The more you have those sales conversations, the more comfortable you will get with them—and the better results you’ll achieve.
In the meantime, here are 21 ideas and tips for increasing your chances of closing the sale with a commitment.
- Talk Up the Results
Your potential client wants to know how your coaching or your program can change her life. Acknowledge the reality of her present life; then talk of the transformation your coaching or your program can help her to effect. While she is envisioning these results, ask her to invest.
- Pay Attention to Your Words
The words you use can have a great effect on whether or not people say “yes”. Phrase things positively and look for “win-win” statements you can make.
Avoid negative statements like: “So you’re turning down this offer?” Instead, give her a positive choice: “Are you ready to break the cycle of [her problem] and [achieve her dream]?”
- Ask Again—Don’t Accept the First “No”
Your potential client might just be working herself up to considering the idea you’ve presented. If she says “no”—and especially if she brings up an objection—discuss her concerns, and at a moment that feels right—ask again, presenting it in a slightly different way. Do this up to three times and you will often find you work past those objections.
- Point Out Your Biggest Benefit Before You Ask for the Sale
This is all tied up with the results you can help your potential client achieve—but she needs to know WHY you are the one—the only one—who can actually, finally help her achieve her potential. What can you do to help her transform from stuck to successful?
- Identify Her Biggest Hang-up
Your potential client may think she knows what the problem is in her life, but in talking with her, that’s when you will most likely identify what is REALLY holding her back. Help her see what this biggest obstacle is, and you’re two thirds of the way to convincing her you are the one to finally help her past it.
- Sweeten the Pot
What single big bonus can you provide that your competitors can’t or won’t provide? Position that bonus as a desirable extra before you give your call to action. Remind your potential client that only you can provide this—and only you are willing to. (Example: “Big Girl Talk is the only membership site of its kind that provides an hour of free one-on-one coaching per month for each member. That is because I know how important it is to be able to have that one-on-one contact.”)
- Limit Your Offer
Not only should you provide an irresistible bonus that your competitor’s don’t or can’t provide, take it one step further, and limit its availability. (“I know how important it is to be able to have that one-on-one contact, but for this reason I have to limit membership to thirty people. I have four spots left at the moment, but they are filling up fast.”)
- Don’t Get Carried Away with the Close
If a client is really resistant, respect that. Not every client is just being wishy-washy when they say they really cannot invest, this time around. Give her an alternative she can afford right now—but make it transformative, so it will put her in a position to invest the next time you run your program. Along with the hope of transformation and an action she CAN take, she will appreciate both your honesty and your respect.
- Ask Prospects to Stay in Touch
If a potential client has had to decline an offer this time around, tell her how she can stay in touch with you—and follow it up by emailing her and thanking her for her time, including a call to action to join you socially—on Facebook; in a Facebook or LinkedIn Group; on Twitter or Instagram, for example.
- Create a Brainstorming Group
Creating an elite private Facebook Group and inviting potential prospects who have taken the step of contacting you to try out a strategy session is a great way not only to help them and maintain contact, but to find out—as they talk to each other—what really concerns this group; what they like; what they don’t like; and what they urgently need more than anything else. You can spend ten minutes a day on it, acknowledging comments and giving tips, and create a super-loyal following (as well as have a great platform to announce or beta-test new products).
- Know Your Promise
Your promise is what will result in conversion to a sale. Make sure you are absolutely clear on it. Your promise is the one thing that will convince a potential client you are the one to help her get results or finally overcome a seemingly-permanent roadblock. So when she asks “how will this help me?”—have a clear answer on what she can expect, if she works with you.
- Keep Asking
Yes, this technique IS a bit like water dripping on stone—only much more concentrated.
Make sure you have multiple calls to action: Not just one. If she ignores your end-of-webinar call—send a follow up email reminding her of your big result and repeating your call to action. Ask again in your Facebook Page, ad, next post, next webinar and strategy session.
- Don’t be Premature
Make sure your potential client lucidly sees the transformative promise before you ask for the sale. Until she has a clear view of exactly how you can help her change—starting immediately—she most likely won’t commit.
- Don’t be Tentative
The moment you recognize excitement in your client—the moment the timbre of your strategy session changes—that’s when she’s ready to be asked. So ask!
- Talk in Steps
If you talk to a potential client about what her life is like now and what it can be like in six months, or a year from now, you still may not land her as a client: Make sure you also tell her exactly how many steps to get her there. (This is like showing someone the bridge to the other side of the chasm and promising to guide them across it!)
- Make Sure Your Perceived Value=Real Value
If potential clients feel that you really can deliver what you promise—and if you are even more convinced that you really can deliver what you promise—you’ll both gain satisfaction and fulfillment from your business interaction and transaction. But if you are promising a six-figure income, for example, knowing that to achieve that is really not possible within the first year, you’ll end up with client who leaves—and is disillusioned.
- Increase Your Value with the Right JV Partner
What can you add to your offer that no one else can add? Maybe the right joint venture partner! Someone who has a component of what your clients need. Someone who is well-known and well-respected. Someone who will lend their reputation to yours—and for that reason, yours needs to be 100% committed and focused.
The right JV partner can share the workload, help you inspire each other, make it easier for your mutual clients and provide social proof.
(Just make sure you know what advantage JV-ing will bring them from YOU.)
- Build JV Relationships Before JV-ing
One of the best and most effective ways to get the right JV partner in your corner lies in making sure she already knows you and has a strong idea of how you follow through, how you operate, why you’re fun or inspiring to hang out with and so forth. So make sure you follow potential JV partners and interact with them long before you ask them to JV. Take their webinars, ask questions, join their programs and let them know you believe in them as much as your own clients are going to. Be someone who has chipped in to help promote them or provide them with valuable tips or contacts.
Remember that the right JV partner can be your particular unique, exclusive “big benefit” to potential clients and subscribers!
- Use Your Bonus to Convince Potential Clients
Make sure that bonuses you are offering feel like the final piece that complete a potential client’s own particular jigsaw puzzle. This could be the right set of forms that no one else provides; a tool they really need; checklists and guides that make processes easy for them; a monthly one-on-one coaching session and action plan included with a membership site; or whatever else would suddenly tip the scales on value to your ideal client.
- Use Interviews as Social Proof
Before people buy, they need to know you enough to trust you. They also need to know what your program can do, and why you are the perfect person to run it. Getting yourself interviewed—and helping out fellow peers—is the perfect way to convince them you are the one, so always not only be available for interviews—actively seek them out when you are getting ready to promote a new offer or program.
- Plan More Sales for Exits
As a coach, you know that the best client is one who is ready to leave. If you are keeping a client with you for years, you’re probably a therapist; not a coach. You want your client to achieve her goal and move on to the next—so decide exactly where you will be, when she’s ready to “graduate”. Have another dynamic and useful offer waiting for her that will take her to the next level. Anticipate and provide her with exclusive tools or services she will now need. Set her up as your perfect JV partner and help promote her—she’ll bring you new clients and have those sales conversations for you!
Being a coach means being fully committed and ready—and that results in focused, effective sales conversations that get you—and your clients—real results.
