The honest reality is – MOST coaches are horrendous at SA-LES!
But it’s NOT their fault – Here’s some actionable tips on how to SHIFT that.
If you’re reading this right now, I can almost sense some of you agreeing with me because maybe this was YOU, when first starting out on your coaching journey, right?
Before I share my TOP 3 actionable tips for all my fellow coa-ches out there, I’d just like to clarify something first.
“SALES” is just a skill that anyone can learn. It’s not somet-hing we are born with. It’s not something that people magically just know how to do. It’s not even something we have to over-complicate because the truth is, we SELL without even knowing that we are SELLING every single day. Hear me out and please stay present with me for the next few minutes.
Do you remember when you were a child and there was a time when you really, really wanted something so bad?
You were yelling, crying and somehow managed to convince your parents, so they gave in.
In that very moment, what did you do? You SOLD your very first SALE to your parents who agreed to buy you that trendy toy or your favourite chocolate bar which you so desperately wanted, all because of your consistent efforts (and nagging) towards how you made them FEEL (i.e embarrassed or guilty in this case), whi-ch made them purchase it for you, just so you can be happy and of course, stay quiet too! The key word here being “FEEL” which is exactly what sales is all about.
I’m not saying that this is the correct “sales approach” in the real world at all, not even close, but I just want you to understand that you’ve been naturally SELLING from a young age without even knowing that you were great at it 🙂
Then, how many more times throughout your life have you done something very similar?
When you wanted to get into that college or university, what did you do?
That’s right, you SOLD yourself and your talents again. How about those jobs you applied for – maybe you got reje-
cted a few times before finally landing that first role after SEL-LING your ideas and thoughts, from the convincing language you used and the confidence you showed up with during those moments.
That’s what you call SALES! Fairly simple, isn’t it?
In a nutshell, selling is simply getting someone else to KNOW, LIKE & TRUST you enough to build a meaningful rela-tionship with, to provide something of value or potentially even do business with because what you offer solves a problem they have. Are you with me so far?
So how does a coach keep this concept simple and applicable to the value they provide to their prospects & clients in our new hybrid world?
Here’s my TOP 3 sales lessons and actionable tips for you:
- Focus on building meaningful relationships by LISTENING more first, then powerfully SERVING – as a coach, our role isn’t to convince, force or “make” our prospects act towards their cur-rent challenges. It’s simply to listen, provide a safe space, hold them accountable & support them to find the courage, bravery, and belief within themselves, which will empower them to take the action steps towards the goals they themselves, set out to ac-complish. If they can feel “good vibes” from your initial commu-nication with them, naturally they’ll want YOU to coach them in order to reach their goals without you needing to be “salesy” or come across as “pushy” & “desperate”. Practice giving your pros-pects enough eye contact, deep empathy and real compassion so they feel heard, cared for and supported – Oh, and ALWAYS go the extra mile!
- Learn to become PASSIONATE and CONFIDENT in the value you have to offer – this is where we as coaches need to be investing and working on ourselves daily through self-improve-ment/business books, learning more about psychology & human behaviour, investing in mentors & maybe even hiring our own coach to continually help enhance our personal skill sets such as creating a powerful personal brand, doing more public speaking or simply overcoming our own limiting beliefs for example, so we too, can stay on top of our A-Game and genuinely be of ser-vice to support our clients but also provide more insights for our prospects to see the value in the work we do.
- Don’t “SELL” but “SERVE” – instead of feeling like you need to “SELL” your coaching services, shift your perspective to “SER-VING” and “GIVING”. There’s a unique positive vibration around helping people and being your authentic self, wanting to create long lasting impact in people’s lives & businesses. If you simply focus on “CREATING CLIENTS” instead of “GETTING CLIENTS” then I can promise you, things will shift towards a more posi-tive direction. You don’t need everyone to be your client. Focus on creating a few high value clients, then charge them according to the VALUE you’ll provide and the TIME you believe you are worth. People who feel like they KNOW, LIKE & TRUST you will happily pay you for your VALUE and EXPERIENCE, not just for your credibility/status quo – this is because they are serious about changing their lives.
Here’s what NOT to do in SALES:
- Don’t “SELL” but “SERVE” – instead of feeling like you need to “SELL” your coaching services, shift your perspective to “SER-VING” and “GIVING”. There’s a unique positive vibration around helping people and being your authentic self, wanting to create long lasting impact in people’s lives & businesses. If you simply focus on “CREATING CLIENTS” instead of “GETTING CLIENTS” then I can promise you, things will shift towards a more posi-tive direction. You don’t need everyone to be your client. Focus on creating a few high value clients, then charge them according to the VALUE you’ll provide and the TIME you believe you are worth. People who feel like they KNOW, LIKE & TRUST you will happily pay you for your VALUE and EXPERIENCE, not just for your credibility/status quo – this is because they are serious about changing their lives.
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- Please STOP copy/paste spam messaging on social media
- Please STOP sending unsolicited links (if someone hasn’t given you consent, do NOT send any links!)
- Please STOP charging clients per/hour and create pac-kage offers instead (3 months/6 months/12 months etc.)
- Please STOP worrying about rejections and embrace them because it’s just part of the process (learn to LOVE rejecti-ons)
- Please STOP trying to “figure it all out” and START ta-king small action steps consistently every day (some patience is crucial)
As coaches, we are not “perfect”, we don’t have all the answers and we cannot always get everything right because remember, we’re just human and we’re also on this journey together with everyone else too. So, never feel superior or “better” than any of the prospects or clients you SERVE. Simply be yourself, stay aut-hentic and respectful, then make sure to leave a lasting impressi-on from each conversation you have. I hope these 3 tips really add value to your coaching journey and help you evolve your SALES mindset for you to go power-fully SERVE those who seek your guidance and support because I want YOU to absolutely crush it out there and make yourself proud!
