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I’ll let you in on a little secret: roughly 50% of my income over the past year has been a direct result of my DM strategy.
If you aren’t connecting with your ideal clients in the IG DMs, you are seriously leaving a huge chunk o’ cash on the table. The DMs are the NUMBER 1 place where you can connect with potential clients, quickly form relationships with them, and directly pitch your offerings. There is NO better place on Instagram to build a deeper connection with your ideal clients, and if you’ve been avoiding the DMs – it’s time to stop that NOW!
But before we get into how to sell in the DMs, let’s start off with a few things to keep in mind when selling in the DMs:
- Quality DMs over Quantity: Limit the number of DM connections you make every week to HIGHLY targeted ideal clients, rather than just anybody and everybody. This will prevent the dreaded DM overwhelm. Take the time to actually get to know the people who are in your DMs!⠀
- Detach from the outcome. Go into the DM conversation WITHOUT the intent to pitch. The DMs are a great tool to build strong relationships with ideal clients that could potentially lead to a sale. But when we go in solely with the intent to pitch our offers, our messages will come across as sleazy AF, which is a major turn-off for most people. So ALWAYS start DM conversations with the CONNECTION in mind, not the sale.
- Keep it genuine. Your ideal client will be totally turned off if you go straight into the sales conversation. Don’t make it about the sale – make it about the RELATIONSHIP! Relationship truly builds the know, like, trust factor with your ideal clients like no other. So treat the ideal clients you DM like a human being – not just a number.
Starting the conversation with an ideal client
Obviously, the sales conversation has to start somewhere.
We can’t always wait around for our ideal client to DM us – it’s up to us to reach out to ideal clients and initiate conversations with them!
Not sure how to strike up a convo with a total stranger on Instagram? Here are a few ways to start a potential sales conversation with an ideal client:
- Respond to their stories! This is, in my opinion, the most natural way to start a new conversation with an ideal client. You should already be following a lot of your ideal clients here on Instagram, so make sure to spend at least 10 minutes a day scrolling through their stories and responding to them! Even just sending a reaction emoji is better than nothing, but try to make it more personal and give a thoughtful response.
- Thank them for following your profile. Let them know their follow doesn’t go unnoticed and feel free to ask an open-ended question to get a conversation going!
- DM them instead of commenting on their most recent post. Did their caption really resonate with you? Tell them! Love the way they edit their photos? DM them about it. Sending a private DM is WAY more personable than leaving a generic comment on your ideal clients’ Instagram posts. This can also be your chance to shower them with genuine compliments!
Create a genuine conversation!
Don’t dive straight into the biz talk immediately after starting a conversation with an ideal client in the DMs. Keep it friendly at first, and stick to small talk!
The purpose here is to build rapport with your ideal clients – after all, cold pitching is soooo 2011. The DMs are a place to build authentic relationships with ideal clients, which is why we take the chance to get to know them first, and only sell from a place of service – not sleaze and desperation. The LAST thing you want to do is make your ideal clients feel like they are just another number.
Ask questions to discover their struggles, needs, and goals.
Before pitching to someone in the DMs, it is HIGHLY critical that you deeply understand your lead’s current situation before pitching your offer to them.
Sometimes the person you are talking to may open up about their current situation without you having to ask about it. But more often, it will be up to you to get to know them and start asking questions that will tell you whether or not this person would benefit from any of your offerings.
Start by asking questions that will allow you to determine whether or not this person would be a good fit for any of your offerings.
What’s their story? How long have they been in your niche? What are they currently up to when it comes to your niche? These are some of the base questions you can ask, but get creative and only ask questions you are genuinely curious to learn about.
Pitch your offer only when you are certain it’s a good fit.
Only pitch your offer when you have a deep understanding of where the person is currently at, and when you are CERTAIN that your products or services would benefit them.
I see this happen SO often – someone DMs an ideal client, and after a few short exchanges, they dive straight into the sales pitch.
…Before knowing if the person they are pitching ACTUALLY can benefit from said offer 🙇🏼♀️
So… When IS the right time to pitch in the DMs?
I get this question a lot. And the simple, non-sexy answer is to Pitch when it feels RIGHT; when it feels like it would be the natural “next step” of the conversation.
A general rule of thumbs is to pitch your offer after you have a deep understanding of where the person is currently at, what they are struggling with, and where they want to be in your niche.
“How long should I be talking to someone before pitching them? Days? Weeks? Months?”
Again, no sexy answer to this, because it really depends on the conversation and where it is going. I’ve pitched my offer within the same day of talking to someone for the first time, and I’ve also pitched my offer several months after connecting with an ideal client in the DMs. It all depends on where the conversation goes, and what feels natural.⠀
DM pitches should NEVER feel forced.
Once you are POSITIVE that your offer is literally the perfect fit for your prospect, tell them about it! Ask for their permission to discuss the offer with them to see if it could be the perfect fit to bridge the gap between their current situation and their goals. Use voice message to explain the features & benefits of your offer, and how it will be instrumental for THEIR transformation.
Want an action plan that gives you my EXACT step-by-step strategy to pitch your offer in the DMs and sign more clients with ease?
Be sure to grab a copy of my ULTIMATE DM script for just $27. You’ll get access to 16 pages of plug & play scripts that take you through the ENTIRE DM strategy- from starting the conversation with a new lead to pitching your offer (without being sleazy).
>Click here to take a deeper look inside the DM script!
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