Have you ever been on the receiving end of a terrible sales pitch?
One that made you feel slimy and gross?
I think we all have had the experience of getting offered something we don’t want.
And as coaches, we never want to make people feel bad about our coaching.
So, let’s learn from failure.
I want to take a look at a coaching sales pitch that recently showed up unsolicited in my inbox.
Coaching sales pitches like this are why I started Coach Pony, because I hate the sleaziness that these exude and I wanted to give new coaches a place to get real facts and information they can trust.
So let’s take a look. What are your thoughts? Do you want to buy coaching from this person?
I’ve marked it up a little bit so you’ll see my thoughts below *evil chuckle.*
Let’s break it down, shall we? Note: I’m extremely crankypants in this breakdown.
Okay:
1) FIRST OFF: Why is ‘retired young’ in quotes? It’s a fact, you either retire young, or you don’t. You don’t *air quote* retire young. But anyway, I have no idea who this person is, and I definitely did not sign up for his email list so I have no interest in his work. This is not a strong way to start a sales pitch, by making the recipient go “? and ! and Why?”
2) BS ALERT! I’m *pretty sure* you don’t email people completely unsolicited because you care. And I’m really sure you don’t give away your free system in a junk form letter email because you care about me. Especially given that you don’t know me, I never signed up to hear about this, and you aren’t emailing me out of the goodness of your heart. I MEAN C’MON. Being so obviously untruthful makes people instantly dislike you. Don’t condescend or talk down, be honest.
3) POOR WORD CHOICE AND GOAL ALIGNMENT. Using “Slavery trap” to reference working more than 10 hours a month is a SUPER POOR word choice. Honestly…I literally have no words for why this person thought referencing slavery not once, but TWICE was the right comparison to working a normal work week. And, as to goals: I’m interested to know that in his world working less than 10 hours a month is the goal. Personally, in my world that’s not the goal. I enjoy work! And while I like flexible work and hours, I’m not insane enough to think that you can run a 6 or 7 figure coaching business only working 10 hours a month. How do I know this? I’ve run both a 6 and 7 figure business and they both require more than 2.5 hours a week. Seriously. COME ON. This comes back to making sure you are talking to your target market, because people not in it will not be open to your message.
4) MAGICAL THINKING ALERT. My BS meter is on fire! So, this random person in my inbox is telling me in 8 weeks my business (which he knows NOTHING ABOUT OBVIOUSLY SINCE I CLEARLY AM NOT IN HIS TARGET MARKET) through some handy automation techniques, can be making 6 or 7 figures endlessly so I can retire? Telling me something that sounds super shady, and that I know to be untrue, isn’t a great way to build confidence. I’ve gone from being entertained to outright dislike.
5) No strings attached eh? Sigh. Listen, it’s *obviously* okay to give stuff away for free to both help people and build a relationship with them before you make an offer to work with them, I certainly do it….but this email is so sleazy and untrue he’s lost all of my trust. AND he’s clearly going to be selling me something, which is why this last sentence just feels like a lot of BS.
So, what have we learned?
Listen, IT’S OKAY TO SELL COACHING. But, don’t sell coaching to people NOT in your target market, who didn’t give you their permission, and most of all, don’t make unrealistic promises!
So, as you reach out to people and talk to them about coaching, remember:
👍 Focus on your awesome niche. Have real conversations, and make sure they give you their permission to continue (or you give them an exit ramp via an unsubscribe button etc) before you start making offers.
👍 Make sure they are open to the pitch before you begin! If someone opts into your email list or interest list, that’s one thing, because they have indicated an interest in your work. Note: if you get an email from me it’s because you signed up for it! 🙂 However: Random cold emails that go straight to an unrealistic pitch? In the words of Madmen: That’s “Not great, Bob.” Don’t do it.
👍 Be honest. It’s okay to sell your system, but don’t pretend you are doing it because you care, when you are obviously sending out an unsolicited junk form letter. That just feels gross.
👍 Don’t make over-the-top promises, as they will turn people off. Focus on what you *can* deliver, your clients will like you more for it!
Okay, hope this helps you as you get out there and make offers with your coaching, and if you need more sales help, I’m linking here to a fun blog I wrote awhile back about some of MY major sales mistakes. Because I’m definitely not perfect, and it’s only fair I highlight some of my big fails. So enjoy!
Need more sales help? No problem!
Learn why people don’t actually buy life coaching, and how to frame the offer for your services instead, in this in-depth free training. No opt-in necessary, just click and go!
Seriously, if you struggle with how to sell coaching, or with getting ANYONE to say yes, you’ll want to dive into this training immediately if not sooner.