153: The Art of Strategic Sales Workflows with Andee Hart

Dolly:
Gotcha. While you talked about how business owners sometimes overcomplicate, we give like 50 different solutions to somebody. And we, in our mind, think we’re helping them, like trying to help uncomplicate it. And it made me think of when—have you ever been to the Cheesecake Factory? Everyone knows that the Cheesecake Factory menu is like a book. It’s the most overwhelming menu. I haven’t been there in a while because I have two wild children, and taking them there would be embarrassing. But the last time I was there, Blaze was little, and just going through the menu and trying to figure out what to buy for him, ordering for him, was just the most stressful thing ever. And I know people love the Cheesecake Factory, so I don’t want any haters to say, how dare you say something negative about the Cheesecake Factory? I’m not. I’m just saying we, as small business owners, tend to treat our services like the Cheesecake Factory menu. And we’re just serving people, and it’s so complicated. And I can see your point in a person is like, I can’t even begin with this business owner; I’m going to look for a more straightforward solution, even though you may have the simple solution.

Andee:
Right. Right. And I think for us as business owners, we need to simplify in our minds, too, what particular offer we want to focus on and drive our customers to. You hear many that “the riches are in the niches” too, like that type. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be talking about a niche per se. It could be a specific project you’re working on, and we’re creating a sales workflow. But what is the one end goal that you have in mind? And that is the first thing you must get very clear on.

Dolly:
Yeah, I wrote that down. I will link everything mentioned in the show notes, especially The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. That’s an excellent book. Full disclosure: I’ve only read excerpts but not the entire book, so now it makes me want to read it.

Andee:
Yeah. If you had some of the same business classes I did, you probably had to read excerpts of it in college, too.

Dolly:
Full disclosure: I was not a business major, but you all. I was Bible and kinesiology because I decided to be a PT, like a physical therapist. That did not happen, obviously, but I was taking very different classes. Okay, I know you mentioned that many entrepreneurs may not realize they sell essentially daily. So, how can having a strategic workflow help them become more intentional with their sales efforts? I know that we, as business owners, are essentially selling or trying to sell our services every day, and we don’t realize we’re trying to sell our services every day. From your experience of working with one-on-one clients or teaching other female business owners, how do you reframe their brain or mindset to see that having a strategic workflow can be more intentional with their sales efforts? How do you bridge that for them or make them realize that? It took me a while to see how I needed to sell daily on the different platforms where I know my clients. It had to be a shift in thinking. So, how do you communicate that? Because I know, yes, you have to start with the end in mind with one of your services or products. And then it’s that mind shift of, okay, how do I do this then?

Andee:
Yes. Yes. So that’s a great question. And one of the things that I work with is on creating a consistent and repeatable process. The reality is that even though I’ve been in sales for 17 years, I am not a huge fan of sitting down and selling every day, but I suppose I can create a consistent and repeatable process that works and automates the pieces that can be automated. In that case, it makes it much easier to continue to build that pipeline and also to direct your customers as they’re coming in from your lead generation activities and point them to your end goal, which was the first step in our process. And so that is what we work on. And kind of, you know, really, step two is creating that consistent and repeatable process. And that’s where I feel many people will fall short because they’ll try everything under the sun. And so if one thing doesn’t work, they’ll move to the next instead of working on creating a framework for your workflow that is repeatable, streamlined, and that you can automate.

Dolly:
So, when you talk about a repeatable workflow, are you talking about marketing habits, or what do you mean by that?

Andee:
So in a sales system, when you have—and often we’ll think of this as a, everyone’s probably heard the word “sales funnel.” And so I like to think of it as a sales system that I work with my clients because when you have a sales system, you are constantly working that, and it is not necessarily like you’re just dumping people into a funnel. When you think about a workflow, you create a process where you give tips to your clients that point them to your result. But I will always put this caveat in there, and I’ll talk about this here in a minute, that you are offering them—because one of the things that I know we’re going to talk about in a minute is that human touchpoint—and so creating that opportunity to have that human touchpoint within that workflow.

Dolly:
So, let me give you an example of creating a strategic workflow that, when you start with the end in mind, helps nurture your audience and get them to that endpoint. So I love this. I’ve been following you for months now. And so you probably, when we will release this, I guess we’ll maybe be in the middle of your SEO bundle. And so one of the things that, as you look at what you have created in your sales workflow, is that the end in mind is for people—this transformation for their business is to have better SEO. And so you’ve created the bundle you want them to purchase, right? That’s the end goal in mind. But part of that strategic sales workflow is that you had a pre-sale waitlist. And so that was part of your lead generation activity. You also had the summer of SEO. Your whole podcast this summer was on SEO. And then you had the SEO mastery class. And so you were doing all of these things, whether you and I know you realized it, but whether people realize it or not, that was all a part of your very strategic sales workflow leading up to your end goal.

Dolly:
So you know I love talking about launching. So, as your launch BFF and guide, I’ve created something just for you. Introducing the Essential Launch Email Checklist, a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you take the guesswork out of one puzzle piece of your next or first launch. And this puzzle piece is your emails. Now, in full disclosure, this isn’t a template of emails. As I like to say, it’s a detailed checklist that will take your launch from scattered to more streamlined. And the best part? It’s an easy-to-download Google PDF guide. So it’s perfect for solo business owners like you. So, if you’re ready to launch with more confidence because you know exactly what emails to create, grab the free Essential Launch Email Checklist now by clicking the link in the show notes.

Dolly:
I will insert myself, trying not to be a sassy listener. But I talk about this all the time—if you want to lead people to your group program, digital product, or service, you must have an excellent pre-launch strategy. So, it sounds like a good sales strategy or system involves a good pre-launch.

Andee:
Yes, which Dolly is excellent at.

Dolly:
I love pre-launching. I love launching. You all know this, but I love that you are taking this concept of pre-launching and putting it into a sales system. So, for those who sell, essentially, you’re doing pre-launching without knowing that you’re doing pre-launching.

Andee:
Yes, because so much of pre-launching is lead generation, which is all a part of the sales system. And so this is what I sit down and map out for my clients, but then someone like you will implement it. And that is fun—how do we get creative and think, okay, what lead generation pieces do we need to get our client to the next level? I’ll give you a couple of examples because this part can get a bit sticky, and you’re thinking, okay, well, how do I think outside the box and reach my clients? And so I always tell my students, I want you to think about if your end goal is to get someone to purchase the SEO bundle, like what are the roadblocks and barriers to entry, and how are you going to eliminate them for those potential purchasers, right? And so knowledge of SEO and why it’s vital for your business—so you created a way to educate them, right? Exposure to expert contributors to gain credibility, know, like, and trust factors. Well, they were all on your podcast this summer. So that was another great strategy. Just the awareness of your product offering. And that can sometimes be as simple as just an email list.

You can start with a simple plan. I often hear this: people will say Prand Ice Point is the carrier. And I want to push back on that because a price point is not the barrier or the roadblock we think it is. And so I will often go back to my clients with that. We will push back and pull them off the table as you identify them; it can be time to implement or learn. And I think that’s where a lot of times having someone like you that can do that launch implementation is so helpful as well. So that’s part two—after you have identified and figured out where you want to lead your clients, identify those roadblocks and barriers and how we will eliminate them to create our workflow and that system to get them there.

Dolly:
And can you give other tangible examples of how you do this with your clients? Because I know, I’m guessing they’re probably not launching with a specific cart open or cart close date; they are selling products constantly. So, how do you get their minds to wrap around the sales system of what Andee and I are trying to share with you all? It’s essential to prime your audience differently because that’s just part of the system. And you’re speaking—again, I could be misreading this, but I feel like this is what you’re dropping, and this is what I’m picking up. It’s important to talk to different buyer types and insert them into your sales system because if you’re selling something constantly, you need to hit up the different buyer types in your sales system. Is that correct?

