How many times have you gotten off of a phone call with a potential client who you thought was perfect for your program but didn’t enroll? It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You start going over the conversation and try to pinpoint where you failed to interest them, or what you said that didn’t compute with them, or what you should have said in hindsight. It’s the common dilemma of a free session.
You may even start wondering if you’re in the right business. Or maybe you should hire a salesperson so you don’t have to struggle through any more of these calls. But that’s how other coaches get their clients…what are they doing that you’re not doing??
And although these sales conversations are the gold mine for your coaching business, without a good conversion rate, you are just striking ore. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Sometimes there are some big underlying issues that need to be overcome, but other times just a few little tweaks might make all the difference.
Here’s the problem.
When I started my coaching business, I dreaded those initial free calls, which were really sales calls. I took several classes on doing calls, and each instructor gave the same formula. To me, it was unnatural and made me feel uncomfortable. And of course, if you feel uncomfortable in a sales call, the other person will feel the same way, and nothing will come out of it. The question was, how do you get comfortable with a formulaic script?
Another problem I ran into was that as a new coach, I wasn’t sure my program would help every client. That lack of confidence also shines through to your prospect when you are talking, and that is also not going to result in a sale.
You may wonder why we get butterflies when talking to prospective clients. What is it about the sales conversation that takes so long to get right? I think it goes back to the conversations you had when you were being sold something. It’s the “used car salesman” gleam in their eyes, or the hype in their voice that was a big turn-off, and you don’t want to repeat that experience anytime soon, let alone give it to someone else. So we unconsciously abhor all sales conversations, even when we ARE the salesperson.
Here are some tips for overcoming this dilemma, so you sound like someone trying to help, instead of a sleazy salesperson:
Tip #1: Stand up
The biggest and easiest change you can make in your sales conversation is to stand while on the phone. When you stand your body naturally expresses empowerment. You want to feel empowered when you are having a sales conversation.
Standing also affects your health in a positive way, contributing to that good feeling. When you are sitting all the weight is borne by the hips and spine. When you are standing you are bearing weight through the hips, knees, and ankles and more even distribution of weight combined with little or no pressure on the spine is much healthier.
For years people in the workplace have complained about office chairs. And the chair industry has responded with numerous chairs that support the lumbar. But they don’t always help the spine. Even sitting with perfect posture still puts tremendous pressure on your back because you lose the “S” curve and your back becomes a “C” curve.
So try standing when you are doing your free discovery sessions and talking to prospective clients. It will be easier for you to feel like you are in control, you will feel more empowered and confident, and you’ll be doing your back a big favor.
I started out by just using a box to put my papers on when on the phone. Later I had my husband build me a stand out of a piece of masonite and 1” x 1” legs and braces, that could hold my laptop and a place to see my outline for the call and take notes. It’s very light-weight so when I want to sit, I can just remove and store the “upper desk” under the “lower desk.”
Tip #2 – Have testimonials nearby
One thing that can ruin even your best discovery session is your lack of confidence. It comes across even over the phone and you must replace it with confidence if you are to attract clients.
Whether you’re new and/or inexperienced or you’re just having a low-energy day, there is something you can do about it. And that’s to remind yourself of how great, talented, and successful you really are. We all need reminders because we tend to have high self-expectations as coaches. The best way to remind yourself of your value is to have testimonials you can read before the call.
The successes you help your clients to achieve are excellent reminders of the value you bring to the coaching table. To instill yourself with confidence, have a printout of testimonials handy to read before you begin a free session. Then you can also use them to read to your prospects during the call if you want to reinforce your value. We all know that social proof is much more effective than just telling them about you yourself.
Tip #3 – Bunch sales calls
If you’ve ever had a free session where the prospect didn’t enroll and that was the only one you had that day, it can be a real downer. Remember, this is when we question our value, and things can get negative. The way to turn that around is to schedule your free sessions in bunches of 3-5 calls on the same day. Then if you have even one prospect out of 4 or 5 enroll with you, you’ll feel much better about that day.
First of all, you need to market your free session more, so you get more appointments. But secondly, you bunch your calls all on one or two days of the week. As you get more appointments, you can add days. Let’s say you have 5 free sessions and they are all on a Tuesday. Even if the last 2-3 don’t enroll, you still can feel good about getting 2-3 new enrollments, and you won’t be as upset, discouraged, or disappointed about the ones that didn’t.
Create your schedule so that all of your free sessions take place on the same day, or same afternoon time. For example, I schedule mine for every Tuesday and Wednesday at 1,2, 3, and 4pm. Then the other days are for client appointments. If you redo your schedule this way, you will find that a “no” won’t affect you as adversely, and you’ll stay more in the flow and be able to focus solely on free sessions mode of thinking all day.
Tip #4 – Stick to the script
An enrollment conversation is not the time to be winging it. You should have an outline or script of what you want to cover in your session that will enable you and your prospect to be able to make a decision as to whether your program is a good fit for them. There are many courses out there on how to script your sales conversation, so I won’t go into that here. But you need to have one and stick to it as you go through the session.
Your script is a strategic plan that you will be walking your prospect through and it’s important to stay focused and not deviate too much from the script. It also shows that you are in control of the conversation and positions you as the expert. Of course you don’t want to sound like you’re reading your script, but if you have some important points to make you may have to, instead of relying on your memory. (Not a good idea.)
It may take several weeks to come up with a really good script and you will probably refine it as you see what works and what doesn’t work. So plan to put some time into thinking it out and then use it on every call.
Tip #5 – Show your emotions
It’s OK to show some emotion when you are talking to a prospect. When they hear the enthusiasm you have for what you offer, they’ll pick up on it and get excited too. If you sound genuinely empathetic when they tell you their “sad” story, they’ll appreciate you for it. If you speak with feeling even if you are reading from your script, it won’t sound like you’re reading.
Be careful to watch your tone because you don’t want to sound like a school marm or bland bore, so emotions are a fine thing to share. Also, people buy from their emotions and then justify it with reasons, so your excitement, enthusiasm and genuine interest will set the tone for your prospect to open up and let their emotions guide them. After all, hiring a coach can be a very heart-centered decision, even if it makes sense business-wise. Your tone will help them connect with their heart and their head.
To summarize…
- Do your free phone sessions standing up
- Print out your testimonials so you can read them over before your conversation and use them as social proof in your conversation
- Arrange your scheduler so that all your free sessions are bunched together
- Create a printout of your outline or script so you know exactly what to ask, what to say about your offering, and what to say to close the deal
- Show your emotions, be positive, enthusiastic, engaging, and obviously enjoying what you are doing
Have you tried any of these strategies? If so, how did they work or not work? What other tips can you share about how you have perfected your sales conversations? Please share your thoughts below.
