Are you tired of trying to make sales on social media and feeling like you’re just shouting into the void? Today I’m sharing something really amazing – my new favorite way of making sales on social media. I’ve never shared this exact process before, but it’s been incredibly effective for me, and I believe if you follow these steps, you too can make sales this week.

Step #1: Create a Valuable Free Resource

Step one is simple: create or have a resource – any resource. This could be a meal plan, daily routine, exercise routine, informative video, PDF, article, or something you found (it doesn’t even have to be your own creation). The key is that it should be good quality and free.

I’ve been creating content for 15 years now, so I have resources for just about any problem you might have – whether it’s self-sabotage, making money, balancing finances, hiring, blogging, podcasting, or anything else.

Step #2: Use Stories for Your Call-to-Action

Step two involves using this resource as a call-to-action. While you can use it in your lives or videos, my favorite approach is through Instagram or Facebook Stories in a very specific way.

Go into your stories and create a video saying something like: “Hey there, if you struggle with [specific problem], I have a resource that’ll help you. If you’d like to get that resource, drop [specific word or phrase].”

For example, during our recent Cyber Monday deals, I went into my stories and said, “Hey guys, if you struggle with building a team, or if you struggle with fear, or you struggle on social media, we have courses for only $7. If you want to grab them, drop the word ‘cyber’ and I’ll send you the link.”

Pro tip: When creating stories where you’re speaking, always use the captions feature. It’s free, easy, and takes seconds to enable. You’ll miss 50% of potential responses if you don’t use captions!

Step #3: Implement the CTA Delay

Step three is what I call the “CTA Delay” (Call-to-Action Delay). When someone responds to your story, instead of immediately sending them the link or resource, respond with something like:

“I’m happy to send that to you when I get a chance. In the meantime, could you share with me what your journey around this looks like? Where do you feel you struggle the most?”

Most marketers are too lazy to do this. They’ll put in the effort to create the resource and promote it, but they’ll just send the link without trying to build a relationship. That’s the easy route – it’s automated, systematic, and doesn’t require emotional investment. But it’s also less effective.

Step #4: Actually Listen to Their Response

Step four is the most critical: actually read or listen to their response and see if you can help them. This sounds obvious, but you’d be shocked how many people skip this step.

I’ve taught this process to people who later complained it wasn’t working. When I checked their messages, I saw disasters like someone responding to a “what are you struggling with?” question with “my mom died Friday, I’m just trying to get over that grief, but I could use help in my business” – and the marketer replied with “here’s the link.”

Seriously? These are human beings on the other end, not AI bots. You’re not trying to automate everything in your life, including relationships. If you connect with people and show you care about them, you have a much better chance of them wanting to work with you and buy from you.

Step #5: Provide Personalized Help

Finally, based on their response, you may send the requested resource, suggest a better resource, or offer another solution that fits their specific situation. Because you’ve listened to them, there’s a much higher chance they’ll listen to you and potentially buy from you.

Remember – the most critical step is listening. Take the time to connect and listen, which most people don’t do in our AI-obsessed world. When you make this human connection, people are much more likely to buy from you and want to work with you.

Bonus Tip: YouTube Hack for Content Creators

If the resource you’re sharing is a YouTube video from your own channel, here’s a little hack my friend Evan Carmichael taught me. Add this to the end of your YouTube link:

&list=UU[your channel ID]

This will continue playing videos from your channel after they watch the first one, which increases your views and likely subscriptions. Some people might watch one video and then leave their computer, resulting in your videos playing for hours, which makes YouTube think you’re a superstar!