I’m seeing a trend out there in Coachland: Coaches trying to disguise the fact that they’re in business …
You hear things like:
“No selling on this webinar – this is 100% free training!”
“Put your wallets away, nothing for sale here!”
“I won’t be selling – I promise!!!”
I get why they’re doing it. There are a lot of people who are skeptical about being sold to, and who recoil from aggressive marketing. So the coaches back away, and decide to use a very soft sell approach.
But if there is really “nothing for sale” as those coaches say, they’re:
A) Being stupid since it takes a lot of time, effort and money to do things like webinars, trainings, etc. Since they apparently aren’t selling anything, they won’t be able to stay in business …
or
B) They’re being somewhat deceptive, since they’re using the “free” stuff as bait to rope you in as a client down the road.
Neither are descriptions that you want to be known for.
I prefer to be upfront and admit that I’m selling (if I don’t sell, I can’t help) … it doesn’t mean that I don’t give free value (my podcast, emails, social media posts, etc), but at the end of the day either I get paying clients and customers, or I can’t stay in business.
I believe in “The Sweet Spot” – you give enough value, and you’ve earned the right to ask for the sale.
When I’m on the consumer side of the fence, I never get offended when after getting valuable content the person pitches me. He/she has earned that right, and I want to hear how I can work with them going forward.
Don’t hide behind selling that’s disguised as free training that’s being done out of the goodness of your heart.
Admit you want to help people, give the training, and then show how they can work with you further. Don’t be afraid to pitch!
Here’s my pitch – head over to my website to see how I help coaches grow their businesses:
