Simply Business Coaching

Business Coaching: Are Free Consultations Worth Doing?

Last month I ran a special offer to my newsletter subscribers for a 'Marketing Spring Clean'.  It was the first time in quite a while I'd offered a free consultation, and was partly prompted by a fellow Masterminder who observed that I might be missing opportunities to attract clients by not doing so.

Initially I was pleased at the interest generated and duly set up the telephone appointments (using my superb online scheduler Tungle).  And then things started to go awry.....

Here's what I learned:

• Some people will apply for anything that's free, even if they don't qualify.  They don't read past the word 'free'.
• Others will want you to bend over backwards to accommodate their diary (never mind about the 20 possible alternatives you offer, they expect a weekend appointment or evenings) and then they cancel.
• Then there are the pedants who quibble at having to pay £2.50 for a phone call when you're giving them nearly an hour of your expertise - "But it isn't really free if I have to pay for the call, is it?"

Thankfully, 80% of the free consultations went ahead OK (although I'm still waiting to find out how much actual business they bring), but the whole experience has served to remind me how many people really don't value something they haven't had to pay for.

What's your experience of offering free consultations?  Please share by commenting below, and if you enjoyed reading this post, I'd appreciate a re-tweet!

Quiet please ...... I'm thinking

As a coaching tool, silence often yields the greatest insights for the client.  Used as part of the sales process, it can mean the difference between closing a sale or walking away empty handed.

Waiting in silence can feel uncomfortable, but you need to resist the urge to be the first to speak.  Keep waiting.  It usually isn't for nearly as long as it seems.

Silence means the other person is thinking about what you have just said.  Whether they're considering an answer to a question you asked, or thinking about  information you've shared, it's important to give them enough time and space to finish processing.

When I work with business owners on their selling technique, I find they often come close to 'talking themselves out of the sale' because they don't feel comfortable with the silence while waiting for the prospect to consider the deal.  This is especially true just after saying the price - they almost feel compelled to justify or excuse it in some way!

The best piece of advice I've heard is to :  "Say the price and then shut up!"

Another occasion when silence is a good tool to use is when faced with an angry customer (or anyone angry really!).  They need to get the stuff that's making them angry off their chest so allow them to say everything they need to, and then remain silent for a further, slow, count of 5.  This pause will enable the other person to add anything else, in case they hadn't completely finished.  It will also show them that you have listened and are thinking about what they said.

I'd love to hear if you've found using silence to be powerful in your business.  And if you enjoyed reading this post, be sure to re-tweet it so others can read it too!

Taking a few detours

On Wednesday I drove to a meeting and got a bit lost!  While I love and use lots of new technology and tools to make life easier, I'm still resisting getting a SatNav system - mainly because I don't believe I make enough journeys to get good use from one.

So before setting off, I looked up the route on the internet and in a trusty old-fashioned map book to get a clear 'picture' in my mind of how to reach my destination.

Everything went swimmingly until about the last 5 miles (as often happens!) when I departed from the chosen route somehow.  After pulling over and consulting the map again, I could see the road I was now on would rejoin my route a bit further on, so thankfully there was no need to turn around.

Admittedly my heart did sink a little as I drove along busy streets looking out for road names and landmarks, but I didn't panic because I knew I'd reach my destination in the end.

I lost count of the total number of involuntary detours, but eventually I arrived safely - and even 10 minutes early for the meeting.

In business we need to have a clear vision and defined goals to aim for too.  Mapping out how we're going to achieve those goals provides the direction and action steps to take.  But when life leads us to take a few detours along the way, as it surely will, that doesn't mean giving up on the end goals. 

Being on the right road all the time isn't as important as reaching the destination safely, especially if there is great scenery to admire and lessons to learn from the detours.

And yes .... I got lost again on the way home too!

Making the Time Right

I often don't know what I'm going to write about until I start typing!  Sometimes I feel as though I'm rambling - and then a blog post or article starts to take shape, one which might not have not have come into existence unless I had started typing....

The saying "If you wait for the right time, it will never come" is both true and false.  It's true because we need to push beyond what is holding us back and take action if we are to achieve our goals.  It's false because sometimes we have to get 'stuff' out of the way before we can act.  I'm often pleasantly surprised when clients call to book coaching, sometimes months after we originally spoke, because the time is now right for them to be coached.  On the other hand, I've learned not to take is personally when an enquiry seems to come to nothing - the time isn't right for that person just now.

