I love teaching but hate selling.
Why do I have to sell? Can't people just come and buy?
Selling is not for teachers.
I wish I could hire someone to sell for me.
My problem is that my audience has no money to buy.
I love my program, but why isn't anyone buying it?
I'll never be one of those salesy people who can't shut up about their product!
Until fairly recently those beliefs were my "default" business settings. I hated selling and avoided it at all costs. One of my favorite sales avoidance tactics was asking my clients for references (and then secretly resenting them for not doing it often enough).
Another go-to avoidance tactic was to bury myself in content creation. "If I create super valuable videos, webinars, newsletters.... surely people would be compelled to buy from me!"
Except it didn't work like that. I still had to do the dreaded launches and lick my wounds after not-so-great results.
My greatest fear was that people would (gasp) think I'm salesy and reject me altogether. So I stayed quiet about my programs even though I believed they were helping my clients and I had loads of evidence that they worked!
I wasn't a big fan of the most popular sales tactics that employed too much pressure, shame and fear-mongering. I didn't want to be like them. My problem was I thought that was the only way to sell. Now I know you can do it differently.
What if selling was less about pushing and more about serving? Less about convincing and more about inviting? What if selling was more playful and less scary?
In this course, I summarized all the lessons I've learned about selling through selling digital products, classes and coaching services, working exclusively in the online language teaching world.
I found that selling mindfully is a powerful way to serve your audience. It feels like an invitation and it has no desperation or scarcity in its voice. It's assertive but not overpowering. Mindful selling is about serving better, and anyone can learn to do it.
This course is an alternative to the loud claims of "You've got to charge $$$$ so people take you seriously." "Just use this magic affirmation to attract more sales your way." "If you don't push the pain button, you can't get people to buy."
Mindful selling focuses on the tough internal work of changing your relationship with money, looking at sales from a new angle, strengthening your belief in the program you're selling and showing up consistently, willing to learn and grow.
Daniela Fries, a teacher of German.
Vera von Flüe, "Speak German Now."
"I have participated in Elena’s asynchronous group program “Mindful Sales”. It exceeded my expectations. Within a few weeks I got to a mindset shift which has enabled me to get into action more quickly than ever before. I am even surprised myself by how big of an impact this has on my business. Just showing up and moving forward despite initial doubts and hesitations, doing it anyway – that’s exactly what Elena’s valuable teachings do to you – you will see it yourself! Thanks to the program I reshaped my offer, got new clients and am not just willing to move forward, but I actually am moving forward."
This is a self-paced online course that combines educational, reflective and interactive components to help you change your relationship with selling so that it no longer scares you or your potential customers.
12 audio lessons (10-25 min long) to understand sales better (see below).
Worksheets with weekly assignments + selling challenges + journaling prompts.
Unlimited access to all materials.
BONUS 1: How to respond to objections series.
BONUS 2: How to launch mindfully.
BONUS 3: How to price your offer.
By the end of the program you will feel a lot more confidence about making your offer, talking about your work in creative ways and connecting with your audience with intention and assertiveness.
You don't have to wait until you finish the course to implement any of these lessons. All tasks are actionable, ready for you to implement and evaluate. The journaling prompts help you get to the bottom of your fears of selling, hate of money and the crippling grip of scarcity.
The course is self-paced, but if you want to complete it, here's a suggested timeline.
Each week you can work through audio lessons with practical tasks around selling your offer. You'll try a variety of ways to sell, but you'll focus on 1 offer and the audience you already have (even if it's your 1:1 students for now).
Week 1: Money and your offer.
A: Money stories and scenarios. How we unintentionally confirm and relive the stories we believe about money.
B: Selling is about believing. How to build belief around your offer (product/program). Setting believable pricing.
Week 2: Selling free and paid offers >> is there a difference? Sales funnel introduction.
A: Selling is serving: creating valuable experiences for your learners.
B: Selling is vulnerable: processing failure and learning to fail forward.
Week 3: Showing up and selling.
A: Selling is creative: different ways to talk about selling and making offers.
B: Beyond the money exchange: why selling is more than money in the bank.
Week 4: Sales goals for product/program launches.
A: Setting flexible goals and tracking results creatively.
B: Observing your thoughts throughout your launch and supporting yourself.
Week 5: Monthly financial planning and evaluating.
A: Setting goals and making a plan.
B: Evaluating and making mature decisions.
Bonus mini-course to all participants: a 6-part audio-series called Mindful Launch + lesson scripts and my launch email sequence.
Bonus mini-course on How to respond to objections: several lessons that help you deal with the most common objections your students have when buying from you, the objections that deal with time, money and status.
Bonus mini-series on How to price your offers: 3 audio lessons on pricing, offers and a suggested algorithm for raising your prices over a period of 1 year.
I used to be so scared of selling so it drained me. So many times I hid behind creating stuff, hoping that just by seeing my work people would be compelled to buy. Don't get me wrong: I sold well, but the game of "convince-so-people-buy" felt exhausting.
Here you're probably expecting some cathartic moment of enlightenment, but I'm afraid it was a series of small steps, starting with one -- a decision to stop looking for new sales hacks or a "magic product," and dive deeper into my thoughts about money and selling.
Because finding hacks was easy. Looking inside was too vulnerable. This is what you'll learn here. Selling confidently, starting from the inside.
I've got some answers...
This course is self-paced. The 5 weeks is my suggested schedule to help you complete the course. You can take as long or as short as you need.
It depends on the day. On average, listening + writing will take you between 30-40 minutes a few times a week. Then there's the implementation, but it'll be a part of your business routine.
I believe online language teachers do themselves a disservice by not improving their sales skills. You need those skills not just for courses/programs. You need them to sell 1:1s or group meetings. You even need them to sell free speaking clubs or workshops! Selling is beyond just 1 specific product. If you don't have a course, you can practice selling your lessons or your speaking program or even a free club, beyond the people you know.
It depends. You might be not into it, but are open to learning and curious. If so, please join -- you'll discover a lot. But if you're against any kind of mindfulness practices and are looking for some quick sales funnels tricks, this is definitely not your course.