Andee:
Yes, and when I’m working through this sales cycle—I’m giving your example; this is for a specific project, right? And so maybe this could be just a—if we’re talking about a particular sales cycle for your business that you’re always offering, like an evergreen, right? And so that is the same framework. First, you identify your end goal. Maybe you have an open membership, or perhaps you have—it could be if you are a family photographer, right? You want to lead them to purchase or book your photography. Now, I could use that as an example of how we create a sales system where once they are buying, maybe for newborn photography, you want them to come back every year, or perhaps they purchase for engagement photography. Still, you want them to return for their wedding or other milestones. And so how do you create that nurturing workflow that leads them so they’re always thinking of Dolly, right?

Dolly:
Yeah.

Andee:
I do the same thing. I have many candle and product makers who work with me. We create loyalty-based nurture sequences—if someone buys a candle, how do we create a system where they continue to return and buy candles every time they run out?

Dolly:
And that’s the end goal. It doesn’t have to be something huge. It can be as simple and small as getting someone to purchase a candle.

Andee:
Yes.

Dolly:
Whatever business you have—at first, it can be something as simple as “Come purchase a candle,” “Book me for a photography session,” or “Purchase my program on how to succeed in keto weight loss.” So, this can work for any industry, but you’ve got to start with the end in mind and then figure out the roadblocks and barriers to entry that your ideal client has. Then, we will create that nurturing sequence, such as emails or podcasts. There are so many different options.

Andee:
Yes, and you are essentially helping them overcome those objections.

Dolly:
Right.

Andee:
We put together so many different things in marketing and lead generation that are fun and creative, and we think outside the box. It could be something like a giveaway. There are so many different fun ways, and that’s really where the fun and creative part comes in. But you’re always leading them to what you want them to do. That’s your call to action and the end goal in mind.

Dolly:
Yeah.

Andee:
Part of that is creating automation and organization. I love teaching and implementing this with a CRM, a customer relationship management platform, if you don’t know what a CRM is. If you’re starting, that can be as simple as a Google Sheet, and there are so many automation platforms you can integrate with that to streamline your outreach and email hosting platforms. And so that is the third piece—once you have that framework and structure, automate and organize depending on those tasks so that you constantly have those touchpoints and you’re continually at the top of your mind to help your ideal clients solve that problem.

Dolly:
Can you give some personal touchpoint examples? I know I tend to overcomplicate the automation side. I like to automate everything as much as possible because I want to save time and only have 20 hours a week. So sometimes, that efficiency can be complicated. What are some human touchpoints that you recommend?

Andee:
Yeah. And first, I’ll say that when you’re scaling a business, automation is not bad. There are ways—an email is the number one thing, and so many people forget about building their email list. It’s not bad, and that’s foundational. But there are a lot of simple human touchpoints that you can use to create brand loyalty. So, I’ll give you a specific example for my clients since many are candle makers. We teach them how to get their candles on the retailers’ shelves. So, their ideal clients in this situation would be retailers. It’s straightforward to get lost just by sending an email. But what I have them do is craft a handwritten note when they are shipping out their orders.

Dolly:
I love that.

Andee:
We also do other touchpoints that help their retailers succeed—things like a shelf talker and providing value-added services that help retailers sell more of their product so they’re coming back and buying more. Simple touchpoints and thinking outside the box might take extra time. I also do personalized videos for people in addition to handwritten notes. These are touchpoints business owners don’t do.

Dolly:
That’s so true! I was talking. I was working with a one-on-one client and sent her a message—I used Bonjoro. I think that’s how you pronounce the software name.

Andee:
Sounds good to me.

Dolly:
So I used that instead of emailing her, and she was like, “What?” But that was a personal touchpoint outside the box, and it was new to her. And so she started implementing it in her business.

