Selling can feel icky. It can feel like bragging or shoving your coaching programs down the throats of people who don’t want them. But you can’t just rely on people finding your products, so what can you do?
Reframe How You Think About Sales
Selling often feels gross because we are thinking about sales the wrong way. We are thinking about every awkward sales interaction we have ever had where someone was trying to push a product we didn’t want. It is essentially someone asking you to do them an expensive favour.
But sales, when done well, isn’t a favour; it’s a win-win scenario. Your coaching programs help your clients solve a very real problem. If you don’t tell them about your coaching program, then how will they know it exists? Your ideal clients will be grateful that you are telling them that they can solve their problem.
And the great thing about online businesses is you’re not standing in the middle of a shopping centre flagging down people who are busy. You can make sure your ads are shown only to people who fit your target market. When you’re selling to your social media following or email list, you are selling to people who already value what you do.
Sell Little Often
Many people HATE the hard sell. They don’t like feeling that they have to ask someone to fork over their savings on the spot. That’s understandable.
Social media and your online presence allow you to soft sell often. Instead of going all-in on a sales spiel, you can simply mention your product often and direct people to a landing page that does all the selling for you.
Great ways to soft sell are:
- Providing the basic details of your coaching program on the final slide of actionable advice carousels
- Sponsoring your own YouTube videos with a 1-minute overview of your coaching program
- Telling your followers to check out your coaching program in the last few lines of your reels or social media posts
- Creating a “next steps” section at the bottom of each email to your list suggesting further reading, free resources, and your coaching program
- Placing banner ads for your coaching program in your blog content
- Creating “behind the scenes” content that shows you working with a client or mentioning that you are working with clients today as part of your to-do list
Talking about your coaching program often will make sure it is fresh in your followers’ minds when they are ready to work with you. Otherwise, your clients may not even know that you have a coaching program.
Create a Plan
Put a plan in place to make talking about your coaching business, or coaching products feel less awkward. This could involve writing a full script or just some phrases you want to use. Decide how you want to talk about your coaching programs in a way that feels authentic to your brand. This is best done in advance rather than deciding it on the spot while you’re trying to sell.
Your plan could be as rigid or flexible as you desire. Some people want everything laid out and scripts that they can tweak. Other people want a loose framework that they can lean on so they can speak in the moment. There is no right or wrong answer; just do what works best for you.
Part of what we do here at Dangerous Words is help coaches to create these frameworks and scripts so they can confidently promote their products on any platform in any medium. Get in touch if you want some support in creating some for your business. We create sales messaging that feels comfortable for each coach and provide alternatives they can use, so they don’t sound like a broken record. Our packages are here if you want to learn more about the copywriting services we provide, and we are always available for questions.
(See, it can be as simple as that.)
When you have a plan in place, talking about your business feels more natural. You’re not grasping for words or losing your place; you already have a clear idea of what to say. It also allows you to plan how to share your message in a simple, on-brand way. You won’t fall yourself falling back on sales cliches or forgetting important details.