by Eric Dombach | Business Coach Training
Ever hear any of these objections to business coaching?
1. We get calls like this all the time.
2. Everything’s going just fine, thanks.
3. I’m too busy.
4. I’m not interested.
5. I worked with a consultant before who ______.
6. I’m too small.
7. How will you do that?
8. What can you possibly teach me about the ______ industry?
9. This all sounds great, but I have no money!
10. Send me some information.
Fortunately, I have a simple three-step process to help you diffuse the sales pressure and get back into a real conversation about how you can help.
3 Objection-Busting Steps
First, agree. This diffuses pressure and sets up a complementary, as opposed to confrontational, exchange. Let’s say your prospect tells you she’s “too tired” for business coaching. You might respond, “Wow, I can definitely understand that. I’m sure you are very tired, given everything you’ve just described in your business! It takes a lot of courage to keep going like you are each day. Well done!” NOTE: it’s critical that you mean this sincerely when you say it, otherwise you will come across as patronizing and condescending. Remember, objection responses aren’t manipulation techniques; they’re communication skills that will help you coach more people, more effectively.
Remember, objection responses aren't manipulation techniques; they're communication skills that will help you coach more people, more effectively.
Next, answer. Say something productive that will help her shift her focus away from the objection and back to her objectives. “You know I’ve noticed that lots of business owners become so busy and exhausted that they have no energy to actually change the very things that are wearing them out.”
Finally, ask. Put the conversation back on her. This is especially effective because she’ll feel like you’ve just given her control of the conversation…when in reality you’re the one guiding it. Say, “So, tell me–what kind of plan do have in place to get control of all these things so that your business doesn’t keep running you ragged?” This refocuses her back on her pain points and keeps the conversation moving toward the truth of what she’s really struggling with (and what you need to do to really help her).
What Should You Do if You Botch it in the Moment?
We’ve all had experiences where a prospect hit us with an objection to business coaching we weren’t expecting–and we botched the response. Is the sale salvageable? Of course. It’s less likely to close than if you’d dealt with it effectively in the heat of the moment, but here’s what you can do if it happens to you…
Call the prospect back and say, “You know, I was thinking about how tired you are and I’ve been thinking about a couple ideas to help you get control of your business and get you out of this grind.” Then set up another session. Coach the prospect through the concern. Provide real, quality value. Show them very practically how you will help if they engage you as a coach.
It’s critical that you set up this follow-up meeting before they come back with their decision because the instant they say “no,” you’re done.
So–what have you done to work around this particular objection? Share your feedback in the comments area below!
For more great training and advice on handling objections, check out our FREE ebook, Secrets of a Business Coaching Rock Star!
by Eric Dombach | Results
Accountant Brad Golchin added his first $10,000 in recurring monthly coaching revenue within just 90 days and he’s not stopping!
“Hey Eric, just reaching out to give you a big ‘thanks’ for all you’ve done to help me and to give you this reference to share with others…
I’ve been a successful accountant in New Zealand for more than 15 years with several offices and more than 7 employees. But, like a lot of accountants, I was stuck generating revenue from compliance work. I started working directly with Eric at Coaches’ Coach and his system has added many new features, tools, and templates to our accounting practice. Within just 90 days of joining Eric’s Rockstar Coaching Program, I was able to add more than $10,000 of recurring monthly revenue to my accounting practice from my existing clients. I’m now up to $16k per month in advisory fees. Utilizing Eric’s system has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I just wish I had done it earlier!”
– Brad Golchin, FCPA MInstD, Accountant & Independent Director
https://wiseadvice.co.nz/
by Eric Dombach | Business Coaching Tools
In a growth economy, it’s up to you to help your clients attract and recruit the best possible team–so that they can leverage the good economic news for increased business and market share. So here’s a proven 4-step hiring system for business coaching clients that you can share.
One of the analogies I love to use when I talk about hiring is fishing. The companies that get the best people are the ones that get a lot of fish on deck so they can be choosy.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Prepare the Bait. Market for employees in unusual ways. Create the ad and the description of the opportunity in a way it really gets the fish wanting to jump onboard. Encourage clients to use high-impact copywriting principles to paint the picture for the kind of employee they want to attract, including killer headlines, benefits, and bullets.
