Dear Coach,

Here you are a passionate coach with a heart the size of a small country.  You want to make a difference in the lives of others, you want to be recognised for your skills, knowledge and expertise and you want to COACH!  Because that is what fulfils your soul…

And yet there’s this big hairy scary barrier called SELLING standing between you and your wishes fulfilled.

Selling feels sleazy and uncomfortable. You imagine rip-off merchants and people acting with zero integrity…and so it’s no wonder you hate the thought of having to sell your coaching.

Let me bust a few myths for you and help you shift some of this weight around sales that is causing you stress.

You’re not selling coaching.  Nobody is buying coaching – they never have and never will. You’re selling the outcome of coaching and people are buying solutions, benefits and pay-offs.  So rather than focus on trying to sell your coaching programmes, focus on the transformation that you’re facilitating in your client.

“Coaching is fluffy and therefore people don’t see the value” is something I hear a lot.  Personally I believe coaching is one of the most powerful, and empowering, interventions for facilitating lasting change and personal growth and if you’re a coach, so should you.  When YOU embrace the value of your service wholeheartedly, then others will too.

Sales and selling is about providing solutions to problems and fulfilling needs, irrespective of the product or service.  Think about this:  You have a conversation with someone today who is stuck and struggling in some way and you absolutely know that you can help them. You know your 90 day offering would be perfect for them BUT you stay silent…Then imagine bumping into them a year on and predictably things have gotten worse for them and they say to you “why didn’t you tell me a year ago that you could have helped me??” Ouch!

Shift your perspective on the discovery call. It’s not a sales call, it’s a discovery call.  You are asking questions that enable you to discover whether the prospect is a good fit for what you offer, like a GP diagnosing the problem and then prescribing a solution.  90% of the sale has happened before the prospect booked the call because they’ve been “following you” on social media.

The reason you might feel “out of integrity” offering your services, even on a discovery call, is because you’re stepping in with your offering too soon.  It’s annoying for the prospect as they feel like they haven’t really been heard AND they’ll feel like they’re being sold to!  Just like if you went to your doctor and said “I’ve got a rash” and the doctor immediately responds with “Ah! you need this cream” without asking any questions.  A discovery call is about asking deep dive questions that enable you to gain a complete 360 degree understanding of your prospects position.  When you have that view, then it would be out of integrity not to offer your solution if it’s a fit.

Don’t isolate sales and selling as a standalone activity.  Following on from point 4, your daily activities of sharing your mission and your message, inspiring with your value content and teaching tips is all part of the bigger picture.  You’re developing know, like and trust.  You’re building a following and attracting your ideal clients and people are ‘buying’ into you even before they reach out to start working with you.

Your prospects are principally concerned with their problems and whether you can help them or not.  Don’t waste time describing how awesome your coaching is or trying to sell them your process of how you get them from their A to their B.  Surprise and delight them with your processes once they have signed on the dotted line.  Until then talk in terms of the pay-offs of working with you.

And a final word:  Remember why you started this business in the first place.  Access that passionate and purposeful energy and show up consistently, operating from a place of authenticity.  Sales isn’t the blocker, only your mindset around it is holding you back.

Now get out there with pride and show up for those people who need you!

Love Sanae x