201. The Anti-Sleaze Sales Guide For Solopreneurs: How to Actually Win People Over

Tired of sleazy sales pitches? So are we.
 
In this episode, Carly and Joe unload on the cringiest sales tactics cluttering inboxes today: think cold DMs that insult your business, spammy bots pretending to be human, and desperate pitches that reek of commission breath.

But don’t worry, it’s not just a rant. They also break down how solopreneurs can build real trust, use storytelling to connect authentically, and sell without feeling like a pushy used car dealer. If you've ever rolled your eyes at a LinkedIn message, this one's for you.

Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business.  So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!

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Episode Transcript

Carly Ries (00:00):
Tired of sleazy sales tactics and robotic

(00:02):
pitches that make your skincrawl? Us too. In this episode
of the Aspiring Solopreneur, I,Carly, vent in the best way
about cringey cold emails,LinkedIn spam, and the desperate
energy that reeks of please buyfrom me. Joe shares why trust,
not tricks, is the real currencyin sales. And we both talk about

(00:24):
using storytelling to spark realconnection to why AI bots aren't
your shortcut to success.
This is your unofficial guide toselling without selling your
soul. So grab your coffee andcome rant with us.

Intro (00:37):
You're listening to the Aspiring Solopreneur, the
podcast for those just takingthe bold step or even just
thinking about taking that stepinto the world of solo
entrepreneurship. My name isCarly Ries, and my cohost Joe
Rando and I are your guides tonavigating this crazy but
awesome journey as a company ofone. We take pride in being part

(00:57):
of LifeStarr, a digital hubdedicated to all aspects of
solopreneurship that hasempowered and educated countless
solopreneurs looking to build abusiness that resonates with
their life's ambitions. We helppeople work to live, not live to
work. And if you're looking fora get rich quick scheme, this is
not the show for you.
So if you're eager to gainvaluable insights from industry

(01:18):
experts on running a businessthe right way the time around or
want to learn from the misstepsof solopreneurs who paved the
way before you, then stickaround. We've got your back
because flying solo in businessdoesn't mean you're alone.

Carly Ries (01:33):
So I wanted to do this topic today because it's
just something that's reallybeen bugging me recently, and
that is just sleazy salespitches. I'm gonna throw a few
things in there. Sleazy, butalso inauthentic. Just kinda
going through the motions. Itreally just, rubs me the wrong

(01:54):
way.
Do you feel the same way? I feellike there's such a good way to
sell now, and so many people aremissing the mark on it.

Joe Rando (02:00):
You know, what can I say? I get pitched. I get these
emails. I get InMails andLinkedIn stuff on, Facebook of
like, you know, we do this, willyou hire us? And it's like, why
in heaven's name would I hiresomebody just because they say
they do something?

(02:21):
So yeah, I mean, it's annoying,but it's sad. It's really sad
because so many people arespending so much energy doing
things that must never everwork.

Carly Ries (02:33):
And all of them are unintentionally insulting. Like,
I'm a marketer. So when somebodycold emails, cold LinkedIns me
and is like, hey, your SEOstings. I'm like, one, no, it
doesn't. And I know that becausewe put time and effort into it.
And two, why do you think I'mgonna give you my business if
you're telling me what I'm doingwrong from the get go?

Joe Rando (02:55):
That's an interesting strategy, isn't it? it's like,
imagine walking up to somebodyand saying, hey, you're really
ugly. You wanna go out?

Carly Ries (03:02):
I bet I can boost your confidence.

Joe Rando (03:04):
Yeah. I mean, and I think what it comes down to is
the only way, and I know I go onabout this all the time, but the
only way you're going to be ableto sell somebody is for them to
trust you, right? You have tostart with trust. Now some
people argue you start withlike. I don't think I can like

(03:25):
somebody I don't trust, so Ireally feel like starting with
trust is where it all begins.
But I don't know, what do youthink?

Carly Ries (03:33):
Well, agree. What are your recommendations for
people to trust you

Joe Rando (03:37):
Be helpful. Be honest. I mean, real way to make
people trust you is to help themwithout expecting anything back.
Now the hard part is the peoplethat go, oh, I gotta help people
to get them to buy from me, butthey skip the trust part, so
they kinda go, yeah, let me helpyou and then buy this. And it's
like, you have to kinda do itwith a pure heart. Help people,

(03:59):
and then they come to you. Theycome to you, and that's the key.

Carly Ries (04:04):
What I find is if you help people, it will pay in
dividends later on. So you maynot get that sale immediately,
but if I'm like, oh gosh, JoeRando, he's just such a good
guy. He's that papa bear ofLifeStarr Just genuinely wants
to do good in the world, thenI'll remember that, and I'll
refer that. And it'll just payin the long run. I think another

(04:25):
way to trust, and I'm gonna pulla George B Thomas here for
anybody that's familiar withGeorge, Be human.
When you're trying to sell, justbe human. So many people rely on
AI these days. We use AI all thetime. I'm not gonna diss AI. But
when it comes to making thoseconnections, you have to be
human.
And when you build trust, youhave to do it from an innate

(04:47):
moving connection, not acomputer.

Joe Rando (04:52):
I love that. And I think, you know, as I think
about what you just said, it'slike one of the ways that you
can build a relationship andbuild trust is on social media.
You can go in and comment onpeople's posts and say things
that add value or let them knowthat you agree with them or
whatever it is. But all thesepeople are using AI bots now to

(05:12):
do it, and it's so obvious. Andit just annoys the poster when
they look and go, okay, thisperson doesn't have the time or
can take the trouble to actuallycomment on my stuff.
They have to have a bot do itfor them. It's
counterproductive. Yeah. It'snot not a way to use it.