Andee:
Yes. Another tool that you can use on your website is VideoAsk. I’ve heard of it. You can put it, embed it on your website, or have a video of you. You’re talking directly to the customer and saying, “Hi, my name is Andee. I’m a sales strategist. If you have any questions, click the link below and send me a video question or a message. I’ll get back to you within 24 hours or whatnot.” That’s a fantastic way to have that touchpoint in your sales workflow and automation.

Dolly:
I love that so much. And I was thinking—hopefully I will get this correct—like when you are mapping, it’s also essential to map out the end in mind and the customer journey. Don’t just be so excited that you go forth and feel like you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall. It’s essential to document this whole process. And then that way, you can see—you can look at the blueprint you wrote out and see, okay, this is where I can insert a personal touch, or I can automate something. This is where… So, please don’t be lazy, that is what I’m saying. Don’t be lazy.

Andee:
Yeah, don’t be lazy.

Dolly:
This is a side note, but my five-year-old made up a song about not being lazy. And he always sings it to me when I wear my pajamas around the house on Saturday. I’m like, “I am not lazy. Please don’t sing the ‘Don’t be lazy’ song to me.” And it just makes me laugh. Anyway, don’t rush this process so much, listeners; if you want to be in such a frantic hurry to sell that, you miss out on essential blueprint steps for yourself. You can utilize free Google Docs if you are starting. And you can map this all out on a Google Doc.

As you can see, I need to send an email now. I need to—maybe on this step- introduce a lead magnet that continues to nurture this relationship and keeps me at the top of my mind. You can think outside the box and get creative with your business.

Andee:
Yeah, I love to use Canva because It has a whiteboard that I use to map out everything for my clients and the whole process. And so we use, like, this is the touchpoint, and everything has a trigger of, did they purchase? If they did, this is the workflow that happens.

Dolly:
I love that.

Andee:
And so they can take that and have a real—because I’m a visual learner. I’m a visual learner. So everything that we’ve identified in our first piece of—like, we have our end goal in mind—but then we plug in all of those roadblocks and barriers and the specific things we are doing to remove those along the way.

Dolly:
Yeah.

Andee:
And so that is really, and then, you know, the tools that we use to automate and organize. But that brings us to—you mentioned this and nailed the fourth point when you said, “Don’t be lazy.”

Dolly:
I love that song my son made up, but I won’t.

Andee:
It’s so funny because I always stress this: the fun part of sales is that you are constantly refining that process.

Dolly:
Yes.

Andee:
I will share an example. I don’t know if this is a good example, but I will share it anyway. So I love launching. Everybody knows this. I love launching. I love refining launches that have worked well and tweaking them or just trying a new strategy and process for a bundle or a service like launching related systems. Something I’ve had to refine and notice has taken me nearly two years to notice how it can be more successful or what didn’t go so well. It took me two years to discover something about a lead generation method I was using. One of my favorite ways to call it—I’m just going to call it a lead magnet, lead gen, whatever you want to call it—is utilizing a private podcast. And I’ve noticed that people love private podcasts because they can learn on the go, on their own time. But if I’m leading to, let’s say, a product that features other educators, like different types of educators, I need to feature their voices, like their education style, on the private podcast versus doing it all by myself.

Dolly:
Because I did an AB test one year, I was like, “Okay, I’m gonna lead this private podcast all by myself, even though it leads to this array of educators who are the experts in this.” And when I did it solo, it did not convert well because they needed to hear the people they would eventually learn from. Versus when I include people who are the actual experts who are the voices behind the products, then that converts—like right now, it’s converting. I’ve never had this high of a conversion rate. It’s converting so well. I’m not saying any numbers because I haven’t looked at it, and I don’t want to make up a number, but it’s converting so well. And so that has been two years of me looking at data and saying, “Okay, so anytime I have a product that involves other educators, their voices need to be in the lead gen.” Like it just—it’s that way.

Andee:
That’s interesting because it goes back to part two, identifying the roadblocks and barriers. One of those was giving exposure—I was using your SEO bundle—providing exposure to expert contributors to gain credibility, that know, like, and trust factor—so getting your listeners to know, like, and trust who they will be learning from. So that’s a perfect example of a roadblock that you wholly removed. Now, you can see the data working from that.

Dolly:
Exactly. And if I had just been like, “No, I’ll just do it by myself again because it’s like, it’s extra work for them to do.” No, I don’t think it would be converting either because people need a little appetizerforo what they will eventually purchase. That’s how I look at lead magnets—like little appetizers leading you to the eventual purchase. So, listeners, it takes time. As you continue to refine your sales process, it will take time, but you can develop a strategy that works for you. So that’s what I think.

Andee:
Yes, a hundred percent. Taking time and being patient with yourself is essential because most people will give up when they don’t see the desired results. So if you look at the data—and I always love this quote, I think it’s attributed to Einstein—but if you always do the same thing, then you’re going to get the same results, and that’s the definition of insanity. Right. But the art of sales, when you look at data and you are constantly tweaking that approach—and it could just be one part of your sales system—you mentioned A/B testing, that’s a perfect example of something you can do and see what is converting better. What’s getting better clicks and more results? And you’re constantly refining that process, and that is the last part—or, you know, part four—is that you’re using those data points to tweak that approach. At the end of it, our most important piece is that it helps you better connect and serve your customers, which we all want to do. Because then when you get to that endpoint, and you have a happy customer, you can then extract maybe a case study, social proof, and then you can insert that into your sales workflow as not only social proof but content, and figure out different ways to sell for another potential client who’s on a different part of the journey.

Dolly:
You can automate your testimonials—a shameless plug for Dolly’s episode that she recorded on my podcast. That’s been so helpful for me. I’ve been—again, this has been a process for me. I’ve been interviewing past launch clients I’ve worked with one-on-one for the past two years because I might do case studies of them and showcase our working process. And now, I will use that not only on my sales page but also on blogs and podcast episodes. And those are evergreen—that will be evergreen content to point more towards like proof of concept. Like, I do love launch planning. I have helped other people. And so I could reuse that in a sales system.

Andee:
Yeah, and that’s a perfect example that, you know, your business as a whole might have several different sales systems, right? Because you have a big launch project, and you have one for that, or you may have just a general sales system for your signature product, right? So you could have multiple of these, but the framework in and of itself is still the same. That makes it fun because once you have the framework that works, you can plug in the creativity. And that looks different for each business and each industry.

Dolly:
That’s so true. Well, Andee, you shared so much wisdom and information with the listeners, and I appreciate you coming on. Before we wrap up, or as we wrap up, can you give any final advice to listeners about getting started with a sales system?

Andee:
Yeah. First off, sales don’t have to feel icky or pushy. It can be done genuinely and indeed to serve your independence with intentionality and joy. And so that’s what I love to teach, and that will shine through to your customers. So I encourage you if you haven’t thought about being strategic with your sales system, to start thinking about reaching out to your customers and connecting with them. I have a free Facebook group called She Sells Differently, and we’ll put the link to that in the show notes, but that is a great way, a great place to start. I have free tips and strategies there, so feel free to join. You can also listen to my podcast by the same name, She Sells Differently.

Dolly:
I will also include the link to your podcast in the show notes so people can like, subscribe, and listen weekly. Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Andee:
That’s it. I so appreciate you having me on. I love following you, and yeah, it has been such a fun journey of working with you and learning, too.

Dolly:
Awesome. Well, Andee, thank you so much for being on. Listeners, if you have any aha moments or any moments of clarity, please DM Andee or me. DM Andee and let her know how she’s helped you. And, of course, head over to the show notes for links to follow Andee and take the next step. Until then, it  has a streamlined and magical wee., You are a fantastic muggle, and I will talk to you all next week on a brand new Systems and Workflow-related podcast episode. Bye!