“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts.
It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”
Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO of Amazon
“Put your hand up if you don’t like selling.” When I’m speaking to a group of coaches, trainers and other heart-centred workers, the majority of the audience puts up their hands. When I investigate, I discover that their experience of selling (or being sold to) involves creepiness, manipulation and pressure. In a nutshell, they feel bad about it, and I used to feel exactly the same way. And yet the process of selling (or “enrolment”, the euphemism that’s often used for selling in the coaching community) is not only essential to building a successful practice; it’s also one of the most powerful ways that you can serve your client. In this article, I’m going to reveal the key to zero-pressure enrolment (or “selling”, as I like to call it).
First, I’m going to start by telling you a story about a coach named Pete Bryceland. Pete and I were speaking because he was struggling to make the kind of living he aspired to (95% of coaches earn less than £20,000 per year from their coaching), and he joined the beta-test case-study group for “Project Glasswing” at the beginning of the year. Pete volunteered to be a demo subject at a live event I did in February, and we talked about his experience of selling. He explained that, when he was having a conversation with a potential client, everything went beautifully. He’d listen deeply to the person, and would feel really connected with them. He’d pick up on where their sticking points were, and help expand their perspectives so they could see new possibilities. Pete would often identify something that he felt pretty sure the client would value highly enough to invest in coaching with him. It would all be going beautifully. Then, when it came time to talk about money, and about the person becoming a client, it would all go horribly wrong. Pete started feeling uncomfortable and uneasy. Then the client started feeling uncomfortable and uneasy. They’d leave the conversation saying they’d think about it, that they’d get back to him. And then they wouldn’t.
Pete was frustrated. He was actually doing most of it beautifully, but he was getting hung up on one of the key elements. Here are the essentials of successful selling:
– Listen to your client to get connected, get their world and find their “hook”
– Create a great client-experience by having a great experience yourself
– Ensure that you can deliver a world-class experience
– Make your proposal
Let’s look at these in more detail…
1) Listen to your client to get connected, get their world and find their “hook”
We’ve all been told that we’ve got two ears and one mouth, and to use them in that proportion. But the fact is that most people aren’t listening; they’re waiting for their turn to speak. One of the things I’ve found with a lot of coaches is that when they’re having an “initial consultation” (another euphemism for selling), they’re up in their head worrying about how much to charge, whether the person can afford it, what to offer, whether they’re going to be rejected etc etc. This kills connection. You need to put your attention on your client; listen to them. When you truly listen to another person, you fall out of your insecure, self-centred thinking and into the feeling of connection with your client. As the feeling of connection emerges, your client’s trust in you deepens, and they’ll tell you more about what really matters to them. Listening and connection are the key to “getting your client’s world”, and to finding out what their “hook” is; the thing that is so valuable and important to them that it can justify them hiring you.
2) Create a great client-experience by having a great experience yourself
The number one thing that determines whether or not someone will buy from you is the experience they have with you. If they have a great experience of you “enrolling” them, they’re much more likely to sign up with you. And guess what the number one thing that influences whether or not they’ll have a great experience of you enrolling them? The experience you’re having of enrolling them. If you’re feeling creepy, uncomfortable and manipulative, they’ll feel creeped out, uncomfortable and manipulated. If you’re feeling peaceful, connected and inspired, they’ll feel peaceful, connected and inspired. This last bit is where Pete was getting stuck.
3) Ensure that you can deliver the goods
Coaches often ask me, “What does it take to sign people up to high-value coaching packages?” I tell them it’s very simple; that you just need to let your client know that you can deliver the goods. The coach will often say “I’m a really good coach. I can deliver the goods. How do I let my client know that?” I tell them that’s very simple too; once you know you can deliver the goods, your client will know you can deliver the goods. When someone hires you as a coach, they’re paying for the results they want to experience in their lives. If you want to sign people up for high-value packages, you need to have the inner certainty that you can either a) support them in creating what they want to create or b) support them in creating something that will eclipse what they wanted to create. This certainty is a function of your “grounding”; your embodied understanding of how life works. You may have developed it over time, with a wealth of experience behind you, or you may have developed it quickly, with relatively little experience. But either way, your clients will pick up on that certainty (or lack of it) and act accordingly when it comes to the enrolment process.
4) Make your proposal
You need to make your proposal. I recommend to coaches that they either make their proposal in person or via phone / skype but NOT via email. The decision to invest in coaching is (usually) quite an emotional experience. When you send an email, you don’t know what state the other person is in when they’re reading it. While it can feel more “comfortable” to email your proposal rather than going through it over the phone, it’s much more likely to be accepted if you give your client a personal experience of your proposal (it also gives you the opportunity to deal with questions and concerns real-time.
A key point: every aspect of what you do with your client is part of the client experience; your marketing, your sales process, your delivery, your referral process, your follow up, etc etc. All of it. The more pristine your client’s experience is when they’re with you, the more smoothly everything goes in your client relationships.
By the way, here’s what Pete posted the following on a Facebook group where people were asking about Project Glasswing.
“Just a quick but emphatic endorsement of this project. Jamie sent me an email asking if I wanted him to collaborate with me to build my coaching business. I said yes! After the first weekend intensive I signed clients surpassing my previous year's income in less than 1 month. Including 2 long term clients paying £10,000! Jamie Smart is a masterful trainer and possibly the most generous person in terms of giving value and service. If it's your aim to build a successful coaching business then this would be the single best investment you could make this year – fact!”
– Pete Bryceland, Coach
As you can imagine, I was delighted! If you’d like to read through the qualification criteria for the current intake of Glasswing, just read the PS below.
To your increasing clarity!
Big love
Jamie
p.s Following the incredible success of the beta-test, I’m looking for a small group of very specific people for my next 'Project Glasswing' programme that will be launching in the next few weeks. Here’s what I’m looking for:
– You are a coach, therapist or change-worker (Eg. Sports coach, psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, business coach, bodyworker etc)
– You have at least one year’s experience of working with clients (either paid, pro-bono or both)
– You probably charge by the hour, but want use a “coaching package” model to increase your income & make it more consistent
– You have space in your practice to work with at least one longer term contract client, starting in June
– You’re an enthusiastic, friendly people-person
– You have a coachable spirit, and are willing to step out of your comfort zone if necessary, and
– You can keep a secret
If that’s you, then just send an email to info@jamiesmart.com, and let me know where you’re located and a little about yourself (if you don’t know what to tell me about, look at the list above for inspiration). Make the subject line “Project Glasswing”. I’ll be choosing people in the next couple of weeks. Talk to you soon! J