Coaches often fail at converting prospects to clients because of one simple aspect of the sales process: They’re not in control.
When you’re at the mercy of your prospect’s hiring criteria, they control the buying process.
To shift the control, you need to be one to set the buying criteria.
Stack The Deck In Your Favor
The first step is to identify and push hot buttons. We recently went into depth about it here.
The next step is to lay out, in specific terms, what the prospect should be looking for in a coach. When you provide these criteria, what you’re saying is this:
“I don’t care whether you use me or anybody else. But, before you come to a decision, make sure whoever you choose can live up to these criteria, right now.”
To do this, you’ll make a list. This should a be a little bit scary. The list should set it up where you’re the only one who can live up to the criteria.
You’re stacking the deck in your favor.
First, list out 6 to 12 things will be the buying criteria. You want to show your prospects that no matter who they talk to, they should make sure they live up to all of these standards.
We’re making a list of things that people should look for in a coach, and things they should look out for in a coach. These will incorporate the benefits, objections, and coach selection points we outlined when we made our list of hot buttons.
Can’t Clone
When we work out what the buying criteria is our job is really easy. In our marketing, from now on, we just “can” and “clone”.
In your webinars, you’ll make sure to add a piece about “How to choose the right coach for you”.
In your sales process, there’s either a video they’ll watch, bit of audio they listen to, or document we send them that has buying criteria mapped out.
That way, instead of you having to deliver it verbally each time you, you’ve canned it and cloned it. You’ve put it into your marketing, and sent it out.
When I first got started in this game, I did marketing for a coach. In a nutshell, my job was to be a chaser.
I had a yellow page in a telephone book and was told to have at it. I just did what I was told because I didn’t know any better at the time. It really, really sucked.
Things started to get better when I got hip to marketing – when I wasn’t trying to sell to everything that moved.
I created marketing that got prospects to call us. That really made a big difference.
But the thing that really turned it around dramatically is when I installed buying criteria into my marketing. That way, the only prospects I went after were pre-positioned, predisposed, and pre-indoctrinated to know me, like me, and want my stuff.
The Carpet Cleaners
To give you an example of how to set the buying criteria, there’s a marketer named Joe Polish who you used to be a marketing expert for a professional carpet cleaning company.
He created this guide, a free report for carpet cleaners.
It came in two forms: a free report and a free recorded message on a voicemail.
People would call in to this phone number, and they would hear a message telling them 7 Costly Mistakes To Look Out For, 3 quick tips, and 6 or 7 bullet points of great stuff.
They’d just call in, listen to this message, and at the end they’d be set up to know what to look for and what to look out for.
It was informative, helpful, and it positioned his carpet cleaners as the only company suited to do the job.
When you identify the hot buttons, and use the buying criteria in your marketing, it sets prospects up to hire you in a unique way.
It’s not about price.
It’s not about “can you help me?”
Those questions are already answered in from the buying criteria in your marketing. You don’t have to impress anybody or dance like you would in a job interview.
Instead, you get to assess whether they’re a good fit. You get to be in control and decide if YOU want to convert the prospect into a client – not the other way around.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you grow your coaching business:
1. Grab a free copy of my book
It’s the roadmap to attracting prospects, signing clients, and scaling your coaching business. — Click Here
2. Join the Coach Dojo and connect with coaches who are scaling too
It’s our new Facebook community where smart coaches learn to get more income, impact, and independence. — Click Here
3. Join our Implementation Program and be a Case Study
I’m putting together a new coaching case study group at Black Belt this month… stay tuned for details. If you’d like to work with me on your client-getting and scale plans… just send me a message with the words “Case Study”. — Click Here
4. Work with me and my team privately
If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to take you from 6 to 7 figures… just send me a message with the word “Private”… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details! — Click Here
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