Let’s be honest. It’s a whole heck of a lot simpler to sell a physical product than it is to sell something like coaching services.

When selling a product, you place the object before potential customers and say, “Hey, this easy-to-use model includes Features A, B and C and is now available at the super-low price of $X.”

When selling yourself as a coach, you can’t do that because you’re not selling a tangible thing with a checklist of specifications.

What you’re actually selling to clients is the promise of change.

So, how do you go about doing that?

Stop selling. Start inspiring.

If you’re going to help people bring about change in their lives, you can’t use slick sales tactics or fancy product packaging to do so. Instead, you have to inspire them to take action.

Here’s what you should do:

1. Change your mindset.

It’s important to recognise how the words you use within your business may be hurting your ability to help others. Specifically, try to remove words like “sell” and “sales” from your vocabulary.

So, instead of saying “I sell coaching services”, say this:

“I encourage people to change their lives for the better.”

Or:

“I help people commit to the change they’ve been afraid to make on their own.”

Other words you might consider using instead of “sell” are:

• Direct
• Empower
• Guide
• Inspire
• Motivate
• Move

Be creative with it. Just don’t sell yourself short.

2. Clarify your focus.

If you want to be a true visionary and inspire more people to take the leap with you, then you need to think small. I’m not talking about compromising on your dreams. I’m more really talking about narrowing your focus on who you help. I’m talking about choosing a niche.

You see, the problem when you try to help too many kinds of people at once is that your vision gets diluted.

Take, for instance, a coach who wants to serve real estate agents, medical professionals, and educators. Even if the end goal is to help them level up in their careers, the journey and the specific outcome is going to look a lot different for each of them.

So, do you spend time coming up with different ways to appeal to three different groups? Or choose one clear niche that you can create one inspiring narrative and promise for?

It’s much better to start small and then expand later.

3. Tell your story truthfully.

Speaking of inspiring narrative, there’s a story at the root of your business. It’s this story you tell time and time again when people ask you what you do and why you do it.

When it comes to sharing this story with the world, don’t be shy or hold back details because you’re afraid it’ll paint you in a negative light. You expect your clients to be honest with you, right? That’s the only way you can help them. So, why wouldn’t you do them the same courtesy?

As you set out to share your story (on your website, on social media, in a video diary), remember that it’s okay to:

Be vulnerable. And allow people to let their guard down.

Get emotional. And move people with your words and actions to do the same in their own lives.

Be honest. And cement their trust in you.

You’ll be much more effective in motivating people to change if you can show them that it’s possible to get from Point A to Point B, especially if it’s your own truth.

4. Share other people’s experiences.

It’s not just your own story that’ll inspire change. In fact, it might be the stories from people you’ve already helped that empower others to take the next step.

It’s not that they won’t believe your story, especially if it’s painfully honest. It’s just that consumers, in general, tend to trust opinions and stories from people who don’t have a vested interest in what happens when you read their testimonial.

If you’d really like to seal the deal and prove that you have the ability to bring about real change, show off those testimonials on your website.

5. Put your thoughts out there.

Change doesn’t just happen when you’re sitting at the helm, directing someone to make better choices. Content marketing is another way to bring about change in the world.

Let’s say you’re a health and wellness coach. You work with female entrepreneurs who’re struggling to maintain a balance between their business and family.

So, you write a blog post every week. Last week’s was about the five things you can do to stop hitting snooze and give yourself more time to spend with your kids after work. But it’s not just a boring list of tips. You recommend tools you use as well as tips from clients who’ve worked out their own morning routines.

And why do you do this?

Well, you create something useful in the hopes that anyone who stumbles upon it can apply it to their own lives. Eventually, the kinds of people who want your help will find this content and think, “I can’t do this alone”, and then reach out to you.

But, for right now, just focus on getting this content out there so you can inspire people to make moves of their own.

Become the inspiring visionary you set out to be

You want to be a visionary and a changemaker. That’s why you became a coach in the first place. So, steer clear of those pushy and oftentimes cheesy sales techniques other professionals use to try to woo and win clients.

That’s not the kind of business you’re in nor are those the kinds of clients you want to serve.

The only problem is, it’s going to be difficult to convince people to let you help they can’t see you as the inspiring force that you are.

So, if you’re missing a solid podium to stand atop of, then it’s time we worked on turning you into a visionary. The first thing to do is to sign up for this free training.

Then, if you need more help honing in on your vision, writing your story, shaping your brand, or building your website, contact us. We’d be happy to help!