3 Simple Steps To Enrolling More Clients (Without Feeling Icky)
Want to grow your business fast? Get better at selling.
Every successful business is built on sales. And if we define sales as simply communicating the value of an idea or action, I think it is safe to say that everyone is now a salesperson.
Coaches who embrace this fact, who commit to learning the strategies of successful selling, reap most (if not all) of the rewards. They build sustainable businesses, make a difference with their work, and earn the trust of other people.
Those who resist selling are in a constant struggle to get traction.
Sounds like a no brainer, right? Here’s the problem…
Most people hate selling.
Why Traditional Selling Sucks (And What To Do Instead)
Sales is stigmatized. Most of us have trouble shaking the image of a used car salesman or telemarketer. We’re used to old-fashioned, pushy, pressure-filled sales tactics.
When you sell that way, it doesn’t feel good. It also isn't very effective. Fortunately, there’s another way…
Selling through service.
When you sell through service, it doesn’t feel like selling. It feels like you’re supporting someone in unleashing their full potential.
Selling through service is one of the most sacred things you can do for another human being. You’re helping them cut through all of their internal fears and bullshit. You’re helping them commit emotionally to a future outcome that they want.
How To Sell Through Service: The 3C Sales System
There are three basic steps for enrolling a new client. I've combined them into what I call my 3C Sales System. If you follow this formula, you’ll be more persuasive, help more people with what you do, and make the money you need to keep doing it sustainably.
(Note: This isn't meant to be a rigid formula. As you get more comfortable with sales, you'll learn how to have the conversation in a way that feels natural to you. I just know that it can be helpful to have a process when you are starting out.)
Step 1: CLARIFY their situation, desires, and obstacles
Every great sales conversation starts with curiosity. This is about more than just "getting rapport." It's about getting into another person's world.
Until you understand the person you are talking to – their background, fears, and desires – it’s useless to talk about what you have to offer them. You need to know their problem before you can offer a solution.
In fact, you want to understand this person’s problem even better than they understand it themselves. Then you need to create a clear vision or solution that is specific to them. One that they may not even be able to imagine at first.
That’s why this first step is called clarify. Right off the bat you are serving this person by asking questions and reflecting their world back to them. The idea is that even if you stopped after this step alone, you would have already created a lot of value.
Ask them about what they want to create. Ask them what's stopping them. Ask them about why it's so important for them to get this area of their life handled.
If you're a coach, you might ask permission to do a bit of coaching. If you're a consultant, you can offer them new perspectives and models that help them better understand their situation. Whatever your knowledge or expertise is, don't be stingy with it here.
If you're selling through service, you should be spending about 80–90% of your time on this step. Most people do the opposite. They rush through this step and suffer the consequences later on.
Step 2: CONNECT what they want to what you have
Once you have fully immersed yourself in this person’s world, it’s time to connect what they want to what you have.
Because the truth is, they don’t want what you have. They want a specific result.
Let me explain…
As a coach, I’m not selling the process of coaching. I’m selling the future that coaching can get for the person I’m talking to. Coaching is just a tool, and they don’t really care about exactly what it is or how it works.
Another example: People don’t buy a mousetrap because they want a mousetrap. They buy a mousetrap because they want a mouse-free house. See the difference?
It’s your job to connect the dots for this person. How does what you’re offering help get them the specific result they want? What’s in it for them?
Say the person I’m talking to wants to pursue a new project but is feeling overwhelmed with tasks. I might talk about how coaching can help them manage their energy more effectively and ultimately help them get moving on their project faster. I’ll even use their specific words to describe the problem.
Again, lots of value is being created here. You're showing them a path to getting what they want. It's up them whether they want to walk that path with you or not.
Step 3: CLOSE the loop by helping them make a decision
Sales gurus like to talk a lot about “the close.” It’s over-rated. In a perfect world, this would be the shortest part of your sales conversation.
Having said that, you still need to close the conversation in some way. You can’t just trail off and hope that the person is going to initiate the next step completely on their own. You have to lead.
First ask yourself: do you want to work with this person? Do they inspire you? Would you hang out with them on a Sunday afternoon? If not, you can just kindly end the conversation right there.
If it’s a fit, ask them if they want to hear more. You might say something like, "Would you want to hear about how we could work together to implement [whatever you said in Step 2]?"
If they do, explain to them what that would look like, first in terms of structure and then it terms of the investment (monetary or otherwise). Remember to stay connected to the outcome that they want.
And please: Don't be needy. Neediness is the killer of all sales. Make sure that your voice tone doesn’t go up at the end of your sentences. It shouldn't sound like you’re asking a question when you state your rates.
Once you’ve done this, stop talking. Shut up. Let them sit with it.
If they’re a YES, great.
If not, find out why. This is not about being pushy. It’s about creating more value.
Remember: You want what is best for them. If there is something getting in the way of that, you want to find out what it is. In other words, the fact that they hesitated doesn't mean that your work is done.
