie Wright 0:51
And Alison, is our number today. Because you've got to Canadians, you do?

Alyson Lex 0:57
This is very true. Yep. I like it. Very true.

Jennie Wright 1:00
I'm happy about it.

Alyson Lex 1:03
All right. So let's just start at the very beginning with selling really seem to hate it. All they do,

Kathryn Calhoun 1:12
don't they?

Alyson Lex 1:13
Why? Why do they hate selling so much?

Kathryn Calhoun 1:16
Well, as somebody who used to really hate selling a lot, I it's something that I identify with? And it's a good question, because it's like, it's actually it's actually important to look at. And if you're willing to look at it, you're you're actually I think you've already like halfway won the battle. Because the thing, there's really, I always see, to two big things that for when people say like, I love what I do, I just hate selling, it's like the selling part,

I just wish I could just

set that down altogether. That's something I hear a lot like, I just want to focus on my zone of genius. I don't want to do the selling part, I wish I didn't have to I hate it blahdy blahdy, blah, and the thing that the thing that's really important for us all to remember, as entrepreneurs, especially if you're like by yourself in your business, if you're a solopreneur, you don't have like a sales team or a marketing team at your disposal, which is most of us, right? Like, you have to realize that, in addition to building a business around your zone of genius, like if you're going to actually do that selling is a non negotiable, you can't have a business without selling your stuff. And so it's something that's really important for if you're listening, and you're like, Yes, that's me, like I really don't like selling, it's really important for you to realize that you can't have you can't have a business, if you want to have a business, if that's something you're really serious about. Selling is something that you're going to have to figure out. And so and I'm a really, I'm a really big believer in path of least resistance just like trying to, I spent, I spent like three years in a $25,000 program that was all about teaching you how to sell because I was so bad at it. And I emerged from that $25,000 a year program Three years later, still being bad at selling, because it it I was just really scared and it didn't feel good. And I didn't know what was going on. And so we'll get into that in a minute. But in answer to the question of like, Why do people hate selling so much? I really see there's two things going on there. Number one is, you're it's not that you hate selling, it's actually there's a fear, there is a fear in there somewhere. And I am not a mindset expert. I'm an online business expert, but it's important for you to go What's going on? Like, it's important for you to ask that question like why what am i resisting? Why do I hate this because there's something in there that you're scared of. You might be scared of like embarrassing yourself people saying nobody like nobody would ever buy that you might be scared of putting yourself out there you might be scared of getting rejected, you might be scared of another really common one that I see is people are actually scared of success. Like they're afraid that if if they start making offers, they're going to be so overwhelmed with clients that they're not going to have time to enjoy their lives. Like there's there's something in there. So number one, it there's that I hate selling is a misplaced, like emotion, if you can call it that there's something else going on there, it's important for you to figure out that is the other thing and it could be both of these things. The other thing is that something's out of alignment with what you're selling. And so for me, in my case, that was really that was really the big problem for me I was in so this program that I was in this high ticket program that was teaching me how to sell high ticket

we had all of these scripts and things for doing discovery calls. And I'm it's not necessarily that that scripts are a bad thing. If you're really uncomfortable with selling and someone's like hear us these words like I don't think that's necessarily a bad jumping off point. But the problem was like, I had this idea for what I wanted to sell. And it wasn't a high ticket product. It was a group. It was a group membership program. It's actually my signature program that I run now for, for online entrepreneurs who want to have a simple business, but they actually struggle with attack. That's usually that's usually who my ideal client is. And I really wanted to put this program together. It was just a dream at that time. And I happened to mention it to my coach in the program and she said, you can't you can't do that. She said, it's your undervalue your undercharging your undervaluing, and, and instead, you need to make it a high ticket program, it needs to be at least like $5,000 or $10,000, or whatever she said. And you have to sell it by strategy session or discovery call like you have to do one on one sales conversations. And one on one sales conversations are not my favorite thing. Like some people love them, I will not even order a pizza over the phone. And so like getting on the phone with another human being to talk about like, money stuff, is like, my least favorite thing to do. And so it was just so that's what I mean, when I say the other thing that could be going on. And like I said, it could be a bit of both. It could be either like there's a misplacement like you need to examine that emotion of I just don't like selling, or it also, and or it could also be this thing of like something's out of alignment. Because when, when my my coach at the time told me, You can't sell that thing that you want to sell. I was like, Well, I'm I'm paying 10s of 1000s of dollars to be here. So I like and I suck at selling. So it makes sense for me to listen to the expert. And I really believe just having been on the journey that I've been on, I really believe that you can, you can sell exactly the way that you want to, in a way that feels good. It might take a little bit of time to figure out what that is. But that was a big problem for me was it was like somebody told me, I had to change the structure of my program, I had to charge a lot more than I wanted to charge for it. And I had to sell it one on one over the phone. And so I'm like trying to do that. And it's so it all of it felt bad, none of it felt aligned with what I actually wanted. And that all like comes out right? When you're having a sales conversation with somebody, and you don't feel good about what you're talking about. It's like, I just like my skin is calling just thinking about it, like my face used to get like I would only ever do them over the phone, never on zoom or anything because I would be blushing the whole time. And like sweating. And really like, you know, figuring out this journey for me. And as as far as being able to sell to charge what you're worth all of those things has been very much the journey of somebody who was not naturally good at it and really had to figure it out for herself.

Alyson Lex 7:32
I really like what you what you've realized about not just whether or not it's a script, or what kind of formula you're using, but the method and the way that you're connecting with people. Mm hmm. I've had a coach. They really want me to sell like with my facebook profile.

Kathryn Calhoun 7:50
Oh, no, that's like kind of illegal.

Alyson Lex 7:53
But you don't I mean, I just it's not working for me.

Jennie Wright 7:57
Yeah, it's just not you're lost. You're trying to do it. And it's just,

Alyson Lex 8:01
I mean, and it's like, it's really hard for me. Yeah. But I will promote the heck out of a webinar. And I'll sell on that webinar non stop. Yeah. And so I think really that alignment thing, like you said, it's not even necessarily just the offer, or the program or the product or whatever, it's how you're going about it might be all of it. Yes, out of alignment. And totally, that's kind of a game changer for me right now. Because I'm like, it gives you permission to let go of what's not working for you.

Kathryn Calhoun 8:34
Exactly, exactly. And I can understand how it might be a little bit scary to do that. Like, you know, at the like, at the time when I was in that program, I sort of felt like well, I I'm not selling and these people are selling and so obviously I have things to learn. And, and it's not that I didn't have things to learn, I definitely did. And I did learn a lot being in that program. But it was more like taking the stuff from from what I learned about selling that felt good to me, and then almost sort of massaging it into something that worked for me. And it was and the biggest thing that I had to do was I had to give myself permission to do that. Because I I spent a long time thinking I'm, I won't be successful until I figure out this, somebody else's method. And the thing about somebody else's method is I really I really believe that you're you're the most unique sales quality that you have. The the thing that's most special about the thing that you're selling whatever product or service you're putting together. You know, a lot of times we worry about being in competition with others and how do I set myself apart? You actually the way that you set yourself apart is by showing up as you and people used to tell me that before and if you if you just heard me say that and you're like that's bullshit. Am I allowed to say

I'm sorry. You can bleep it out.

Alyson Lex 10:02
I always say one s bomb is good. Okay, f bomb was just yeah, Catherine.

Kathryn Calhoun 10:12
So sorry, guys, a bit of a potty mouth sometimes. But if you heard me say that and you're like, I don't, that doesn't sound true to me, like, it can't possibly be as simple as me showing up as myself, I promise you, the faster you, the faster you allow yourself to do that the easier selling will, the more naturally selling will come to you. And the quicker that's gonna happen. It's, there's no, there's no better like, sales tool that you can have in your arsenal than just being willing to just be who you are. And the right people or there's a chemistry, right, just like in a personal relationship. There's like, like, the three of us have a really lovely chemistry. And that wasn't something that we had to like, you know, work on or figure out and I didn't know none of us had to come up with like special words to like, attract the other. It's like, we just got on these zoom calls. And we're like, Hey, we like each other and selling, selling is that is exactly the same thing. And it's not to say that there aren't other tactics like that there aren't tactics out there that you can learn that will help you. But it's like, you need to give yourself permission to come up with a process that feels good to you. And that's, the faster you're willing to allow yourself to do that, the easier this all becomes.

Jennie Wright 11:27
I'm just going to say that I actually like you a little bit more now after the whole bs thing. Oh, good. So and then and then the subsequent like, because people can't necessarily see this. But I can see, you know Catherine's face going like, right. Oh, yeah, it was perfect. I loved it.

Alyson Lex 11:43
Yeah. Well, you know, sometimes it just needs to be called out. Yeah, right. Yeah. Like sometimes. Yes. And I call it head trash. Jenny makes fun of me, because I call it head trash all the time. But sometimes, yes, we need to be told that all that trash in your head about how you feel about something. Yeah, yes.

Jennie Wright 12:02
Right. And the thing that I want to kind of say, here is I, you know, before I became an online entrepreneur, I worked in corporate but before corporate, I worked in an hourly situation. I worked in, you know, wholesale retail, and I was paid by the hour. So I was used to associating an hourly rate with my services, right? And knowing that if I worked eight and a half hours in a day, this was the outcome. But it's different when you're an entrepreneur. And it took a while for me to overcome the well, how much do you know, how much do you make an hour? How long is it taking you times that by how much you make an hour, and that's what you charge? But that that was keeping me earning? Like, if I did that, back when I first started doing summits and I first started doing this kind of stuff that I do, like, I wouldn't be making a fraction. Totally, you know, and it's not that people it's not that I think I'm all of that. It's the experience that I've added in the results and stuff like that. There's Value Added to that. The other thing I wanted to say is

Alyson Lex 13:00
sorry, Alyson Go ahead, I was gonna say and your paint when you do that you're actually paying for getting better. Yeah, it takes me way less time to write copy now than it did five to 10 years ago.

Jennie Wright 13:11
Sure. She also writes it with her thumbs and an easy chair, but we're not going to go there. It's true.

Alyson Lex 13:16
But if I was charging hourly, that would be detrimental to me.

Jennie Wright 13:20
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I should have to do a lot more pieces to make it happen. Totally. I too, paid an exorbitant amount of money to take a coaching program, to have somebody else Teach me their awesome ways. And the way that they were trying to teach me how to sell was to use a format that they had created. And when I use that format, because they were like, follow the coaching, follow the coaching, do the coaching follow like they're, they're drilling it into your head, listen to nobody else do the thing. When I started doing calls, using that particular method, I wasn't getting yeses. I was actually I was getting so caught up in what I was saying and how it felt very inauthentic. Yeah, that I wasn't making any sales. And when I didn't use that script, and when I used a different method that actually my mentor taught me. Funny enough, then all of a sudden, I was getting sales. And what it took it was it was weird. I would I actually, you know, this was like the first, the third, the first and second and third year of my business. I relied heavily on my mentor to be like, Okay, what do I do? How do I handle this? How do I get sales from this? And one of the biggest lessons he told me was, know your business inside and out. Right know all of the potential answers to all the potential questions. Totally. So it doesn't feel like selling and then the other one was basically shut up and listen. Right. So yeah, like really? Yeah, stop

Kathryn Calhoun 14:52
talking.

Jennie Wright 14:53
Let the information come in, because I'm one of those people that when I get excited, the speed increases. The volume increases and the earshot release that used to be, yeah. Now, you know, it's been a process to develop that intuitive sales thing, and everybody's got a different one. And I like the fact that you want people to have permission to develop their own.

Kathryn Calhoun 15:15
So I think that's really good. Yeah, for me, it was like, just echoing what you were just saying about how hard it was to sell with a model that didn't feel right to you is, for me, it was like this out of body experience. And the ears shutting down thing was totally a thing. And it was like this out of body experience in the worst way imaginable. Like I it was like, Okay, I'm here. And I know, I'm talking to this person, but it's like, it was almost like it was in a foreign language, suddenly, like I was so in my head, and so nervous and anxious about the whole thing and the fact that, like, I knew that there was an offer coming, but they didn't necessarily know that there was an offer coming, that part stressed the crap out of me. And like, it was just like, it was it was impossible to listen. And I absolutely like listening is other than giving yourself permission to like sell them however you want to sell the next day, the next, the next best thing you can do is pay attention to what your person is saying. Because they will tell you exactly what they need. And they actually will also give you the words that you need to be able to communicate that your offer to them in a way that they hear and that they go Yeah, this is for me. And if you're if you're in this like flighty, stressed out, bubble, where you can't hear anything that's going on during those discovery calls. It's impossible. It's impossible to sell.

Jennie Wright 16:46
Completely. And I actually, I have to give Alyson a bit of credit before she jumps in, cuz I know she wants to say

Alyson Lex 16:51
something. I like getting credit. For you, buddy.

Jennie Wright 16:54
Here's a compliment. My cousin and I started working together in earnest, back in March of 2020, when everything seemed to become very challenging and crazy, crazy. And so one of the things that we started doing was offering a done for you service, where for you know, you get Allison and Jenny. And we create this entire process for you the entire funnel and the copy and all these wonderful things. And we would get on these calls. And I was a bit nervous because Alison, when we when we came together on this, Alison definitely leveled up my pricing structure, which was great.

Alyson Lex 17:30
Mm hmm.

Jennie Wright 17:31
So all of a sudden, I was increasing my pricing. Thank you very much, Allison on that. But not only that,

Alyson Lex 17:36
we'll talk about all that totally.

Jennie Wright 17:39
But the other thing is because we were working together, now the price was even more. Right Jenny on her own was one price Jenny and Alyson was like, high ticket offer. So I was getting really nervous when we were coming to the sale portion, knowing that it was going to be a high ticket offer just like you. And then, you know, Allison and I shared documents as we're talking to people and Allison's typing everything. And we made an offer to this client. It was a high ticket offer. And Allison's like, and so your investment will be X amount of dollars. And then Alison just sat there. All Quiet. And I'm like, and yeah, and you get this in this analysis typing to me in all caps. Shut up. Stop

Alyson Lex 18:18
talking. Stop talking.

Jennie Wright 18:21
Shut up. Like literally it was it was shut up. It wasn't. It was.

Alyson Lex 18:25
Yeah, there had been an afternoon might have been an F bomb in there.

Jennie Wright 18:30
Sorry, shut up. And the client, we just sat there in silence. And the client eventually said yeah, okay, no problem. And I, I think my stomach fell through my body.

Alyson Lex 18:41
Right. Right. Yeah,

Jennie Wright 18:43
yeah. And it was the easiest sell it ever I'd ever seen happen.

Alyson Lex 18:47
And it's because you get when you're not confident in what you're doing. You're selling from your heels. You make the offer, and then you try to talk them into it. And that's not what sales is. We're not trying to convince anybody. We're just trying to present it in a way that works for them. Yep. And then absolutely. Yeah. So I want to talk about pricing because as my eloquent co host just demonstrated this is a hang up for a lot a lot of people like how do we work on this raising our prices without as I mentioned earlier, like that pit of the stomach, I'm going to be sick field.

Kathryn Calhoun 19:30
Right? So for me, for me this was very much a process and let me say let me say off the bat that with some as far as like what is the right thing to price your thing at I very much in alignment with you get to sell however you want to include it in that for me and we might have a little bit of a different perspective on this. It'll be interesting to talk about but like included for that in that for me. Is the pricing. And so because one of the things, one of the things that happens a lot with my clients is that they, they get hung up on the I hate selling thing on that hidden mindset thing that is going unexplored that we were just talking about earlier. And, and so they don't. And oftentimes it's a, it's a fear of owning value, right? It's a fear of owning our value, we're afraid of going to somebody and saying, I do this, and it costs $200,000 or $2,000, to not shoot 200 or $2,000, or whatever it costs. And there's this, there's this fear of saying the number and so they don't do anything. And they will do everything, but talk to other people about the things that they allegedly have for sale, and they feel real be real busy. And they're like, you know, they're, they're like, tinkering with their website for the 50 gajillions time, they're making another freebie there. I don't know, they're like, making videos and editing videos, making more worksheets and planning another course and choosing a different ideal clients are doing everything except for getting out there and talking to actual people about what it is that they do. And sales are important, not just not just because of the money part. But also because of the motivation part and the validation part. Like there's there, it's really inspiring when you're like I have this thing that I want to do. And I just told another person about it. And they actually gave me their credit card information. And now they're my client, like that's the money part is nice. But it's important, of course, but I almost think that more important than the money is like just getting that validation that you are onto something. And without that validation, all of that like website tinkering, and like lead page building, and like worksheet creation and PowerPoint making all of that is will deplete you of energy, inspiration, motivation, if it's not fueled by sales coming in, if you don't see that there actually is a reason for you doing all of this work. And so as far as the pricing thing goes, like I, I obviously want people to charge what they're worth. And I also want them to get out of their own way and start making sales. And so it kind of depends on where you're at on your journey. But like for me with that with my membership program, my clarity momentum success mastermind I was telling you about earlier, for solopreneurs, who want to DIY their tech, even if they're not very techie. That was the program that I like, I was like, I want this to be a low cost membership program to support people getting their businesses off the ground. And they might be in a different mastermind, but the tech piece is missing. So they can come into here and get that support. And I wanted. And so when I first launched that program, and this was not this was I don't tell everybody this is this was a, this is not something this is definitely a case of me undervaluing myself, but when I first launched that program, I launched it for $37 a month, or you could pay for a year. And it was like 297, I think for the year, it was obscene like, and it would be different if it was like, here's a workbook and you know, I'm not gonna coach you at all, but it was like there was a ton of hand holding in the program. And there still is. At the time of recording this, we're at a $2,000 a year price point now. And I think it's going up I don't know when but but it's anyway. The The reason I'm bringing that up is like I knew at the time when I launched it for $37 a month. I knew at the time that that was ridiculous. But But I was told in my $25,000 a year sales program that I like basically flunked out of after three years, I was told that if I didn't charge high ticket right out of the gate, that I would be seen as like the Walmart of my industry. And therefore nobody would ever buy from me and nobody would ever take me seriously. And

so I originally I was trying to sell I was trying to sell it people into this. Well, I actually didn't launch the program at all because I was told I needed to do it really high ticket and I needed to do it one on one coaching. I couldn't do it as a group program. So I was trying to do that. And I wasn't making any sales because of the like panic attacks that I was having during my discovery calls. And so and so eventually just out of like sheer frustration. I was like, okay, and this is when everything started to change for me. And this is why I want to give people permission to charge what they want, at least temporarily. What I out of frustration, I went okay, what's the number? What's the number that has to come out of my mouth so that I can say this without feeling like I want to throw up? Oh, yeah,

Jennie Wright 24:49
yep, in there.

Kathryn Calhoun 24:50
Yeah. And for me at the time, that number was $37 a month. And I knew it was I knew intellectually I understood it was like way under charging But I was like almost so traumatized from all of these years of struggling with somebody else's model that I just wanted it to be easy. Like I didn't like I like I was saying earlier, I wanted it to be kind of a path of least resistance. And so and so that's where I started. And I, and then, you know, guess what happened after that I started to get testimonials, I started to develop some confidence in my actual product. One of the things you said earlier, Jennie, that was so brilliant, around, knowing your product inside and out. That's it, that is one thing that hugely gets in the way of having say, like, night like, sales conversations that close is when you yourself, don't feel completely sure about what's in your program. And it's natural for us to feel that way, if the program is still brand new, and we haven't put people through it, or a lot of people through it or any people through it. And so I started to develop like fluency with my own stuff, I started to develop the to develop test or to get testimonials and feedback, and I started to tweak things. And I started to realize that I did, in fact, have a really great program that I could in fact, actually help people. And I hadn't got experience with talking to people about what it is that I do. And having people say, Yes, that sounds good. And that was like that helped my morale with the whole thing. And then my prices started to go up. And I still know like, my my program, is there is no other program out there that for at any price point that offers as much access to the mentor, like who sold you the thing versus the mentors team. And does all of this handholding with the tech like I'm really proud of my program. And I know that the I know that the value is go, I know that the price tag is going up and it will totally be worth it at that price tag. I'm not sure when that's happening. But what even you know, in at the time of, you know, this interview when I increased to $2,000 a year that was in lockstep with my, my confidence level and my owning my value. And so as far as I was like a very long winded like partial answer to your question of how do we own our value in price, what we're in charge what we're worth, but it's like, I think that I just kind of want to give for those of you who are listening and who are like, you know, I know my things worth $10,000. But I can't say that number with without, like, you know, all of the stress and stuff that tanks the sale, I do think that, like I am living proof that it's possible for you to undercharge in the beginning and not be not be not be like stamped, like marked for life as the Walmart of your industry. And therefore nobody's ever going to take you seriously or be willing to pay you high ticket like that's just that in my experience is not true. So I always like to I always like to encourage my clients, if they're really if they're not selling because they're scared of saying numbers like to just find something that feels like you'll be able to do it so that you can just start

Jennie Wright 28:08
long. Okay, so yes, you told a really good and interesting and longer story there. But it's good to hear the perspective. Because we are getting so much coaching and all the wonderful and slash bs things on this kind of, you know, this prospect, this idea of sales, we could talk about this all darn day, I could. Honestly we could pontificate if we want. There's so much we can say about it. What I want to what I want to sort of extrapolate from what you said is, you know, if it feels like you're going to and this is this isn't the title of this actual podcast, but if it feels like you're gonna puke by saying the price, then how, you know, let's let's pull it let's pull it back. Yeah, let's say there's a level that works for you, let's say to a level that doesn't make you grow hives on your neck. Mm hmm. And then increase it when it feels comfortable. I know what your program is, I guess he knew and action and you over deliver to a very large degree. Yeah. And when you told me that everybody who joins your program gets like gets a call with you get to this with you gets an onboarding this get this because it's annoying. How is she doing that for that price? Yeah. But I know that you're you know, I know that it's it's a it's a comfortability, it's a tried and true, it's all the things and then you're gonna raise that price, and I totally get it.

Kathryn Calhoun 29:25
It is it's it's a process. And also the other thing too, is like I, I have pulled stuff out of the program that used to be there once upon a time and isn't but the other thing too is if you if the if saying if saying the price makes you feel nervous, then you also get to you the pieces that you get to there are more pieces to play with than just the price. Like, for example, if you are like well, I would be comfortable selling a $97 product. Then let's think about what that $97 product is. Hopefully it's not a $97 product that includes like unlimited coaching for a year or something like that, but it's like you get To you get to play with it with I think that there are ways to I think there are ways to build your confidence with selling and with charging what you're worth, without totally over delivering on value all of the time and like, like selling yourself short. I think there are ways to do that. That certainly hasn't. That certainly wasn't my journey, but like it is, it's you, you get total permission to play with all of the pieces to come up with an offer that feels good and fun and fair. And all of those things.

Alyson Lex 30:32
Also want to be a little tough. Okay. So one of the things that I do, especially when I'm talking to someone like Jennie, or one of my clients, and we talk about pricing, is they may say like, I really like the $67 price point. Okay, cool. Let's make it 97. Yeah, push you a little bit a little bit. Exactly. It's gets you a little uncomfortable, because then you'll never get up to that point. That's right, if you're always just at a 67. And I think maybe that that's where some people are afraid. Like, if I'm always super comfortable, then I'm just gonna, and I'm that way, like I don't want to charge. I want to charge a whole lot of money. But sometimes I feel like I can't charge money, a lot of money for my information. Right? Because it's less intrinsic, less tangible value as the done for you stuff, right? The done for you. I'm like, Yeah, I can charge high fees. Yeah. But let's get a little uncomfortable, like ourselves a little bit. And also, let's see what the market will bear. I think that competitive analysis really has a lot to do with it. I could be super comfortable charging $15,000 for a program. Nobody in the market is charging more than 45. Right. That's a problem. Yeah. So I just wanted to be a little contrarian there with the whole comfortable thing, because yeah, I feel like there needs to be some uncomfortable as well as some day.

Kathryn Calhoun 32:05
No, I agree with you, I think we're actually kind of saying the same thing. Because I think with my like most of my clients are, are pretty, they're either they're either new to online entrepreneurship, or they've been at it for a while, but the sales piece is like very inconsistent. And, and I think that for my clients, I think the uncomfortable thing is actually just the willingness to talk to somebody else and actually make an offer. Like, it's amazing to me. So so often I'll hear someone say, I'm just so frustrated, because I'm, I put this course together, and it's just not selling. And I'm like, when's the last time you made an offer? Because we might need to look at like the way that your offer is structured, or the way you're talking about your offer. And they're like, Oh, well, I actually, I haven't actually made an offer for this yet. And it's like, it sounds silly. But that is something that I hear so much of the time, like oftentimes when people feel like they're not good at selling or their thing isn't selling, like they're not even giving it a chance. They're not even they're not even giving it a chance to the you're not giving themselves a chance to find out if their offer is good or bad if the pricing is right or wrong. And it's like so I actually I agree with you. I think that it's like, I think for some of us the act of courage is just being willing to say I have this thing for sale. And then and then you're always just like getting I totally agree with you. I were actually once read this really interesting article about your pricing should be your comfort zone plus 10%.

Alyson Lex 33:26
I was like, yeah, I'm gonna have to put that in this show notes page, because I think that's a really good quote. Also, on the show notes page, I would love to include where people can get in touch with you.

Kathryn Calhoun 33:39
Awesome. Well, I have a website. It's Catherine Calhoun. coaching.com. My name is spelled kind of weird. It's k THRY. n and then yeah, that's that's pretty much the the hub for my stuff. And I know I have a I have a little gift for your audience to I don't know if we're talking about that right now though. Oh, we are okay. Please do. Okay, so I wanted I what I have is a little it's just a little mini guide on how to sell your stuff simply. And this is it's some just a little a simple document that I've put together that gives you a little bit of just kind of worksheets and things to figure out what is your best way of selling as I as we've talked about this whole time like I'm a really big believer in honoring honoring you and the whole process so that it doesn't have to feel hard and these are tips coming from somebody who is not a natural salesperson at all and so if you if that's you like I got you I get it and so the How to Sell your stuff simply mini guide comm is like there's five sort of sections to it. There's mindset so some some places for you to look if you if you feel like I don't like selling or I don't like marketing, I just wish I could focus on my zone of genius. That's not an option. So we have to figure out what's going on there. So number one is mindset number two is your offers. We got to look at your offer structure. Number three is your price. thing. Number four is the language. A lot of times we feel like we just don't know what to say we don't know how to say the right words to have somebody be interested. So we're going to talk about that in inside of the mini guide. And then also some tech stuff. So my, my whole jam is marrying like the online business strategy with keeping the tech really simple. And so if that's the piece that's getting in your way, like I don't know how to collect money, or I don't know, the best setup to use, and we're gonna cover that in the guide as well. Did I say the link? I don't know if I didn't do

Alyson Lex 35:31
it and waiting for it. Okay.

Kathryn Calhoun 35:34
It's Catherine Calhoun. coaching.com slash simple. Okay, Catherine Calhoun coaching comm slash simple.

Alyson Lex 35:40
We've got that that'll be in the show notes on the show notes page for this episode, as well. And your name is not spelled weird. And very good friends who spell their name just like you do.

Unknown Speaker 35:49
Thank you.

Alyson Lex 35:51
We will also go ahead and put links to your socials and your website and everything right on this show notes page. So if you want to check out Katherine, grab that free gift, thank you for offering that to our people. Just head over to our show notes page at System to thrive.com. And you'll be able to get all of that information in one place. Yay. Katherine, we

Jennie Wright 36:11
really appreciate you taking the time. I know at the time we're recording this. You're like post one launch pre and other launch in the middle of the challenge. You're doing a million things. And I just want to say thanks for you know, thanks for coming on. Thanks for having the relationship that you do with Allison and I and

Kathryn Calhoun 36:28
yeah, you guys. Yeah, my absolute pleasure. It's an honor to be asked, and I'm really happy to be here.

Jennie Wright 36:35
Thank you. We are to so if you're listening to this episode, and you enjoyed it, go check out Katherine Calhoun. And if you enjoy the podcast, please do consider subscribing. We always have some pretty cool episodes coming out every single week. We've also got some great downloads, so you'll be able to go and check those out on System to thrive.com as well. Thanks again, everybody

for being here.

We'll be back again very soon answering another big question.