No BS Mastery Podcast

Gross. Pushy. Slimy. A sweaty guy in a cheap blazer. That’s what came back when Pia asked a room full of business owners how selling makes them feel. And here’s the problem: sales is the lifeblood of your business. If the most important thing you do is the thing you dread most, that’s going to cost you.In this episode, Pia digs into why selling feels so icky, and it’s not what you think. It’s not that you’re bad at it. It’s that the only version of selling most of us have ever experienced is the pushy one, the version where someone tries to convince you to buy something you don’t want. Nobody wants to be that person, so we overcorrect: we get on calls, give away free value, prove our worth, and quietly hope the person buys. It feels terrible, and it doesn’t work.Then Pia shares the shift that took selling from the worst part of her business to something that doesn’t even feel like selling: getting paid to diagnose before you prescribe. Using her Advil analogy, she breaks down why you never have to convince anyone who’s genuinely in pain, you just have to find out if they have the headache first.Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.In this episode:Why “salesy” feels gross, and why that instinct is actually a good oneThe free-proposal trap that quietly loses you the saleThe fit call vs. the free consultation (and why the difference matters)The Advil analogy that reframes selling for goodHow a paid first step, the Lead Product, removes the ick entirelyMentioned:The No BS Clients Lab: nobsclientslab.comThe DIY program that walks you through the entire process, the fit call script, the diagnostic brief template, and how to turn that first paid step into much bigger projects.The Clients Lab + No BS HQ: nobsmastery.com/bundleWant the Clients Lab bundled with the HQ software (plus the LP bot and three live office-hours sessions)? Get both together at a discount: Resources:Join the Scale Solo MasterclassGrab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.comThe Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/priceGrab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your BrandFind this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.

About 10 years ago, I created a more affordable way for people to work with me. We were selling $20,000 branding projects, and plenty of people told me they wanted our help but couldn’t afford us. So I created a DIY program that taught the same process for somewhere between $500 and $1,000.I assumed it would be easy to sell. It wasn’t. After more than a year of investing time, money, and energy into figuring it out, I finally realized why: I hadn’t created a cheaper version of my existing offer. I had accidentally started a second business.The program required a different audience, message, promise, sales strategy, funnel, and business model. Selling ten $20,000 projects through relationships is completely different from selling 400 $500 courses through content and email marketing.This happens in all kinds of ways. You might serve two very different audiences, offer completely different services, or try to use the same process for small businesses and much larger companies. It may look like one business from your perspective, but it can still fracture your attention and make it harder to become known for one thing.In this episode, I’m breaking down how to recognize when you’re unintentionally building multiple businesses and why focus can help you become more profitable faster. I also talk about what happens when we finally create more time and freedom, only to immediately fill it with another idea because being busy is what feels normal.There is nothing wrong with building multiple businesses or pursuing more than one income stream. But it should be a deliberate choice. When you make one business profitable and sustainable first, you can invest in the next one with far more clarity, patience, and control.Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.Tune into this episode to hear:Why my affordable DIY program was actually a completely different businessHow selling ten $20,000 projects differs from selling 400 $500 coursesThe hidden ways multiple audiences and offers can fracture your attentionWhy focusing on one market makes it easier to become known as the expertHow to build multiple businesses without trying to build them all at onceWhy some business owners immediately refill the time they worked so hard to free upThe questions to ask when your business feels harder than it needs to beMentioned:The Price to Freedom Calculator™Resources:Join the Scale Solo MasterclassGrab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.comThe Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/priceGrab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand

You can have all the right strategies, but if your fears, beliefs, and stories keep you from actually using them, they aren’t going to grow your business. That’s why Stacey Brass-Russell describes herself as a transformational coach. She helps people understand that creating a different result requires change, and human beings are wired to resist change even when we desperately want the outcome on the other side of it. In this conversation, Stacey and I talk about the stories we invent when someone doesn’t respond to our outreach, why the fear of seeming salesy keeps people from selling, and why getting more leads probably isn’t the answer. We also dig into the importance of human connection, especially for experts selling higher-ticket transformational services. We talk about what it means to see sales as service, how a clear methodology can help you feel more confident selling your work, and why you may need to build that confidence through real experience before charging a premium price.Stacey is a master transformational coach, business strategist, and sales coach who helps coaches, experts, and service-based entrepreneurs turn their passion, skills, and expertise into businesses that actually pay them. A former Broadway performer and NYC yoga studio owner, she is the founder of the Passionate & Prosperous Academy and host of the Passionate & Prosperous podcast.Stacey’s perspective matters because there is no strategy that can completely bypass the human side of business. Sustainable growth requires a strong offer and the willingness to examine the beliefs, fears, and habits that keep you from confidently putting it in front of people. Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player. Tune into this episode to hear:What it actually means to sell a transformational serviceWhy your clients need more than information to achieve meaningful outcomesHow the stories you invent about other people’s reactions can stop you from taking actionWhy more leads probably won’t solve your sales problemThe difference between marketing your business and actually selling your offerHow creating a signature methodology can make you more confident in your expertiseWhy seeing sales as service changes the way you talk about your offerLearn more about Stacey Brass-Russell:Website: staceybrassrussell.comListen to the Passionate & Prosperous podcastExplore Stacey’s free resources and trainingsConnect with Stacey on LinkedInResources:Join the Scale Solo MasterclassGrab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.comThe Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/priceGrab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand

Most people assume that a $15,000 project is automatically better than an $8,000 project. But a higher price does not necessarily mean more profit. In fact, it often means the opposite.Years ago, I worked with someone named Sean who was trying to sell more of his $15,000 full-service projects and fewer of his $8,000 packages. When we ran the numbers, he discovered that the $8,000 package was twice as profitable and much easier to sell. He stopped offering the bigger project completely.This happens because premium service providers often overdeliver on their most expensive offers. The price makes us uncomfortable, so we throw in the kitchen sink to justify it. That extra time quietly destroys the profit that made the project look so appealing in the first place.In this episode, I explain how I use the 50/25/25 rule to determine whether an offer can actually support your financial goals. We also look at why filling all your available time with client work keeps you stuck on the hamster wheel, even when you’re booked and bringing in plenty of revenue.The solution isn’t always to raise your price. Sometimes the smarter move is to tighten the delivery, put better boundaries around your time, or stop selling the bloated offer altogether. A smaller, highly profitable offer can out-earn a large, exhausting one every day.Understanding your profitability gives you permission to stop chasing impressive price tags and focus on the offers that create more money, freedom, and ease. You cannot determine that by feel. You have to look at the numbers.Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.Tune into this episode to hear:How Sean discovered that his $8,000 package was twice as profitable as his $15,000 projectWhy charging more can cause service providers to overdeliver and erase their profitHow the 50/25/25 rule protects time for business development and freedomWhy being booked and busy does not necessarily mean you have a healthy businessThe difference between accepting a lower-profit project for short-term cash flow and building your business around oneWhy tightening your delivery can improve profitability without raising your priceA simple exercise for comparing your most and least expensive offersResources:Join the Scale Solo MasterclassGrab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.comThe Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/priceGrab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand

Early in her career, Lieve Hendren spent her days working with consulting executives in high-pressure environments and her nights performing as an opera singer. She began using the performance psychology techniques she learned onstage to help herself and her teams handle stressful meetings, improve their work, and perform at a higher level.But that constant pressure eventually took a toll on her health. Her search for a more sustainable way to perform became the foundation for her book, The Joyful Flow Formula: Quickly Access Brain States for Peak Performance and Eliminate Needless Work Stress.In this conversation, Lieve shares practical ways to access flow, from visualizing a meeting before you walk into the room to intentionally creating more joy in tasks you’ve been avoiding. We also talk about leading clients through stressful situations, regulating your own energy, and why a calm, confident leader can completely change the tone of a difficult conversation.We also get into doom scrolling, procrastination, and how to make challenging work feel more rewarding. Lieve even coaches me through my ongoing struggle with answering the important emails sitting in my red-star folder.Lieve is a high-performance and workflow coach who helps professionals reduce stress and access creative flow. She has worked with more than 340 leaders and organizations, helped scale a startup from two to 28 employees before its acquisition, and is studying the neuroscience of mental health at King’s College London.Lieve’s work is an important reminder that doing your best work does not have to mean pushing harder or working longer. When you learn how to manage your attention, energy, and environment, you can create better work while experiencing more joy in the process.Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.Tune into this episode to hear:How Lieve brought performance psychology techniques from the opera stage into high-pressure consulting environmentsWhy visualizing a meeting in advance can help you show up calmer and more preparedHow regulating your own energy can change the tone of a difficult client conversationWhy joy, playfulness, and curiosity are powerful triggers for creative flowSimple ways to make the tasks you’ve been avoiding feel more rewardingHow Pia uses Brick to reduce mindless scrolling and stay focusedWhy recovery time is essential after high-energy coaching, presenting, or creative workLearn more about Lieve Hendren:Website: lievehendren.comGet The Joyful Flow Formula: Book pageGet the book on AmazonConnect with Lieve on LinkedInFollow Lieve on InstagramResources:Grab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.comProgram: No BS Mastery: Join No BS MasteryThe Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/priceGrab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand