This episode is part of the Smart Mindsets & Habits series. I hope it inspires you to make a shift in the way you're thinking about coaching that will help you attract more clients. The kind of clients who will invest more to work with you.
I'm all for less selling and more connecting authentically to attract clients.
Let me ask you this ...
· Have you ever felt weird trying to convince someone about the value of coaching?
· Have you ever told someone about your coaching business and you can see their eyes glaze over?
· Have you ever had an incredible sample coaching session with a prospect and they loved it but they didn't enroll in your ongoing coaching program?
· And what about this ... have you ever gotten a single client from your coaching website?
Well, that was me for the first 3 years of my coaching business. I know, that's crazy, right?
When I came out of coach training school I was what I call a Pure Coach. Episode #12 is called What Coach Archetype Fits You? and it has a description of the Pure Coach archetype. You can find that at prosperouscoach.com/12.
I thought that coaching was amazing and that everyone else would think so too.
After struggling for too long to earn enough as a coach I began to realize something kind of shocking ... most people don't readily buy coaching. They don't know what it is. They mistake it for therapy. They assume they can't afford it.
For me, it was a sort of loss of innocence about coaching. I just couldn't understand how something I loved so much could be the topic of such indifference to other people.
It felt like my friends and family and potential clients were humoring me whenever I would talk about it. They didn't really GET the value of coaching.
But then I realized that what's really going on is they haven't connected the dots between coaching and something they want or a problem they want to overcome.
I had not connected the dots for them.
And I see the same on most coaching websites, that they are brochures about coaching.
I think we, as coaches, are unwittingly confusing people that we'd like to enroll as clients.
If you haven't heard my episode called Why is Coaching a Hard Sell? I highly recommend it.
It's an eye-opener. And if you can make the mindset shift I believe it will dramatically change your results -- how many clients hire you and at higher prices. They stay longer and refer more people to you.
And it all comes down to one paradoxical thing.
Do Coaching But Don't Sell It
Here's what happens when you stop selling coaching and start offering a program that helps a unique target audience reach a specific outcome that audience truly wants:
· You become crystal clear about the value of your services.
· That means you can easily articulate what you offer in a far more compelling and non-salesy way.
· So it's far easier to enroll clients into longer programs at higher prices.
It's really true. Shifting your mindset and actions away from selling coaching will boost your co