How to avoid this big pitfall as a coach (and how to overcome it)

Website design By BotEap.comAs I began my transition from a corporate career to starting a coaching practice, I immediately noticed a disturbing trend within the coaching industry that I knew I wanted to stay away from. A trend that once saw many trainers earn 6 and 7 figure incomes, but a tactic that is also driving away many of the benefits of training: telling people they need a trainer.

Website design By BotEap.comYes, it is a saturated market and a noisy world. As a woman who is passionate about helping others in her niche, it’s easy to get sucked into the messages everyone else is using; Sales pages and social media posts trying to convince others how badly they need life-changing information and groundbreaking sessions that only a coach can provide.

Website design By BotEap.comPrograms, emails, Facebook ads, and social media posts are filling our space designed to tap into the fear that we somehow need the latest and greatest deals to “make it,” to write our own success story, but These tactics are no longer working and many coaches who rode the wave to the bank are now struggling to recreate those once thriving sales funnels.

Website design By BotEap.comWhy? Here’s the brutal, no-nonsense truth: no one needs to hire you. No one needs your coaching services and consumers are picking up on these marketing ploys much faster and are realizing that they do not, in fact, need to hire a coach to achieve their goals and dreams. They just don’t accept being told what they need anymore.

Website design By BotEap.comIt is time for us as trainers to do better for our industry and that starts with understanding that when someone hires us to train it is because they want it, not because they need it. By doing so, we not only serve our industry with more integrity, but we position ourselves to outperform the masses who still cling to doing business for fear of losing their way.

Website design By BotEap.comSo how can you avoid this pitfall facing the coaching industry? Accept the reality that the people you are marketing to do NOT need you. I address this in more detail here in a short and to the point Facebook Live video (https://bit.ly/2K2lGGN)

Website design By BotEap.comSo what do you think? I hope you have a different perspective on your role as a coach. So how do you rise above the noise and stand out?

Website design By BotEap.comHere are some points to keep in mind and in your coaching business:

Website design By BotEap.comGIVE VALUE FIRST

I know this seems obvious, but it still amazes me how many trainers run webinars and create content focused on fear-of-missing messages to promote products, while actually delivering very little consistent value.

Website design By BotEap.comUnless you set a precedent of value first above all else that clearly conveys why someone would want to hire you, that 45-minute webinar where you’re going all out to sell a $1,000 program probably won’t work if you’re using ” need this.” ” points of sale.

Website design By BotEap.comYes, time is money, and I understand that for you to spend time preparing and delivering a webinar, you need it to drive results, but in this market of savvy consumers, value is what drives sales, not hard sales.

Website design By BotEap.comMAKE AUTHENTICITY A NON-NEGOTIABLE

Gone are the days where throwing your link to a ‘You need this now because it will radically change your life in 24 hours’ sales page will have them eat out of your hand as they gladly click the Buy Now button. People have heard so many “I was homeless, broke and made billions of dollars in 90 days on this program” stories that while that may be a 100% true story to you, it has been abused to the point by others. that doesn’t even sound impressive. or more sincere.

Website design By BotEap.comOf course, the stories are great. Sure, they are highly effective at inspiring and selling, storytelling is here to stay, but what they want more than their rags to enrich the story is their consistent authenticity and willingness to be transparent. People no longer want to see a perfect highlight of your life and how your business got you there. They need to see the real messed up you too so they can relate to you as a real person which will lead them to want more of what you have to offer.

Website design By BotEap.comWHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM?

While your story is important and inspiring, your tribe is much more interested in what you can do to help them. They don’t need to hire you to move to the next level of your business, they don’t need your latest and greatest training program to reach your next promotion. What they do want is to be shown that you care about their needs. What they do want is for you to be more interested in their needs than in making your next sale.

Website design By BotEap.comSo ask yourself: How are you serving up the valuable, high-quality brain food your tribe wants on a regular basis?

Website design By BotEap.comYes, this relationship-focused approach where you give people what they want, mind you, requires more time, thought, energy, and creativity than telling them how badly they need what you have, is a slower way to grow. your business and it takes time to build a true, deep trust with your audience, but the measurable results you will have in the long term in your business will speak for themselves.

Website design By BotEap.comThe coaching industry is going through an evolution that some will not survive. As business owners and coaches, we must be open to listening to our tribes and moving with the flow of change. The marketing tactics that worked 3 years ago don’t work anymore and I think now is the time to go back to the basics of doing business, being attentive to needs v. you want and how you share that message with your audience. Are you talking to your tribe telling them what they need or are you taking the time to listen, ask questions and provide the value that is desired?

Website design By BotEap.comThose who grasp this principle and faithfully practice it will not only survive the changes and disruptions in the marketplace, but will overcome it to grow a thriving coaching business. Those who don’t will unfortunately not be available to help those who decide that hiring a coach is a wish they should invest in.

Website design By BotEap.comDo you want to read more? To visit kendradahlstrom.com

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