I had a restless sleep last night. Not from my 11-month-old (he’s now graciously sleeping 10.5 – 11 hours per night!) Not by the big storm that roared through.
Not even by the rustling of my husband watching his iPad.
I was tossing, turning, with my mind racing because I was hoping a health coach I had just virtually met on facebook would believe in herself enough to close the deal on a prospective client session she had scheduled this morning.
I waited anxiously all morning for an email update…
the
morning
could
not
have
gone
by
any
slower….
I knew something had shifted for her in our previous email exchange, but not knowing the coach well enough I was only 90% certain that shift would be significant enough to translate into a financial reward.
Then I saw it. The tiny number “1” in my facebook messages from the health coach. My heart raced with excitement as I opened it.
And there it was…three of the most fulfilling sentences I’ve read in a long time:
“I signed up my first client and she paid in FULL! I am so excited. Thank you for all your help.”
Translation for me: The health coach got a new client, got paid, and ignited her passion again. Her success was my success.
But there’s a business lesson to this story:
Your soapbox is a strong indicator of what makes you unique within your niche. It helps you see how you stand out.
See, part of my restless night stemmed from advice the health coach received from her current coach (I presume business coach). While I had only just virtually met this health coach and knew hardly anything about her business plan, passions, vision, talents, beliefs or values, I knew one thing for certain: the business advice was NOT helping this health coach close the deal or get more clients. In fact, this amazing, inspiring health coach hadn’t closed a deal since September of last year! Talk about discouraging…
The annoying business advice I let consume me all night: the health coach doesn’t provide enough offers.
Ugg. My heart sank and I stepped up on my soapbox. This advice is so overwhelming to new health coaches and just leads to inaction, zero clients and zero dollars. I know because I lived it.
Yet, it was during this restless sleep when I realized what a gift I had been given connecting with this health coach. Because of her courage to ask a question, my desire and expertise to help, and our honest dialogue – she gave me a priceless gift. I now know another area that makes me different as a business strategist for health and wellness coaches:
I totally simplify closing the deal conversations which yields fast results.
Look. You want multiple offers for multiple streams of income. Yes, of course you do. But what most business coaches DON’T tell you is that you grow into that business model. It’s not what you start out with. It’s like saying you can go from being a health coach student to making “6-figures” in one year. Or lose 40 pounds in a week. Are these things possible, sure. Are they the exception v. the rule. Hell yes.
If you haven’t closed a deal in months you need focus. You have to start somewhere as a new health coach or as a health coach reinventing yourself in a new niche. And that somewhere means you need ONE clear offer to ONE specific niche. Plain and simple.
There is NO reason to over complicate this part of your business.
Plain and simple triumphs fancy formulas, confusing multiple offers or sales scripts. Don’t over complicate your business. Don’t over think, over analyze, over research, or over prepare.
Just decide, act and repeat.
And most importantly, have fun being you and being in service to your prospective client!
What soapbox do you stand on? Share a comment below. I dare you to stand out!