If the time isn't right, what we're often saying is that we're not ready to face our fears.  A useful question I ask clients at this point is: "What needs to be in place to make now the right time?"  This gets all the 'stuff' out in the open and, like shining a bright light into a corner, reduces the fear of what is lurking there.  Listing what needs to be in place puts the fears into perspective - perhaps some of those fears belong to other people?  Others may be old limiting beliefs which can be dealt with .... before you know it, you're taking action and turning now into the right time.

Waiting for the time to be right, if it means allowing our fears to hold us back, is giving away our power and our dreams for a pittance to the lowest bidder.  Taking action, however small, is so empowering that we are encouraged to keep going - and now truly does become the right time.

A Challenging Question

Whenever I'm asked to describe my style of coaching, I say that I challenge my clients.  A long time ago, I used to think being challenging was simply a matter of asking questions like "What's stopping you?" or "What is it costing you to ...?" 

However, now I know there is more to it.

Challenging means I encourage clients to take actions that will move them out of their comfort zone, increase self-awareness and move them forward towards their goals.  You see, I know something they don't.

I know we are all capable of so much more, and while a pinch of realism is necessary so as not to set ourselves up for failure, the goals we usually set ourselves simply aren't big enough.  They're puny goals that don't excite or get the adrenalin flowing. They're safe goals we don't feel motivated enough to strive for.

Successful people don't succeed by staying in their comfort zones, they succeed by challenging themselves every single day.  You may have noticed they often publicly announce their goal months before it becomes a reality - if that isn't challenging themselves to make it happen, I don't know what is!

If I were to challenge you to do one thing this week that will move you nearer your biggest goal, what would that be? 

Go on, I challenge you to do it!

5 ways to handle objections to sales!

When you hear objections from prospective clients, take heart because it's actually a good sign! It means that, although they could be interested, they still have some unanswered questions. The problem is that they sometimes don’t know what those questions are! So they say things like “You’re too expensive”, “I already have a supplier”, “Send me something in the post and I’ll think about it”, or even “I need to ask my boss”.

I’ve seen many business owners stopped in their tracks because they thought they were sure to get the order. They didn’t see the objection coming and now need to scramble to retrieve the situation.

If this has happened to you when you’ve got as far as meeting up with your prospect, you'll know it can be very frustrating. It also means that you’ve missed out a vital part of the preparation you should have done before the meeting.

You may not always encounter objections but you do need to be ready for them – just in case. Here are a few ideas to help you do this:

1. What are the most common objections you’ve come across so far in your business? Write them down. What other concerns might your prospective clients have? Write them down too.

2. Now note down your answers to each one, based on the benefits your products or services provide. Every business owner or sales person needs to do this exercise before they start making appointments to call. Keep your notes for future reference.

3. You can minimise objections and concerns by raising them yourself. For example, you can include your answers in your marketing materials and on your website.

4. During your initial conversations with a prospect, ask questions to find out what their concerns are, so you can address them straight away.

5. Check if anyone else needs to be part of the buying decision so they can be included from the beginning, and you can prepare answers to their questions too.

Don’t be caught out by objections, be ready for them!  What tips would you add?

What if they don’t like me?

I remember coaching a client some years ago when she was just starting her business.  We were working on getting the basics in place, including her new website.  But I noticed that every time there was work to be done on the website, it wouldn’t happen and my client would be full of apologies and excuses in our next call.

When I delved deeper, it turned out she felt very vulnerable knowing so many people would be able to read about her and her business.  I confess I hadn’t thought about it in those terms before – but it’s hardly surprising since a fear of rejection is one of the basic human fears which can stop us in our tracks.

I wonder how many people approach social networking with the same trepidation?

Soon after I started blogging, I received a long angry email from someone who decided one of my posts was a direct criticism of her.  The message ended with me being ‘struck off’ her mailing list.  I have to admit I was mortified to think this person ‘didn’t like me any more’.  Until I saw sense.

It was actually nothing to do with me, it was about the words I used and more importantly, the way this one person chose to interpret them.

One of the whole points of blogs, and Web 2.0 in general, is to be able to share information, thoughts and opinions – and we actively invite comments!  Whatever we write, someone, somewhere won’t agree with our words, just as we won’t agree with everything another person writes.  But it doesn’t mean they don’t like us or that we don’t like them.

