Here at Podcircle, we talk all the time about how podcasts can benefit your content marketing, position you as a thought leader, and even create a second income stream for your business.
But did you know podcasts can also play a direct role in your sales process?
In this article, we’ll share our top six tips to sell your goods and services through your podcast, from the way you talk about your business on the podcast to the calls to action that will encourage them to convert.
Whether you’re new to podcasting or just want to make sure you’re making the most of the medium, this article has something for you. And as always, you can watch or listen to this content in podcast form on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts:
1. Just Show Up
While there are certainly things you can do to optimize your podcast as a sales tool (and don’t worry, we’ll get into all of them shortly), the first and most important thing you can do is just show up.
People will always prefer to buy from the business they know, like, and trust, and podcasts are a powerful medium for humanizing your brand and establishing yourself as a trusted figure.
After all, where else can you get 30 minutes of uninterrupted time in the ears of your exact audience?
By publishing consistent episodes that are relevant to the needs and interests of your target audience, you’re helping people better understand who you are and how you can solve their problems.
2. Show, Don’t Tell
When you know you have your target audience’s attention, it can feel tempting to jump right in to talking about all the products or services you have to offer.
But people don’t always want to feel like they’re being sold to. Instead, think of your podcast as an opportunity to demonstrate your value and expertise.
If you have a product-based business, you can use your podcast to position yourself as the subject matter expert in your industry. If you’re selling a service like coaching — or in our case, podcast services — podcasts can give your audience a small glimpse into what it would be like to work with you.
3. Offer Solutions to Your Listeners’ Problems
When planning the content of your podcast, don’t forget this one simple truth: Your greatest content comes at the intersection of your ideal customer’s problems and your expertise.
Picture it as a Venn diagram: What are the problems you’re hearing from your customers? What makes your product, service, or expertise the best option for solving those problems? Think overlap between those two questions will be your podcasting sweet spot.
Take our Podcircle podcast, for example. We saw that podcast downloads were going down and realized this would be a top concern for many of our customers. Some were already asking for our advice, but others hadn’t even realized it was a problem yet.
So, we created a podcast episode where we laid out the problem and provided valuable information about why it was happening and what podcasters could do about it. By providing answers to a question our audience was asking, we were able to demonstrate how we can add value to their lives, while also building trust.
4. Share Your Customer’s Success Stories
People are compelled by stories, and podcasting is a fantastic medium for sharing them.
As often as possible, try to highlight customer stories in the form of interviews, audio or video testimonials, case studies, and examples. It’s not just about promoting your current customers (though that can be valuable, too).
When you share success stories, you allow your audience to put themselves in those customers’ shoes and visualize the ways you can help them succeed.
5. Invite Your Ideal Customer into Deeper Relationship
The sales process is a relationship, and relationships aren’t built overnight. If your sales pitch is the marriage proposal, then you need to stop asking customers to marry you on the first date and instead focus on cultivating trust and connection.
Podcasts are a great way to engage with people at the top of your sales funnel and build relationships that will encourage them to become customers in the future.
Anytime someone listens to your podcast, they should leave with a clear idea of the next steps available to them. This could be something as casual as following the show, or a deeper level of commitment like downloading a free guide or booking a sales call.
Here are just a few of the actions you can invite podcast listeners to take if they’re looking to form a deeper relationship:
Follow the show on their preferred podcast platform
Join the conversation in YouTube or social media comments
Subscribe to your newsletter
Schedule a consultation or discovery call
Download a free resource in exchange for their email
Attend a webinar
Purchase a lower-tier version of your product or sign up for a free trial
Your listeners may be at different places in the buyer’s journey — some may have known about you for years, while others are engaging with your brand for the first time. Whoever they are, they should feel encouraged to take a next step that makes sense for where they are in the process of exploring your solutions.
6. Use Dynamic Ads
Podcast listeners have come to expect ads in their shows, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to promote your product or service within your episodes?
Dynamic ads allow you to update advertisements across both old and new episodes, so you can keep the content timely and relevant. Maybe you want to run a sale ahead of an upcoming event, or maybe you want to try a new campaign for a few weeks and then adjust later based on how it performs.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of dynamic ads and find out how you can get started, check out this article.
Optimize Your Podcast with Premium Services for Busy People
If you’re already going to invest valuable time and money into building a podcast, you’ll want to make sure you’re taking advantage of every opportunity to use it to drive sales.
Our team at Podcircle is here to help you make sure you’re making the most of your podcast platform. Whether you’re looking to outsource part of your production process or you want to dive deep into the opportunities to optimize your podcast with a strategy session, we have options available to you!
Schedule a free discovery call today where we can help you better determine your next steps.