What to Do If They "Need to Think About It"
Here are two questions to ask that get to the core of what’s stopping them (hint: it’s probably not money):
1. “If money was not an issue, if you suddenly had X dollars in your bank account right now, would you be a YES?”
This question will help you find out if there's anything else they are not saying that’s keeping them from investing. Once you know what that thing is, you can address it directly.
2. “What is the cost of NOT moving forward with this investment?”
Often, when someone says that they can’t afford what you’re offering, it just means that they don’t perceive the value of it to be worth the cost. If they say yes to the first question, that money is the only thing getting in the way of moving forward, you want to make sure that they understand the value of what you offer.
This second question is why Steps 1 and 2 are so important. If you've already built a solid foundation of understanding, you may not have to work through objections like these. But if they do come up, it helps to remind the person about the outcome that they want, and specifically why they want it.
The great part of this whole process is that you are serving the person the entire time. Even if they end up a NO, they’ll walk away with a better understanding of themselves and what they need to do to achieve their goals. Isn't that great to know?
The Secret To Effective Selling
There is a crucial component to selling that most people never talk about. Without it, none of what I just described will work.
Before I tell you what the secret is, I have a confession to make…
I love selling.
I remember hosting yard sales all the time as a kid. I used to drive a pretty hard bargain for my stuffed animals. The reason I could do that was because I thought they were awesome.
And that’s the secret: selling through service only works when you believe 100% in what you’re selling. I knew this as a kid, which is why I charged so much for my toys. It feels really good to help someone make a decision that will have a positive impact on their life.
Do you trust your ability to transform your clients and customers?
If not, what’s one step you can take today to build that trust?
Remember: the first sale is always yourself.
Bonus: Download the PDF field guide so you can print it out and start closing sales:
When it comes to enrolling clients for your coaching program, mindset matters. A lot.
The intention that you go into a call with will impact everything that happens during that conversation, including its outcome.
If you don't have the right intention during these conversations, you're going to end up missing out on a lot of people who you can help.
On the other hand, when you have the right intention going into an enrollment call, everything becomes easy. You feel less pressure, the client feels less pressure, and ultimately you're more likely to get paid (assuming that it's a good fit).
So: what's the best mindset for enrolling your ideal clients?
I'll get to that in just a minute. First, I need to explain the two most common mindsets that people use when approaching an enrollment call.
The 2 Most Common Mindsets: Please Or Sell
On one side of the spectrum, we have coaches who go into an enrollment conversation just wanting to make the other person feels good. They don't want potential clients to be uncomfortable. Either consciously or unconsciously, they want the other person to like them.
This is the "Please" mindset. When your intention is to please potential clients, it can seem like you're being noble and respectful. The problem is, it's impossible to have this mindset and also give the person tough love or tell them the honest truth when they need to hear it. You'll be too afraid to upset them or to come off as aggressive.
This intention also makes overcoming objections really difficult because it's impossible to both help the person make a scary decision while also having them be 100% comfortable throughout the process.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are coaches who go into enrollment conversation just wanting the other person to invest in their coaching.
This is the "Sell" mindset. Unlike the pleaser, someone with the intention to sell doesn't necessarily need the other person to feel good. And they are willing to have the conversation get a little bit uncomfortable. In fact, a coach in this mindset feels uncomfortable a lot because they constantly put pressure on themselves to make the sale.
One problem with having this intention is that potential clients can tell immediately if you're just trying to enroll them at all costs. This mindset usually comes off as needy, or at the very least undiscerning. Coaches with the "Sell" mindset have trouble building trust with potential clients and, even worse, they sometimes end up having people pay them who aren't a good fit for their coaching.
The Middle Way: Serve
So, on one side of the spectrum is "Please", and on the other is "Sell".
There is a middle way here.
The best mindset for enrolling your potential clients is the "Serve" mindset. Coaches with this mindset go into enrollment calls with the sole intention of making sure that the other person is going to be better off by the end of the call than they were before the call.
Sometimes that means not inviting a potential client into your programs because you're not the best person to help them. Other times it means putting a stake in the ground for that person and helping them commit to changing a certain area of their life with your help (even if that commitment is scary).
Coaches who have the intention to serve are able to detach themselves from the outcome of the call and focus on the process.
So next time your preparing for a phone call, try this...
Remember that this person is someone that people care for. They probably have parents, maybe sibling and kids. They have goals and fears just like you that they are navigating.
Set the intention for yourself that no matter what, this person will be better off for having spoken to you. There may be things you have to tell them that feel intense. It may turn out that they are not a good fit for you. Whatever happens, remember why you are coaching in the first place and commit to making sure that this call right now furthers that mission.
If you do a good job at assessing what that person needs, and if you're able to hold yourself and them to making the best decision for both of you, you'll be in good shape.
Don't sell. Don't please. Serve.
