The Dreaded Sales Call
"75% of B2B buyers will prefer sales experiences that prioritize human interaction."
The WEF Future of Jobs Report and McKinsey's independent research both point to the same macro trend.
The solopreneur market is growing fast, which means more competition for the same clients.
In a system where everyone is trying to optimize marketing and content, the highest-leverage intervention is actually the one nobody is working on — the conversation.
When supply of skilled independents increases, differentiation becomes critical, and the sales conversation is one of the last places where a solopreneur can differentiate in a way a portfolio or proposal simply cannot.
Gartner predicts that by 2030, 75% of B2B buyers will prefer sales experiences that prioritize human interaction over AI.
What’s curious is the direction of the trend — after several years of increasing interest in self-serve and AI-driven sales, we're now beginning to see a reversal, with more buyers expressing a desire for authentic human engagement.
I know what you’re tinking.
“How could people possibly want sales calls? Who likes to be sold to?”
But your potential clients aren’t avoiding calls. They’re avoiding a specific type of call they’ve been on before: the 45-minute discovery call that's really a monologue about services they didn't ask about. Or the "free consultation" that turns into a soft close.
They've learned, correctly, that most sales calls extract their time and attention and give back very little.
That’s why my belief is that the sales call as a persuasion event is largely dead for solopreneurs.
Yet, a sales call as a consultation (a real consultation) can be an insanely valuable experience on its own. It can be the best 45 minutes that have happened to your potential clients, even if they don’t buy. In fact, that should be the goal.
Because:
Even if they don’t buy, they’ll recommend you to someone who will.
If they do buy, they’ll be willing to pay a premium.
They’ll be far more invested in your work together.
They’ll leave great reviews and keep talking about you years later.
I was always better at sales than I was at marketing. I don’t have huge social media followings or fancy portfolios, but I close 80% of the calls I make. And I don’t do calls for less than $2000.
Want to know my secrets?
Most sales call advice you hear is wrong. Let’s start by eradicating ideas that don’t work for solopreneurs.