Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karen Graves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Karen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I came across the quote, “My love language is reminding you of how powerful you are,” which perfectly sums up what I hope my legacy will be.

Reminding people. especially those in marginalized communities, of their personal power to create and live a life they are ridiculously proud of and fulfilled by is my life’s work. I would be thrilled to be remembered as someone who was successful in doing what I naturally love to do.

Karen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Doctors used to scare the crap out of me.

Here I was, working for a world-leading pharma company, with all the stats and scientific proof in the world, but too terrified to talk to doctors.

I’d undergone months of intensive sales training. I had more studies and marketing materials than you could shake a stethoscope at, but my biggest fears were sounding awkward and inadequate.

Coming from a government job to the corporate world was like switching planets! I struggled with believing I was good enough to sell to doctors. My suits looked the part, but inside, I felt like a hot mess.

I’d walk into those doctor’s offices, use the scripts, flash the glossy brochures, and leave samples. Then, I’d sit in my car and mentally facepalm for sounding awkward. It would take me ages to prep for the next visit. I hated the sales part of my 100% sales job.

But then, a mentor dropped some wisdom on me that changed how I looked at selling:

– Marketing supports you, but it’s not the magic sales fairy. It’s the human connections that convert to sales.

– You’re the expert in your field, just like the doctor is in theirs. Your expertise provides information they don’t have time to dig up.

– Be yourself. Acting like someone else is exhausting.

Taking the tips seriously, I started viewing doctors’ offices as friend visits, and some even felt like family reunions. One even introduced me to my future husband!

I relaxed into my expertise, stopped putting doctors on pedestals, and boom, awards and promotions followed.

When I took the leap to starting a coaching business, I felt like the new sales rep all over again, awkward and inadequate. Although I knew how to sell, I was now in the position of selling myself.

I struggled. I struggled badly. Knowing what to say to get people to buy MY stuff had me shook. Then adding marketing too? It wasn’t pretty, but remembering the words of my mentor, I made it.

As the coaching industry grew I saw too many women like myself transitioning out of jobs and private practices challenged with the sales aspect of their businesses.

They were faced with not only selling for the first time ever, selling themselves for the first time ever on top of it. If I struggled hard with YEARS of sales training under my belt, I knew their learning curves would be incredibly steep.

So I made it my mission to help them sell their services. Instead of teaching them the corporate approach or the salesy, “But wait! There’s more tactics,” I helped them see where their natural abilities lie. I helped them find the language that shifts them from awkward to expert in their conversations. I helped them uncover the true value of their work then communicate it.

Their closing rates grew. Their fees increased. Their confidence rose. Their impact to do good work spread.

Which is what the win is for me. No offense to men, I love the guys, but a women who can live in her gift changes the world. My mission is to allow her to do just that.

It’s why I created the Frictionless Yes Method. It’s my proprietary approach to selling in a confident and authentic. More yes without stress. :)

For women to hear more yeses to their offers so they can be fairly and justly compensated for their talent, time, and expertise.

For women to thrive in their finances so they can be free to enjoy the fruits of the labor as they see fit.

For women to thrive period.

We can’t let minor gaps in your sales process get in the way of you doing your best work, now can we? 😉

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I took a 15-month sabbatical from my business, which is a fancy way of saying I went back to work.

Although I wasn’t looking for a job the opportunity was presented to me at a time that I was very grateful for it. I was juggling my mother’s poor health, my teenage daughter going through the challenges of being a teenager, lingering trauma from experiencing a pandemic, which came fresh on the heels of the year before when we lost 7 family members in 7 months.

I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Given the position was a coaching position I thought it would be a seamless transition. The idea of focusing only on coaching instead of coaching and all of the other functions required for running a business seemed like a perfect fit for my tired brain.

Until it wasn’t.

It didn’t take long to realize a couple of things: 1) Coaching clients that aren’t your chosen clients isn’t the same as coaching clients and 2) Not everyone’s idea of coaching matches mine. My heartfelt approach didn’t always match the audience.

Thinking the environment was to blame for my dissatisfaction, I went to another company that seemed better aligned with my approach. Within 90 days submitted my resignation coming to the conclusion that it wasn’t the jobs, it was me. Too many years of autonomy and making my own rules made returning to employment unbearable.

Within two weeks I had a new client and never looked back.

The moral of the story is, employment gave me the gift of time to heal, but it was never a place for me to stay because my soul requires freedom.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I was a Facebook early adopter. At the time Facebook was released, my oldest daughter was in college. I remember standing over her shoulder as she scrolled, posted and commented along with other college students wanting to do the same with my friends. However, Facebook was just for students.

When the day came that all adults had access, I was all over it connecting with all of the people I knew then connecting with some of their people.

I loved it. Having the tendency to believe I am outrageously funny in my head; I took to commenting and posting like a duck to water. Being on Facebook became a very big part of staying connected and staying social.

At first it was just for the fun of things. Since posting random thoughts was the thing to do, I excelled at it. Whatever came to mind that I thought was amusing to share, I shared.

Over time I began to be more intentional about posting about the work I do in helping solopreneurs and microenterprise business owners sell their services and close money leaks to increase their revenue. My page was very much a reflection of my personality and what I valued most. There were plenty of pictures of my family, my interests, and my passions for entrepreneurship.

Although I had a presence on most of the social media platforms, Facebook has always been my preference. My favorite clients I have never met in person, only virtually, thanks to the ability to deepen relationships with this particular platform.

A few years back, I got locked out of my account forcing me to lose my 5000 Facebook connections and loads of videos and pictures. Initially I was devastated. Rebuilding what I had created in size and engagement seemed impossible.

I decided to start anew connecting with people I know in real life and then connect with their friends and colleagues, just as I had done before. The difference being increasing the intentionality given vulnerability to cyberattacks had grown considerably. Instead of friending for numbers, I was friending for true connections,

As a result, I have about a third of the number of connections, but the quality and depth of the connections and conversations is way better than what I used to have.

For anyone just starting out who plans to use social media to grow your business, beyond being yourself, the you that you are offline matching the you that you are online, be choosy with your connections. Look into each connection to determine why that person should be in your space. Be genuinely interested in who you make connections with. These could be your best clients and/or future best friends.

Also, be clear about that your stances are in regard to your business expertise then express them. Social media isn’t a place to be like everyone else. Express yourself fully and openly.

Lastly, understand who your audience is and what they need to hear from you in order to listen to you. If you are going to invite people to work with you, you have to know how to communicate in a way that makes complete sense to them. If you do not know how to do that, more posting will not help. More research is needed.

Bottom line, use social media like any opportunity to meet new people and make solid connections.

Contact Info:

• Website: karengravescoaching.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrskarengraves/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karene.graves.9/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/workwithkarengraves/

Image Credits
Photos by Paulina for beach photos