54. Selling in the DMs – How to Start, Automate & Convert Conversations into Clients

Welcome to part three of our four-part series on making more money with Instagram! Last week, we covered the five types of content that attract your dream clients and get them talking. And today? We’re diving into the most powerful sales tool on Instagram - your DMs.

If you’re not actively having conversations in your inbox, you’re leaving money on the table. When done right, it’s about creating real connections, serving your audience, and making it easy for the right people to say YES.

I’m sharing my exact DM automation strategy, how I guide casual convos into confident sales, and a game-changing Instagram hack that will boost your visibility overnight. Ready to turn your DMs into a 24/7 lead generator? Tune in!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

[00:00] The secret to using Instagram DMs as a powerful sales tool

[03:53] Engagement vs. sales—why conversations drive conversions

[04:49] A hidden Instagram algorithm hack that boosts your visibility

[05:43] How I use DM automation to streamline leads & sales

[06:39] Why "Click the Link in Bio" no longer works (and what to do instead)

[09:26] DM automation in action—examples for different business types

[12:12] Using DMs to build your email list and nurture future buyers

[14:03] Selling in the DMs without being salesy—my simple 4-step process

[20:16] The #1 mistake people make in DM sales (and how to avoid it)

[21:43] How Hot Reels helps you create content that attracts & converts

[23:30] Want high-ticket sales from Instagram? Private coaching details

Key Takeaways

1. Conversations = Conversions: Engagement alone won’t grow your business. You need real conversations happening in your inbox.

2. DM Automation Saves Time: Set up keyword-based auto-replies to instantly share links, freebies, and applications.

3. Make It Easy for Buyers: Stop sending people to your link in bio! Instead, guide them into your DMs for a seamless next step.

4. Selling = Service: When done right, selling in the DMs feels natural, not pushy. Lead with connection, clarity, and confidence.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

If you’re ready to turn your Instagram into a lead-generating machine, I’d love to support you:

💡Grab my FREE DM Automation Guide

💡 Hot Reels: My 12-month Instagram content lab to help you master content creation and show up consistently without the stress. DM me “HOT” on Instagram to get on the waitlist or visit elizabethmarberry.com/hot

💡 Private Coaching: Need a deeper, customized strategy? Apply for a complimentary Instagram Breakthrough Call at elizabethmarberry.com/application

☕ Check Out Duality Coffee (Fresh-roasted, premium coffee delivered to your door!)

A Truth You Need to Hear:

"Engagement doesn’t equal sales. Conversations do. The more meaningful chats you have in your DMs, the more clients and customers you’ll attract."

S3 Ep54 Transcript: Selling in the DMs – How to Start, Automate & Convert Conversations into Clients

00:00

Today we're talking about how to turn your Instagram DMs or direct messages into a powerful sales tool without feeling salesy or sleazy. You'll learn how to start conversations with hot prospects, use DM automation to drive leads and sales while you sleep, and confidently move from a casual chat in the DMs to a closed sale. Are you ready? Let's do it.

00:28

Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole led work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place.

00:57

Let's dive in.

01:07

Welcome back to the show. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host, and this week is part three in our four part series about how to use Instagram to make more money. Last week we talked about the five types of content that attract your perfect people and invite them into conversation with you because let's be real, customers come from conversations. And this week it leads perfectly into this topic of DMs.

01:37

Because where do the best, most organic, least pushy sales conversations happen on Instagram? It's in the direct messages. So today I'm gonna teach you how I use DM automation to share all the important links my audience is looking for without having to spend hours manually responding to messages. And of course, we're gonna dive in to actually move a DM combo from a casual chit chat to a confident and easy sale.

02:06

without feeling weird or salesy. Before we get into it, I wanna celebrate that one of you left me a five-star review on Apple Podcast. The handle is Mickey Koi, M-I-C-K-E-Y-C-O-Y. And this review just absolutely made my day. Five stars, a must-listen for Instagram marketing. Elizabeth is amazingly captivating. This podcast is a goldmine for anyone looking to build their visibility on Instagram. Every episode is packed with

02:35

actionable tips and strategies that are easy to implement, no matter where you are in your journey. I've learned so much about growing my following, creating engaging content and standing out in my niche. The advice is practical, the insights are fresh, and the energy is so motivating. If you're serious about growing your Instagram presence, this podcast needs to be in your regular rotation. Highly recommend and love Elizabeth's energy.

03:04

Thank you so much, beloved listener, for this review. I cannot tell you all how much it means to me because I pour so much of my heart, soul, time, energy into this podcast to really serve you. So when you take a moment out of your day to stop what you're doing and figure out how to go rate and leave a review, it truly impacts me. So I just wanna say thank you.

03:29

If you've been binging my podcast, if you love the podcast, if this has helped you in any way in your business or life, I would be so grateful if you took the time to rate and review the show. That really helps us with the podcast algorithm that helps us to continue to grow the show so I can keep showing up for you every single week, helping you to grow your business on Instagram.

03:53

So let's get into why the DMs or direct messages are the most powerful sales tool on Instagram. So here's the deal, engagement does not equal sales. Conversations equals sales. So you can have all the likes, the shares, the follows, but if those interactions don't lead to an actual conversation, they're not moving the needle in your business.

04:21

Most people don't see a post and immediately just hit buy. They have questions, they wanna connect with you, they need reassurance, they wanna feel like you are the right person for them or your brick and mortar store has what they're looking for. So where does that happen? It happens in the DMs. So if you're not actively having conversations in your inbox, you're missing out on major opportunities to nurture your audience.

04:49

and turn them into paying clients. And here's an Instagram visibility hack that not many people talk about. And this will blow your mind. Instagram prioritizes showing your content to people you've recently DM'd. So that means that the more DM conversations you have, the more Instagram pushes your posts to those people in their feed. It's like a built-in boost for your content,

05:19

ads required. I absolutely love how this works. Once you understand how the algorithm is set up, you can really use it to work for your business, driving leads and sales 24 seven. Now let's get into how I use DM automation to stay in conversation and drive those leads for my business. Now,

05:43

One of the biggest mistakes that I see business owners make is they're using that outdated strategy from 2021 of they have this really awesome posts, they have a really valuable caption, and then their call to action is, click the link in our bio or visit our website. Unfortunately, that is not going to drive conversions on Instagram. Sure, you might get a few.

06:10

But if you're really wanting to make an impact with your content, I don't recommend that strategy. It did work in 2021. I remember when I was growing my dance studio business in 2021 on Instagram, I always told people, click the link in your bio. And that really worked. Like people would do that. User behavior has changed. And so it's really important that you understand how people consume the app. So that way you can play the game right. And...

06:39

use your organic content to drive leads and sales. So instead of sending people to a link in your bio, which let's first of all talk about why that doesn't work in terms of user behavior. When I'm scrolling on Instagram, let's say I come across your reel, you have an awesome hook, I stop scrolling, I look at it, I look at your caption, I'm like, ooh, who is this girl? I like her. I click on your profile, I head on over to your profile.

07:07

Now this is where it's imperative that your profile is optimized strategically to work like a magnet to attract your ideal client or customer. Assuming all of that is working, then I would have to go to the link in your bio, I click on that. So now I've already had to stop scrolling, I've had to go over to your bio, then I have to find the link in your bio, click on that, and then I have to find the link I was looking for. So there's like four or five steps.

07:36

When it comes to sales, you want to reduce friction. You wanna make it as simple as possible for people to get whatever they want from you right when they want it. And so this is why I love DM automation is you no longer have to manually respond to every single comment or DM that's asking for your podcast link or the link to your application or the link to your store.

08:04

or the link to your freebie that you're promoting on Instagram to build your email list. Essentially any link, even if it's a website link or a contact us form or a sales consult link, any link that you're constantly having to send to people that is part of your customer journey, you can put into DM automation and it's very simple to set up.

08:29

And what I love about DM automation is it can be exhausting and time consuming and totally unnecessary to have to manually send links individually. And that's just not really scalable, right? So that's why I set up DM automation. So my audience gets the links they need instantly. And I can spend my energy on actual conversations, deepening those conversations. And I can tell you about how I do that a little later in this episode.

08:56

but I'm not spending time copying and pasting URLs and things like that. Let's get into how DM automation works. So you set up a keyword automation. So when someone comments on your reel, for example, it triggers your DM automation. It will DM that person that link. So for example, with this podcast, let's say I create a reel that's kind of teasing this podcast and I say comment podcast.

09:26

and I'll send you the link to listen to the episode. That's an example of how you can use a keyword to drive someone to take that next step with your business. So I use DM automation in several different ways. One, yes, I share my podcast link. Two, I use DM automation to share my freebies. So if you have any kind of freebie or lead magnet that you're using to build an email list,

09:53

You can include that URL, that landing page. Let's say you are a healer and you help people heal from chronic pain in their neck. And you have a freebie, which is a video where you walk people through a healing exercise to help release their neck tension in under five minutes. You can create a piece of content around that, addressing that pain point, addressing how you would solve that in your content, and then you would

10:22

invite them into that next step and say, comment relief and I will send you the link to this free training I did where I'll walk you through a deeper exercise on how to get neck pain relief. So that's an example of driving people to your freebie. When you're using a freebie, you're using that to build an email list. So in exchange for their name and their email.

10:49

they get a freebie, so you're helping them with that free resource, and then in return, you're getting their information, so you can then continue to nurture them through your emails and of course, invite them into your paid offers. I use DM automation when I'm building a wait list. So right now, for example, I'm building a wait list for Hot Reels, which is my 12-month Instagram content lab. This is a 12-month.

11:15

high touch group marketing mentorship. It's live, it's not like a course that you just watch and do it on your own. I'm there with you as you're creating content for your business for an entire year and I'm building the wait list. So we can actually test this out right now. You could DM me the word hot, H-O-T on Instagram and that will trigger my DM automation and it will send you a link to join my wait list. So if you have a book launch coming up,

11:44

or anything that the doors aren't open yet, but you're really wanting to build hype. You can use DM automation to build your wait list. And you just want to think about your customer journeys. In my coaching business, if you want to work with me privately, you have to apply for a free call with me. So I can really make sure that I'm the right person to support you and I don't waste my time or your time. So you can DM me the word apply, apply on Instagram and you'll get my application.

12:12

So that's my customer journey. For you, maybe you do the contact us form on your website or a sales call, or maybe your call to action is just a direct link to your store if you sell products. Maybe you're just sending people straight to your shop. Now, one thing I will say is an ideal world is when you're sending people links, there's some sort of a landing page first to get their name and email.

12:40

Now that is like best case scenario. I will tell you half the links I send don't even have that. It's just like here's the podcast episode, here's this. So don't stress too much about that, but that's something to kind of think about for the future. If you want to start using DM automation and just learn more about it and even try it out for free, I have a free guide I put together for you. So you can DM me the word leads, L E A D S on Instagram.

13:08

And I have just this one pager where I walk you through the six steps that you need to do to set this up. I use ManyChat, M-A-N-Y-C-H-A-T for DM automation. It is a meta business partner. It's very simple and intuitive to use. They just keep working on it so it's easier and easier from a user standpoint. And with my freebie, with that guide I put together for you.

13:35

you can try it out for a whole month for free, the pro version. And by the way, the pro version starts at like $15 a month. It's very affordable. To me, it's a no-brainer investment in your business, but with my link, you can try it totally for free. So DM me the word leads, and you can test it out for yourself. All right, now let's transition to how do you have a simple no pressure DM sales strategy?

14:03

So selling in the DMs should feel like a conversation, not a cold pitch. There is nothing worse than someone just like cold pitching you, I hate that. That happens to me all the time. I get pitched every day, pretty much constantly in my DMs. Thank God, most of them go into spam, but nobody wants to be pitched to, okay? So, and I know a lot of us feel weird about selling in the DMs, but let me be real with you.