Step 2: Cast the Net. One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is not having enough strategies to draw applicants. When this happens, you have a business owner deploying maybe one or two strategies, then every time they have a position to fill, they only get two or three applicants. But the challenge is that if you only get two or three applicants for a position, that might not be enough! The big fish you’re looking for–the ideal employee–might not have been one of those two or three applicants! So we’ve got to be aggressively proactively recruiting using multiple strategies. Here are some of my favorites:
- Look within the organization first.
- Call back quality past team members and say, “What do I have to do to get you back?”
- Post the ad in your door or window.
- Post the ad in your local papers, daily papers, trade and industry publications, high schools, colleges, vo-tech schools, houses of worship.
- Email, mail, or fax your ads to your customer database, to your vendors, to your personal business database.
- Include a recruiting incentive plan in your team members’ paychecks.
- Utilize a recruiter, headhunter, or employment temp agency.
- Network with recruitment in mind.
- Use websites like www.indeed.com, www.monster.com, www.careerbuilder.com, and all the rest.
Step 3. Sort the Fish. One of the other reasons that business owners don’t cast a big net is because they don’t want to interview ten or fifteen people. That’s why we recommend a virtual screening process which cuts down the interviewing dramatically.
Ask all applicants to call a voicemail number as part of their application. When they call, they’re going to hear a script that sounds something like this: “Good morning, and thanks for calling my company. My name is Joe, I am the founder of the company. Right now, we’re looking for an office manager to help our company continue its rapid growth. What I need you to do is give me a thirty to sixty-second explanation of the following three things: What experience have you had keeping books with QuickBooks? What experience have you had creating Excel spreadsheets and reports? And what experience have you had answering the phones and talking to customers? If you need to take a few minutes to write the questions down and formulate your response and then call back, feel free to do so.”
This is a simple step, but you’ll be amazed at how quickly the cream rises to the top.
[A virtual screening process] is a simple step, but you'll be amazed at how quickly the cream rises to the top.
Step 4. Reel Them In. Once your clients have sorted their candidates, it’s time to choose one or two of the best ones out of the group to come in. This part of the process I also like to refer to as the “test drive.” It’s when clients take the shortlist of candidates who made it through the phone interview and bring them into an event where they compete for the position by performing actual on-the-job tasks. For example, if your client is hiring salespeople, bring five to ten people in and have them sit at the phones and actually try to generate leads. Or have them role play with each other. An administrative assistant might demonstrate their skills at office work.
Coach your clients through the process of putting together this test-drive experience, and then help them monitor the results to make the right hire.
For more great skills and systems you can share with your clients, get a FREE 30-day trial of our comprehensive business coaching system–which covers everything from generating leads to coaching clients!
by Eric Dombach | How to Become a Business Coach
The stress and struggle of building a business coaching practice isn’t always easy. So in those moments that you feel discouraged, never forget why you’re becoming a business coach in the first place.
Never forget that you’re looking for an opportunity to control your time and own your destiny.
Don’t forget that business coaching allows you to work from home or from the road, raking in huge hourly rates–I’m talking about $250 to $750–just for sharing your knowledge with others.
And then, of course, there’s what you can do with that kind of income.
You can give generously to your favorite missions and charities…
You can take your family on vacation…
Get season ticket floor seats to your favorite sports team…
And have the time to enjoy it.
In 2004, my third year as a business coach, I pulled in over $400,000–AND took 8 weeks off. I was cash rich and time rich, too.
How to Keep Focused on What Matters Most
It can be tough to remember this stuff day in and day out.
But it’s achievable, as long as you hold on to your dreams and pursue them passionately. Because the common thread I’ve seen running through the lives of all the successful people I know is that they have a reason for doing what they do–a deeply personal, intensely powerful reason.
The common thread I've seen running through the lives of all the successful people I know is that they have a reason for doing what they do--a deeply personal, intensely powerful reason.
Keep your reason in the forefront of your mind, and you WILL achieve it.
It’s just the way the world works.
To help you with this, I’d like to give you one of my favorite resources for keeping YOUR reasons in the forefront of your own mind. It’s called the “Vision Book” and you can download a template here.