Carly Ries (05:29):
Yeah. It is just so inauthentic. And I think on the
AI front, when it comes tosales, we've heard so many
experts say this. I think JayAcunzo kinda led the charge from
our standpoint. But to getreally good at storytelling.
From all the marketing podcastsI listen to, and I know like
Mark, storytelling often isassociated with marketing and

(05:51):
all that. But for sales, tell agood story. Get people's
attention, just put them in atrance with how well you can
tell a story. And that makes theselling a lot easier and more
authentic too, rather than justa plus b equals c, always b,
closing. Are we doing this ornot?
Like just the sleazy car sales.Just have to really tie in those

(06:16):
human components for sales thesedays because your customers,
your audience are gettingspammed left and right. And if
you wanna stand out, you need tobe good at storytelling and
being helpful and being human.

Joe Rando (06:30):
it's human nature. It's wired I mean, before we had
writing as humans, the only waywe passed on knowledge was
through stories. And our brainsare wired to focus in, pay
attention to, and learn fromstories. So you're absolutely
right, Carly. And you know,storytelling isn't just, a
beginning, a middle, and an end.
I mean, really good storytellinghas emotional arcs, and which

(06:53):
sounds crazy from theperspective of, a marketing
pitch, and I'm not saying I'mgood at this, but I really wanna
get good at it. But, you wannahave an emotional arc. You wanna
basically, have different levelsof, kind of excitement and then

(07:13):
quiet. So if you're telling astory, whether it's in writing
or on a video, you really wannathink through the best
storytelling techniques. And I'mnot an expert at that, but I'm
paying attention, because Ithink that's where things are
going.

Carly Ries (07:27):
Yeah. Couldn't agree more. I think the other thing
that drives me nuts with somesales tactics is when people
come off as being desperate,that's when the sleaziness
really, for me, starts to creepin. So if you can tell they're
really being pushy, it's usuallybecause they really need that
sale. I would say as best youcan detach yourself from the

(07:49):
outcome of it, and just go inwith it knowing I'm gonna help
them, I'm gonna give them value,and if they see the value in
what I have, then great, let'smake a deal.
And if they don't, you're notthe right customer for me, and
move on. I think it's reallyeasy to get emotionally attached
when you're selling, and to getheated, and to get annoyed, and
then it just kinda escalates.When really you just have to

(08:10):
say, I did my best. If they'rethe right fit, they'll see the
value in what I'm providing. Ifnot, I'll focus on another
person.
Do you agree with that?

Joe Rando (08:17):
A 100%. And you know, back in the last century when I
was single, I noticed somethingreally interesting, which was if
I wasn't looking for agirlfriend, I would always find
one. You know, it's kind offunny. you know, when you were
out like, oh I wanna meet, I'msingle, I don't wanna be single.
Never worked, but you know, yougo out and just be like, yeah,

(08:42):
whatever.
And the next thing you know,you'd meet somebody and it's
trying too hard. It's like, youdon't wanna try too hard. it's
just being nice, being helpful.And I wanna clarify, being
helpful doesn't mean giving awaythe store.
It just means saying, this isthe kind of thing I'm gonna do
for free. I'm gonna do it forfree. I'm not doing it for free
just so that, people will buyfrom me. I'm gonna do it for

(09:03):
free, and some of those peopleare gonna resonate and wanna
come to me. And that's how I'mgonna do this.
And that's what I think a lot ofpeople that are doing this kind
of pushy selling, and no trust,you know, low trust selling, are
missing that point.

Carly Ries (09:20):
really, gotta get good relationship building from
like perspective, and build thattrust and go from there. I feel
like I just wanted to come ontoday to rant because I've been
just been getting more and morespam recently that's driving me
crazy.
And I'm just like, nope.
You're doing sales wrong. Hereare some tips to do it. Anyway,

(09:42):
I just need to stop talking.

Joe Rando (09:43):
Maybe we need to create an AI bot that replies
back with lessons for thosewhen it identifies those emails
and automatically responds tothem.

Carly Ries (09:51):
Yes. Just get me all riled up.

Joe Rando (10:00):
I guess the other thing this is something that
kinda annoyed me today, wasthis. I'm looking at these
people on social media that aretrying to basically get
attention for their business,but they're doing all kinds of
things that, aren't, you know,are disingenuous, if you will.

(10:23):
And I don't think that that'sgonna work in the long run. It
certainly can work in the shortrun, but when you're in there
saying things that either aren'ttrue or only telling half the
truth and inflating yourresults, you know, you look at
somebody that's got, a 100,000followers and their post gets,
you know, six likes, Something'swrong there.

(10:46):
Either their content isn't verygood, or more likely they bought
their followers. And those kindsof techniques for growing your
sales, again, it's not honest,and I don't think it plays in
the long run. So just put thatout there.

Carly Ries (11:00):
Yep. I like it. Well, I think that's a good
point to end on. Listeners,thank you so much for tuning in.
Please leave that five starreview.
We actually, in the top ofsolopreneur for Apple right now,
which is awesome for podcast.

Joe Rando (11:13):
But that five star review for us, we'd be even
higher than one.

Carly Ries (11:19):
It would be higher than one. We'd be one plus.
Well, we so appreciate thesupport. Please continue to send
it our way. Leave that five starreview.
Share this with a friend.Subscribe on your favorite
platform including YouTube, andwe will see you next time on The
Aspiring Solopreneur. You may begoing solo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone. Infact, millions of people are in

(11:41):
your shoes, running a one personbusiness and figuring it out as
they go. So why not connect withthem and learn from each other's
successes and failures?
At LifeStarr, we're creating aone person business community
where you can go to meet and getadvice from other solopreneurs.
Be sure to join in on theconversations
at community.lifestarr.com.