Why Your Podcast Isn’t Making Sales: 3 Surprising Oversights

Hey Friend!

Are you struggling to make sales? Don’t have enough clients booking with you, even though your podcast is growing?

It’s stable, but you can’t seem to make the sales that are possible for you.

In this post, I’m going to share with you these really tactical, tangible, actionable steps you can take because I believe you’re probably making these three common oversights when it comes to making sales.

For many online business owners, making sales can seem so tricky. Maybe you’re not set on a solid offer. Maybe you’re not talking about your offer enough. Maybe you aren’t speaking to the right audience, or maybe you are, but you’re not tying anything back to your paid offer. Maybe you aren’t addressing your potential buyer’s objections. Without addressing these issues, making sales IS going to be difficult.

I want making sales to be easy for you, and not feel icky.

If you’re ready to figure out what mistakes you’re making – maybe without even realizing it – and, better yet, know exactly how to fix it, grab a notebook and pen.

Let’s go! Here are three common oversights when it comes to making sales.

Making Sales Common Oversight 1: You are not Directly Selling on Your Podcast.

You’re delivering great content, you’re putting awesome things into the world, and you’re teaching people something, but you’re shying away from actually selling during your episode.

Maybe you feel like:

• you’re being pushy
• you’re over-promoting yourself or your services

Listen, friend: People are so highly distracted that they will not know what the next step is unless you tell them clearly. You need to tell them exactly what you want them to do.

I want you to start including clear calls-to-action, or CTAs, in every single episode.

For example, if you’re coaching, and you are offering a quick 5-10 minute discovery call, I want you to invite them to book the call right then and there:

“If you’re struggling with decluttering your home and you’re not sure if working with me would be the right option for you, I would love to have a quick conversation with you.” Then, share the link with them verbally and in your show notes. “We will be able to figure out if working together is the next right step.”

We have to tell people exactly what to do and where to go to get it to make the sale. Don’t forget – SAY THE LINKS! You must say the links inside your episode.

If I’m listening to a podcast and you don’t tell me where to go to get the free thing or to take the quiz or to book the call, I’m not going to stop what I’m doing, pause the episode, and go find the show notes. That is a HUGE barrier to buying.

Stop making it hard for your people to buy! Keep it simple and use direct, clear selling.

Making Sales Common Oversight 2: You’re Overloading on Free Content without Tying it to Your Offer.

You might be pouring out endless value on your show. You’re giving and giving and giving. You’re linking to other episodes that will help your listeners with their problems. And you’re amazing because you’re FREE FELICIA! Free, free, free, free, free!

I do not believe in withholding information or having a gateway where they have to purchase to get the solution. You can give it all away. I completely agree that you cannot give too much, but you MUST tie it back to your offer.

You have to connect the dots for your listeners; They’re not going to connect the dots themselves.

Give away free content, but take it a step further by tying it to your paid offer to make sales.

For example, they’re not going to listen to you talk about how to budget and save on expenses over and over again – giving them all this free stuff – and then just magically realize or remember that you maybe could have a budgeting boot camp course that they should go check out.

They’re not going to come up with that on their own! You have to tie your free content to your offer:

“If you loved the budgeting exercises we just went through on today’s episode, I want you to know that one component inside of my Budget Blueprint Bootcamp will walk you through six months of budgeting with me in this group coaching program. I’m going to help you with this, and this thing, and this other thing.”

Then, back to Common Oversight 1, you tell them exactly how to get it, the link, and why they should buy it now.

Focus on tying your content to taking action. Remember that every piece of content that you put into the world on your podcast is a natural lead into how you can help them go farther through your paid offers, whether it’s coaching, a course, or a group coaching program.

Again, we just have to connect the dots for them to make the sale!

If you’re one of my students, you know I say this all the time: You’re not speaking to someone who’s where you are…you’re speaking to someone who is two, three, or four steps behind you.

You’re also speaking to a very distracted person nowadays. We have to be very clear and blatant with what they need to do.

Making Sales Common Oversight 3: You are not Addressing Buyer Objections.

This is the oversight I am most guilty of.

When selling, I often focus on

• “Imagine if…”
• the outcomes that are going to happen for this person
• the breakthroughs they’re going to have
• the success they’re going to have

But sometimes, I fail to address their objections! So many of you are making this mistake as well, and it’s resulting in not making sales.

Sometimes the reason people are not buying is because of the objections they believe – or the excuses they have – but sometimes they’re true, viable objections as to why they shouldn’t or can’t buy this thing right now.

Common Sales Objections Keeping You From Making Sales

Common sales objections include:

1. Lack of time
2. Lack of money
3. Fear of failure

Any of these things are reasons people may hold back from buying, and, in turn, prevent you from making sales.

They might be thinking, “Is this really for me?” or “Will I get results?” and if you do not address these concerns head-on, your listener will stay stuck and frozen in indecision.

I want you to start weaving answers to objections into your podcast episodes and your sales messaging.

A few great, organic ways to do this are to use:

• Testimonies, like, “Mary thought that she could not afford to have a meal prep coach, so she kept doing it herself and wasting time and money. She finally invested ONE TIME in my course, Meal Prep Mastery, and she said that she was able to make all her money back – plus some – within one whole week of meal prep because she learned how to capitalize on spending less money for more quantity of food.”
• Storytelling! I like to tell you about when I’ve failed at something because it makes it relatable easy to share, and creates a no-judgment zone for potential buyers.
• FAQ-style conversation: “We’ve received emails saying ‘We don’t have time to invest in _____.'” Then, answer that question directly in your episode. Think about this as a way to tackle their hesitations. When you address these things head-on, your listener doesn’t have to worry and stay stuck. They now have the answers to make their decision.

Take Action to Make Sales!

There you have it – the three oversights to making sales you are probably making: Not directly selling, not tying your content to your offers, and not addressing objections.

You now have the tools to make some small shifts and tweaks in the way you are selling on your podcast.

I want you to write down a plan of attack for your next episode. Write down a little bit of language – refer back to those examples I shared in this post, and infuse them into your show.

Lastly, I want to remind you that if you need help with making this work as a viable business, if you’re struggling with how to get your podcast to get leads, you want more time with me to be able to dive deeper into these little pockets of your business – plus my team of amazing coaches – please come and apply to Podcast to Profit, my 6-month group coaching program.

It doesn’t matter if you have a podcast yet or not, we can help you! This is an amazing program that is going to help you do so much more in less time – no more searching for answers! The program includes:

• Plug-and-play templates
• A team ready to help you move from one step to the next (how to sell, scripts, building your coaching offers), and more!

Get your application in now at podcasttoprofitmastermind.com

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Before you go, be sure to watch the free workshop!

This free workshop is for you if you want to grow an online business in less time.

It will teach you how to explode your audience without the social media hustle, make consistent sales using a podcast, and plan, record, and launch a podcast with ease!

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Online Business for Christian Women with Stefanie Gass