by Eric Dombach | How to Become a Business Coach
When you’re a beginning business coach, it can feel difficult to land those first few clients.
And they’re really the key to getting off the ground.
Once you’ve got a few success stories…some testimonials you can cite…references or, better yet, referrals from thrilled clients…things begin to jump into high gear.
But building momentum can take time.
Which is why I often recommend that beginning business coaches take on a client or two on a barter basis.
It worked for me!
A couple of my early clients didn’t have much cash, but were more than happy to barter with me.
From one client, I bartered some coaching for a nice, big office desk which he made for me during his evenings and weekends. Eventually, as the business grew, they were able to begin paying cash.
From another client, I got a very nice professional business photo.
More important than the bartered goods and services, be sure to ask your bartering clients for referrals to paying clients.
Additionally, once you’ve added cash flow to their business, ask for an introduction to their accountant, with whom you can build a strategic alliance for even more referrals.
Why Beginning Business Coaches Should Barter
Most of all, it’s about skill and confidence.
When you’re just starting out, there’s nothing more important than beginning the process of coaching a living, breathing business owner.
Bartering gives you an opportunity to get some wins under your belt, which builds momentum as you continue you meet prospects and market yourself.
As the old sales proverb says, the most confident person wins.
As the old sales proverb says, the most confident person wins.
So, get out there and close some clients! Begin building your confidence and the experience and referrals will begin to flow.
Just starting out on your business coaching journey and looking for more great tips and tricks? Read our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach.
by Eric Dombach | How to Become a Business Coach
Have you ever had problem clients in your business coaching practice?
You know, the kind you just can’t stand?
They’re always late. They always complain. They blame YOU for the problems they refuse to fix. They won’t pay their bills or they give you the runaround when it’s time to issue a check.
I want to give you full permission to fire those guys.
Seriously!
Your time is too valuable. Your mental and emotional energy is better spent working with the clients who can and will respect you and your expertise, and will see real results.
That’s when you have a decision to make:
Is the money they’re paying me worth the hassles they’re creating?
Your time is too valuable to work with problem clients. Your mental and emotional energy is better spent working with the clients who can and will respect you and your expertise, and will see real results.
Every once in a while, it’s fine to fire a client. It’s rare, but it happens. So remember: If someone just isn’t jiving with you, or if they’re abusive or otherwise causing you undue emotional distress, it’s okay to pull the plug.
Just keep in mind that if you find yourself doing this a lot–or if you’re getting fired more frequently than you think you should be–the problem is probably YOU.
The 10 Commandments of Customer Service
That’s why I developed the 10 Commandments of Customer Service to guide my interactions with clients.
I figure that as long as I’m following them, I can snuff out problem clients much more easily.
It also assures I’m not the jerk.
If you’re running into more than your fair share of problem clients, it could be that you’re inadvertently setting expectations in such a way that they think they can behave unprofessionally toward you.
So print these out. Hang them on your wall. Become obsessed with them. It will help.
- Don’t expect your clients to tolerate client service mistakes.
- Always do what you say you will do when you say you will do it.
- Never, ever make a promise you’re not absolutely sure you can keep–because promise-breaking is the same as lying.
- Never try to “remember” your promises. Write them on a task list.
- Remember that unacknowledged communication is a profound form of disrespect.
- Reply to every inbound email or phone call within half the time your clients expect you to reply.
- Review your task list before the end of each day to make sure you haven’t broken any promises.
- If it appears you absolutely won’t be able to keep a promise, renegotiate before the deadline.
- Always use auto-responders and voicemail messages to communicate your absence so you don’t appear non-responsive.
- Communication technology problems are never acceptable excuses for breaking promises–so be sure your technology and devices are working!
Note that almost all of the commandments focus on timely communication and promises kept. That’s because this level of transparency and responsibility creates accountability. Accountability creates trust. And trust is the most important component of every client-coach relationship.
Many times your problem clients are problems precisely because there isn’t enough trust between you. Sometimes it’s their fault.
Often, it’s yours.
So be rigorous and self-honest about how you’re doing. Commit to the 10 Commandments of Customer Service. Give yourself permission to let go of dead weight. Build that business through stellar communication and follow-through with your clients.
For more important strategies that will help you become the business coach you want to be, download our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach.
by Eric Dombach | Business Coaching Systems
Many coaches struggle with sales. Sales feels exhausting, intimidating, even manipulative.