Download it. Customize it. And, most importantly, marinate in it each morning before you start your day and each evening before you go to bed. You’ll be amazed at how much faster you can pull your future into the present if you do this each day!
For more great tips and tricks on going from 0 to 6 figures as a business coach, check out our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach.
by Eric Dombach | Business Coach Training
Successful coaches know how to get new business coaching clients through networking.
Very few people find that networking comes naturally. So if you’ve got a love-hate relationship with networking, you’re not alone. Most people would rather stick bicycle spokes into their eyes than walk into a room full of complete strangers and start random conversations.
But if you can take your attention off your own misery long enough to observe the very predictable behavior of the people at the next networking event you attend, you’ll notice virtually everyone doing the exact same self-defeating behaviors. You’ll observe clusters of insecure people gathered in small groups, having boring conversations with people they already know, eating lousy food to pass the time, and waiting for the real show to start so they can sit down and do nothing. Sound familiar?
This isn’t networking. This is net-breakfasting, net-socializing, net procrastination, or you could simply call it NOT-WORKING.
But it sure as heck ain’t networking.
Ask any successful business coach and they’ll tell you that building a great network of relationships in your local market is a huge key to success and a rich source of new clients.
So why does it have to be so dang hard?
The good news is that networking can be easy and not that painful, if you follow these rules. Here’s my system for getting at least one new coaching client from each and every networking event you attend.
Five Networking Rules for Business Coaches
RULE #1: Set a goal based on your sales math. If your conversion rates are about average, you’ll need 10 leads to get one new client. Choose a networking event that’s likely to be populated with people who match your ideal client profile. Your goal is to come away from the event with at least 10 qualified business cards. Not 8 or 9, but 10. Once you have your 10 business cards, it’s just a matter of working your conversion rates and letting the sales math run its course.
RULE #2: Spend 3 minutes with at least 10 people. Jump into a small group of people who look bored with the conversation or, even better, look for an individual who is “stranded” and needs someone to “rescue” them. In the first 3 seconds, make a warm, positive impression. Introduce yourself by name and get the name of the person you’re talking to. In the next 30 seconds, find out what your prospect does, what kind of business they have, and how long they’ve been doing it. In the next 3 minutes, ask questions that get below the surface. Dig deep and look for emotion. What challenges to do they have, what problems are they trying to solve? When 3 minutes has elapsed, ask them for their business card. You’ll never be refused. Thank them for sharing with you and promise to call them this week. Then, politely excuse yourself and move on to the next person.
RULE #3: Focus intensely on each person you talk to. In each 3 minute segment, the person must feel that they are the center of your universe. The conversation must be all about “what’s in it for them” and not “what’s in it for you.” Go to networking events to give, not get. This sounds simple, but so few people truly understand it. As hard as it can be, wait to talk about yourself until you’re asked! In fact, try to deflect the first couple questions about you and keep learning about them until they insist on learning about you by repeatedly asking questions. The goal is to be “interested,” not “interesting!” The more “interested” you are in others, the more “interesting” you seem! When you do this for 3 minutes, you’ll see a magical thing begin to happen: the establishment of trust.
The goal is to be “interested,” not “interesting!” The more “interested” you are in others, the more “interesting” you seem!
RULE #4: Exude positive energy. Energy emanating from an absolute passion for what you do as a coach will set you apart from everyone else in the room. A “can-do” attitude and the attractive ability to have fun will light up the room. If this kind of behavior doesn’t come naturally to you, that’s okay. It didn’t for me either. But, you can and must learn how to turn it on and off at will. Arm yourself with quality questions and you’ll become the center of attention, as people gather around to observe the liveliness and excitement of the conversations you’re having!
RULE #5: Call them back as promised. Within the next two days, call or email all 10 qualified business cards you picked up and set up a time to chat by phone. Your goal for this first call is to discover at least three areas of business pain, shoot at least three Silver Bullets, and set up a face to face meeting, i.e. your complimentary coaching session.
So, that’s my system for getting at least one new coaching client from each and every networking event you attend. Networking is the key to starting relationships that can lead to clients, raving fans, great referrals, and life-long friends.
If you’ve never committed yourself to becoming a master networker, now is the time. Get started this week!
For more great tips like these, check out our FREE ebook, Secrets of a Business Coaching Rock Star.