By being prepared to be vulnerable we let people get to know us (as little or as much as we choose).  We are taking a small chance, but a necessary one if we’re to build successful business and personal relationships. 

Are You a Workaholic?

A workaholic is someone who is defined and obsessed by their work.  If you took their work away from them, they wouldn’t know what to do.  A workaholic uses their work to avoid the rest of their lives, most often relationships.  A workaholic is not a happy person because they are constantly in fear of losing the one thing in life they are successful at – their work.  While it is great to be passionate about what you do, it’s important that your work isn’t a way of avoiding living the rest of your life.

Overwork is different to workaholism.  Overwork is when you have too much to do at work and you have other interests and relationships outside of work but not enough time to spend on them.

However, being a workaholic or being overworked do have one thing in common – they both cause stress.  Stress can lead to physical and/or emotional health problems which in turn are going to lead to a drop in performance levels, and which can directly affect your company’s sales and profitability.

Keeping a healthy balance between work and the rest of your life means you and your employees will be more effective.  You will be able to be totally focused on getting those sales and delighting your customers during business hours and enjoy being with your family and friends outside of work.

Quick Check - Answer the following questions:

1.    I won’t delegate because no one can do the job to my standards.
2.    I find it difficult to relax.
3.    I often work late and/or at weekends.
4.    I have missed or cancelled arrangements with family or friends because of work, on several occasions.
5.    I feel most comfortable at work.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions you need to take care that you are giving enough attention to the other important areas of your life.  The more ‘yeses’, the more urgent it is that you take action quickly.

Are you sitting comfortably?

There was a time when people believed comfort was a good thing.  They were happy to be ‘comfortably off’, to live in comfort, to feel ‘comfortable in their skin’.  I used to believe that too.  I strived for comfort, relished it and surrounded myself with loads of material ‘stuff’ that represented comfort to me.  And then .... gradually it dawned on me that, while I may be sitting comfortably, there was still something missing – quite a big something as it turned out ..... but that’s another story for another day.

You see, comfort can stop us from reaching for more fulfilling goals.  Our little internal voice asks questions like:  Why do you want to make yourself uncomfortable?  Why take risks that could endanger that comfort?  Why rock the boat?

If we listen to that internal voice, as I used to, we don’t take the risks.  We stay sitting comfortably yet with a nagging feeling that we’re missing out. 

It can take a life-changing experience to get us out of that comfortable chair, to give us the courage or determination to take those risks but when we do, that’s when the magic happens!  As soon as we take the first steps (or leaps) into unknown and uncertain territory, we realise it isn’t so scary after all and wonder what all the fuss was about.

You’ve probably found out by now that almost anything and everything worth having is just out of reach, which means you have to get out of that comfortable chair if you really want it. 

Are you still sitting comfortably?

How do you communicate with your clients?

I was working with some clients recently, explaining how to get started with email marketing campaigns and introducing them to social networking.  Because I’m constantly immersed in these topics, it’s easy to forget that they may be completely new to many people!  A recent blog post from Seth Godin explains this well.

The meetings also reminded me of other useful business lessons which I’d like to share with you here.

• People like to receive information in different ways.  Some like to just have a broad outline, others prefer to know the smallest detail.  By adapting your presentation to suit them once you find out their preference, you will help them to learn.
• Keep your message simple.  If you try to appear too clever, use jargon and long words, especially in your marketing materials, you’ll intimidate and put off the very people you want to attract. 
• Don’t try to cover too many points in each meeting.  People need time to absorb, process and try out what they learn.  Too much at a time will simply lead to overwhelm and reluctance to continue.
• Establish expectations at the outset, and write them down.  I do this with my coaching clients and students.  You need to understand what people want to achieve or learn so you can pick up straight away if they have misunderstood the training content or coaching process.  You can also use those expectations to keep you on track during meetings or workshops and, of course, to check that you have delivered what they wanted.
• Don’t take what you know for granted.  Just because you know your products or services upside down and back to front, it doesn’t follow that everyone else does.  Your knowledge, expertise and experience are what make you special, and they are the reasons why people are prepared to pay you to either teach them or do the work for them. 

How will this information affect how you communicate with your clients?