If I had a dollar for every time a coach told me that they LOVE coaching but HATE sales…well, I’d give Jeff Bezos a run for his money.
But what if I told you that sales is really just about helping people uncover their real, authentic needs, and find a solution to them?
Doesn’t that sound a lot like COACHING?
That’s because it is!
I’m serious!
Sales is NOT about convincing people to do things against their will. Sales is about helping people get real about their situation and helping them figure out what it will take to move from where they are to where they want to be.
As a coach, you should be coaching and building trust in every interaction…even in your sales calls.
Sales is NOT about convincing people to do things against their will. Sales is about helping people get real about their situation and helping them figure out what it will take to move from where they are to where they want to be.
Four Secrets of a Coaching-Oriented Sales Call
So how do you do it?
Here are the four secrets of a coaching-oriented sales call…along with some actual scripts you can use in your conversations with prospects!
Oh, and if you’ve ever been in touch with me or one of my certified Coaches’ Coaches, or even our appointment-setters, some of this might sound familiar. That’s because coaching is the beating heart of what we do. Even in sales situations, we show up as human beings here to help other human beings unlock their potential as coaches, and we find that when we approach any conversation with our coaching hat on,we’re able to get down to what is really going on so that we can be optimally helpful.
Try it. It will change your experience selling.
Okay, let’s dive in.
Be Human
Before you begin any sales or coaching conversation, take just a moment to check in. Ask them about how their week went. Tell them something about yours. You know, normal human talk. (Newsflash: when you get right down to it, sales isn’t all that different from normal human talk, either!)
Something like:
Hey – It’s Eric Dombach – How are you?
Been having a good week so far?
Awesome – I was actually just ____
Where are you calling from?
Great! Well – I know we got a limited amount of time, about 30 mins, so are you ready to jump in? Do you have a clean sheet of paper or something to take notes with?
Keep the Pressure Low
The best way to maintain a coaching posture in sales calls is to frame the conversation as a helpful, solutions-oriented exploration that you’re taking together–NOT a high-pressure, hard sales experience.
It also really helps if you genuinely believe it.
Approach the conversation as if it really is open-ended–you might decide not to work together, and that’s okay!–diffuse sales pressure on both ends, so that you can have a real, authentic conversation. (This is what trust-based sales expert Ari Galper calls “unlocking the game.”)
Try something like this:
What I’ve found to work best on these calls is first diving a bit deeper into why you’re looking to grow your business, how that’s working right now, and what you feel are the specific challenges keeping you from moving forward.
Now once we get some clarity there, and if we can help you, I’m more than happy to walk you through what we’ve got going on over here. If not, we can figure out what else may help you better. I might refer you out to someone we know, or give you some homework to work on in the meantime, whatever you need.
How does that sound?
Check Their Temperature
At various points throughout the conversation, check in with them to see how they’re experiencing it. If you sense any uncertainty at all, stop. Don’t plow ahead. Meet them where they are, just as you would in any coaching situation.
Try something like:
I hear ya and just to be totally clear… what’s really important to me is ALIGNMENT – when you come in and work with us, we’re rolling up the sleeves and getting in the trenches with you on this thing. I mean our team is ALL IN – so it’s really important to us that you feel GOOD about our partnership, know what I mean?
So just to be 100% clear.. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being “this guy’s a waste of my time” and 10 being “I’m all in right now, how can I get started?”, where do you feel like you fall exactly?
Ask the Hard Questions
By now you’ve hopefully done enough to build genuine trust with your prospect–again, by being genuinely trustworthy!
But when your prospect isn’t totally bought in, it’s time to do what coaches do best: ask the hard questions. Avoiding them doesn’t actually help either of you.
Say something like this:
Gotcha, and I appreciate you being honest about that. Just curious, what do you think is keeping you from being, say, an 8, 9, or 10?
Now can I be honest with you for a second? You told me you needed to fix _______ but it seems as if you’re not totally certain about the coaching process. So, can you be honest with me? What’s really going on?
In the end, the authentic conversation you have might end with you deciding to part ways. But you’ll have helped your prospect make the decision for the right reasons–which is what coaching is really all about.
In many instances, though, the best thing for your prospect is to become your client–and your patient and effective coaching through the sales process will be the very thing that helps them see that!
Love this content? Get more training and resources like this inside our membership portal–including our full sales system!
