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Social Selling

The Truth About Selling in the DM’s… That You Need to Hear

Selling in the DM’s is something that sounds really sexy right now. I’ve seen numerous ads about it, and my inbox is full of people telling me how they closed $5k, $32k, even $100k in high-ticket sales in the DM’s.

Now, I’m not saying it isn’t possible. It absolutely is. When you’ve mastered your sales process, you could realistically sell from anywhere. That’s why you don’t hear about people like Marie Forleo or Amy Porterfield hopping on sales calls.

But I’m going to guess that you’re not quite at that level yet.

So let’s shove the guru speak to the side for a moment and talk about what selling in the DM’s actually looks like, why it’s so appealing, and whether it’s the right sales approach for you.

Table of Contents

Why You Love the Idea of Selling in the DM’s

Chances are, you’ve been sold to before. And chances are, you didn’t love it.

You probably felt slimy, icky, and like you needed to take a shower afterwards.

But here’s the thing…

Most people who are bad at sales give the rest of us a bad name. They’re the ones who are pushy, in-your-face, and just trying to make a quick buck.

Unfortunately, those are the types of people who tend to be really successful in sales because they’re relentless. I worked with a marketing client once who’d been on a coaching call with a well known coach who fell into this category, and they taught not to let people off the call until a payment had been made.

But that doesn’t mean that’s the only way to sell. In fact, those kind of aggressive sales tactics are (thankfully) dying. People don’t want to be treated like a transaction.

So when someone is hard selling you on a sales call or you’re most recent experience with a sales person was similar to the stereotypical pushy car salesman, the idea of selling in the DM’s sounds way more appealing.

The truth is, selling can be respectful, empowering, and even fun. And it should be no matter where you’re doing the selling, whether that’s on a sales call or in the DM’s.

It all comes down to your relationship with money and sales… and confidence in talking about your offer and how it transforms the lives of your clients.

How to Fall in Love with Selling in Your Business

The key to selling in the DM’s (or anywhere else, for that matter) is understanding that you’re not actually selling.

You’re not trying to convince or persuade anyone to do anything they don’t want to do. You’re simply having a conversation with someone who has already expressed interest in what you offer and seeing if there’s a fit.

Think about it this way…

If someone came up to you on the street and said, “Hey, I see you’re wearing a wedding ring. Are you married?” would that be sales? No, of course not. It would be an uncomfortable conversation at best and harassment at worst.

But if someone you were interested in dating came up to you and asked what the ring on your finger meant, you’d be far more willing to share that it’s a family heirloom. When they have that information and feel confident in asking you for a date, you’d probably say yes.

The first step in falling in love with selling in your business is to change your perception of what selling is.

The next step is to create conversations where you have the opportunity to build rapport and ask questions that will allow you to see if someone is interested in working with you or needs what you have.

The goal is to learn more about what they do and where they may be struggling and to share how your offer could be a good solution for them.

How Social Selling Makes Sales Calls (and DM’s) Easier and Convert Better

Social selling is the process of marrying marketing and sales together. It’s been growing in popularity, but the concept isn’t actually that old.

It’s essentially all about finding the right people to talk to, building a relationship with them, and positioning your offer or service as a solution to their problem and a stepping stone toward their goals.

Social selling makes sales calls (and selling in the DM’s) easier and convert better because you’re not trying to sell to people you don’t have a relationship with. You’re not pitching to cold leads!

It’s not a secret that warm leads convert better than cold leads.

Think about the last time you bought something that was advertised to you. Did you see the advertisement and then go make the purchase immediately? Or did you reach out to the company, call a friend who bought it last year, or read any reviews online?

Social sales also gives you the opportunity to learn more about where your ideal clients are struggling and how they talk about it before they jump on a sales call.

For example, by the time a struggling parent coach got on the phone with me, she knew exactly why she wanted to hire a marketer. However, because we had been engaging on social media prior to that, I got to also see how 2 weeks prior to our call she was posting in a Facebook Group about not generating enough sales from a recent live launch.

The social sales process reveals more information about your ideal client, their struggling, and what they think is going wrong than is sometimes revealed on a sales call.

That information helps you really dig into their pain points and how you can help. It also often gives you the words you can use to help them unlock your potential together and get started. Like keys in locks in their heads.

All of this helps you convert more leads into sales, no matter where you’re having those conversations.

Is Selling in the DM’s Right for You

It’s easy for someone to say that selling this way or selling that way is better, but it’s all subjective. If you don’t feel confident selling in a chat conversation or on a sales page or on a sales call, the sales won’t happen.

No matter what the data says about which way is best.

So which sales method is best for you? Do you need to do some work and learn to run better sales calls? Or is selling in the DM’s really going to be the thing that helps you get to the next level?

The answer is simple (and also admittedly a little frustrating): It depends on your business, your goals, and what you’re willing to put in the work to learn.

If social selling, aka selling in the DM’s, feels like something that could help you reach your goals, then it probably is.

You can’t compare selling in the DM’s to taking sales calls if you’re not doing sales in a way that’s aligned with you. Just like you can’t compare which one will convert better for you if you’re not doing the sales process right*. The comparison isn’t apples to apples.

*And I say “right” in the sense of selling in a way that’s confident, empowered, handles objections, etc.

So if you’re wondering whether you’ll be able to sell better in the DM’s or on sales calls, ask yourself these questions:

  • Do you have your sales process super dialed in?
  • Do you feel confident handling sales objections by text?
  • Do you have a history of being ghosted in the DM’s when the conversation turns to sales?
  • Is your offer really tuned into the struggles and desires of your ideal clients?
  • Do you feel confident in your ability to keep someone engaged in a conversation by text?

For me, I do some selling in the DM’s for my lower ticket offers. If someone really needs a brainstorming session with an expert marketer, I can typically have that conversation in the DM’s. It’s a lower investment, and the best clients for that typically don’t have a lot of objections or internal drama to work through. They’re ready to go!

However, I don’t sell any of my higher ticket offers in the DM’s. See what services I offer and (if better marketing strategy to getting the marketing off your plate is something you need) how to work with me here.

I find that my ideal client just isn’t typically ready to invest at that level if they haven’t had a face to face conversation with me. They need to spend time with me so we can talk about how my process will help them and what it would look like for their business.

So beyond thinking about how you’ll best sell or which method is right for you, ask yourself this… What type of sales process does your ideal client need?

Sales is a partnership—like a dance. One person leads the dance, sure, but if you’re not both dancing to the same rhythm, it’s not going to be a very good one.

Tiffany Barry