A lot of coaches have been talking to me about people not having the money for coaching.
Have you heard these things from prospective clients:
“I can’t afford it” or
“I don’t have the money for coaching.”
Even though many people say they can’t afford coaching, often it’s not true.
What is truer is they may not be able to see how coaching will be worth the investment. I’ll tell you how to help them see that it’s worth it so you won’t hear about money issues any more, and you’ll get a lot more clients.
First…
I’m going to tell you a story about a client of mine from many years ago. His name was James, and he owned a private investigations company.
His company had eight employees and was on the brink of going bankrupt. He was behind on several bills. His company cell phones kept getting shut off. He was worried about the company cars being repossessed, etc. He was in BAD financial shape! Do you think a guy like this can afford coaching? Do you think a guy like this would be willing to pay for coaching when he was behind on so many other bills?
Yes! He hired me at my highest rate ever at that time: $3,600.
How do you get a guy like James to pay? And if you can get someone in this situation to hire you, couldn’t you get other people in less dire circumstances to hire you?
The lesson here is that people will pay for what they perceive is important to them. You need to make them see how getting your coaching is critical.
Instead, many coaches are starting out with the belief that people can’t afford coaching. If you believe this, you’re already dead in the water!
My friend Therese told me this phrase that I’ve integrated into my consciousness:
“There’s an unlimited amount of money in the world; the only thing standing in your way of having it is your creativity, know-how, and commitment to getting it.”
Wow!
The author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad says to stop thinking, “Can I afford this?” and to start thinking “How can I afford this?”
The truth is that most people can afford your coaching fees. They could put that amount of money on a credit card today, and you could be working with them tomorrow. But…
[bctt tweet= “Stop hearing about money issues and help your coaching clients see it’s worth it to hire you!”]
Here’s why most people don’t hire a coach and, instead, say they have “money challenges” during an initial coaching session:
- They don’t see how coaching will make a real, significant difference in their life, because the coach doesn’t know how to show them specifically what coaching will do for them.
- They think coaching sounds “nice” and seems like a good idea for “some day,” but not for today, because the coach doesn’t inspire them to make changes or uncover the challenges that keep them from changing.
- They aren’t stirred-up emotionally. The coach doesn’t find out what the long-term impact of staying the same will mean for the client. What happens in five years if they never change?
Here’s what you need to do to eliminate money from being a barrier to getting hired:
- Find out what the potential client wants to change. What do they want? What’s not working?
- Find out why it is important to change now. Why now? What’s different today?
- Uncover the challenges that are keeping them from changing on their own.
- Discover the long-term impact of not changing. If they stay the same, what does that mean to them?
- Connect the dots between what you do in your coaching to what they want to change. Show how what you do in your coaching will help them overcome their challenges and get what they want.
In the next few weeks I’ll be sharing the exact words to say to convert introductory coaching sessions into high paying clients in the latest release of my most popular program “Free Sessions That Sell: The Client Sign-Up System.” Click here to learn more and receive my free special report, “Hot Spots for Finding High Paying Clients.”
When you can eliminate money from being a barrier to getting hired, you’ll find a lot more people hiring you right on the spot!
Contributed by Christian Mickelsen, the #1 best-selling author of “Get Clients Today.”