14:29

If you're providing real value and guiding the conversation and helping your potential client or customer find the best solution for them, you're not being salesy. You're being a service-based, customer-first business owner. Okay, so I always think of sales are of service. Write that down. Sales are being of service to the person who is looking for what you have.

14:57

Here's a broad outline of how I structure my DM conversations so they feel natural and not forced. Take what resonates for you in your business and leave behind what doesn't. I'm at a place in my organic content funnel where people are DMing me first. So I don't do any kind of like cold DMing people. I'm not like scouting out people or anything like that.

15:21

my content works so well to drive people into my DM. So if you're struggling with that, definitely let's apply for a complimentary call with me. I can help you if that's not happening for you. But people will reach out to me directly with that first DM. And usually it's like, hey Elizabeth, I've been binging on your podcast. I absolutely love what you have, what you're offering. And sometimes that's it. They might just give me feedback.

15:51

or they might even just respond to one of my posts I did or a story I did or something like that. But they're kind of initiating the conversation. The only exception to that is sometimes when I see that I'll get a new follower that is totally a Dreamboat client, like I go and kind of stock their feed and I can see they're a business owner. I can see that I could totally help them scale on Instagram. Sometimes I will DM them and say like, hey, I'm so happy you're here, like great to connect with you.

16:17

And that's it, like I'm just trying to kind of get into conversation with them. So step one is engage, whether they're engaging with you or you're engaging with them.

16:28

The second thing I suggest you do is just ask questions. So obviously I don't know you, I don't know your product or service as you're listening to this, but you need to think about what kinds of questions you're gonna ask your prospect. So my husband actually just launched a coffee company and one question he might ask is, what type of coffee do you like to drink? Do you like dark, rose, medium, light?

16:54

How do you make your coffee? What kind of machinery do you use to brew your coffee, right? These are all questions he could ask a prospect, so that way he can make an informed recommendation for them. But the key is to ask questions, keep the conversation personal, and it helps you to understand what they actually need before you pitch them on your product or service, because you can't tell them what they need until you really understand what...

17:22

they're seeking, right? What do they desire? What do they want? And depending on your business model, what are they struggling with, right? Like in the coffee company example, my husband is solving a really great pain point with his company, which is for people who love coffee and you go to Whole Foods and you purchase your coffee, it's really important you check the roast date on your coffee because if it's just been sitting there for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks, it's not going to be the freshest coffee. It's not going to taste great.

17:52

So his company is Fresh Roast to Order Coffee. And his whole thing is, so you never have to like check the roast date again. Like you know that when you order it, it's roasted to order, it's whole bean coffee shipped right to your door. It's for those people who are like, oh my gosh, I wanna have like the absolute best, freshest coffee and not spend my time like looking through bags on the shelf and driving to the grocery store and then kind of being like, eh, I don't even like this, right?

18:20

So that is a pain point of his ideal client. And by the way, P.S., shameless plug, if you're listening to this and you're like, wait, what coffee company is this? It's very new, but I want you to go check it out. It's called Duality Coffee. And we just launched it. I'm super excited for him. We haven't even started putting Instagram content up yet as I'm recording this, but that will be dropping soon. So that'll be fun. I'll get to help him grow an account from scratch.

18:49

But yeah, if you're a coffee nerd, if you love coffee, go check out dualitycoffee.com. But that's a great example of you're asking questions of your prospect and then you're gonna provide them a recommendation based on the questions that you're asking them. Next, you're gonna ask, you know, what is your biggest struggle with this, right? So you're kind of getting into the why behind why they want your product or service. And then the third step is to position

19:19

product or service as the solution, right? But only if it's the solution. This is why it's not salesy or sleazy. It's like, there's been people who've reached out to me on Instagram who want my help, and I'm so happy you reached out to me. I'm not the right person to help you. I can only help you if you already have a product or service that you're already selling and you're really confident behind your offer, right? And who you wanna call in, or if you're at the beginning stages, but you've already done a lot of that work.

19:47

If you've never had your own business before, you're looking for someone to help you start a business from scratch, that's not what I do. If I can't help you, then I do try to connect people with the right person. But I want you to think about how you can do this. Step one, you're engaging. Step two, you're asking clarifying questions. Step three, you're positioning your offer, your product or service as the solution.

20:16

Step four is the most important, and that's what we all tend to forget, is you don't wanna leave it open-ended. So it's great to ask a yes or no question. So instead of leaving the conversation open-ended with, you know, let me know if you have any questions, that's very open-ended, right? You want to ask a yes or no question. So for me, I could say something like, I'd love to chat more to see if this is the right fit for you. Want to hop on a quick call.

20:46

That's a yes or no question. You either wanna hop on a call or you don't, and it's fine either way, right? But you want to ask a really direct question so people need to respond yes or no to you. And it's honestly kind. I always say communication is kind. The key is just make it easy for them. Make it easy for them to take action. You don't wanna waste their time or your time so you can just confidently move through this conversation. I hope that crash course on selling in the DMs was helpful.

21:15

If you are kind of in this moment of, okay, this all makes sense, but my content is not getting comments, my stories are getting no engagement, like no one's even getting in a conversation with me, Elizabeth, so I don't even know how this would even work, then I want you to get on the Hot Reels wait list. If you know that your biggest problem is content and you're feeling lost, behind on the trends, overthinking it, or just not posting as much as you want,

21:43

then you definitely need to be inside Hot Reels when the doors open. Hot Reels will help you to create content that attracts, nurtures, and converts. It will help you to finally feel confident and really be consistent with your posting strategy because you're in there with a group of other business owners who are committed to showing up on Instagram. That is such a game changer in terms of accountability.

22:09

and finally understand what's working on Instagram and why it works so you can reverse engineer it for your brand. If you wanna join the wait list, DM me the word hot, H-O-T on Instagram, or go to elizabethmarberry.com slash hot to get exclusive early access and bonuses by joining the wait list. If you need sales and conversion help, like you're already posting reels consistently on Instagram every single week,

22:38

but you're just not getting those conversions, private mentorship is for you. What we focus on in my private mentorship containers is really turning that content into actual revenue. So getting those hot leads and high value followers off of Instagram and into a sphere that you own, because we don't own social media, right? This could go down tomorrow. So you need to be really strategic about.

23:05

We also focus on DM sales strategy, and we go way deeper into everything I talked about today. I've helped my private clients get set up with DM automation, and not only that, but just understand how they can use it in their business. And part of that work we do is customer journey refinement. It's really fun, both these programs are incredible. If you're interested in private coaching with me,

23:30

then I want you to DM me the word apply, A-P-P-L-Y, and I'll send you the link to fill out an application and then I'll invite you into a complimentary Instagram breakthrough session with me where we will chat. So either check out Hot Reels or private coaching. And I hope that today was really helpful for you. Selling in the DMs does not have to feel gross when you lead with connection and clarity and confidence.

24:00

The right people will naturally say yes to you, I promise. So just pick one action step from today. You're gonna DM me the word leads and you're gonna get DM automation set up. Maybe you're gonna refine your DM sales strategy and conversation. Maybe your one action from today is you're gonna join the wait list for Hot Reels. Whatever it is, do it and then DM me and tell me what you did. I love when I hear from you. Truly, it makes my day and...

24:28

I love building this community with you. Next week, we're wrapping up this series with how to create a rinse and repeat content system to grow on Instagram. So I'm gonna be talking about how I have time to create content while also being a mother of two kids and running two businesses. So you can really create a rinse and repeat system for yourself so you can be consistent and successful on Instagram in 2025.

24:57

Thank you so much for being here with me and I cannot wait to strut it with you next week. Thank you for listening to strut it. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free monetize your IG guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram. You can grab your guide at elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies to get my monetize your IG guide. If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.