Sales-Based Marketing in Coaching: A Risky Approach
By Simon Clarke The marketing paradigm that can literally make or break your coaching business… What’s the single most important process determining whether or not your coaching business is successful? The correct answer to this question can completely change your coaching business forever. It can change your perception of your business. It can change your focus in your business. It can change how you go about operating your business. And most importantly, it can determine the success or otherwise of your business. We asked dozens of coaches this question and got a broad array of responses. But only 4% of them were even close to the mark! Most coaches answered: quality service; number of clients; pricing; branding; advertising copy. …And whilst all these issues are critical, the single most important process is your marketing methodology. Whilst you must have all the other elements as well, it’s your marketing methodology that ultimately determines the success or otherwise of your business. Let us explain. Nearly all coaches use a marketing methodology that’s a sales-based marketing methodology. This is understandable as most traditional marketing methods teach sales-based marketing methods. We’re all impacted by sales-based marketing at every turn - on TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio - everywhere. And when coaches research marketing methods, they are most likely to learn about traditional sales-based marketing methodologies - print ads (in newspapers, yellow pages, journals, magazines etc), direct telephone calls, radio, flyers, direct mail letters, etc. But there are several extremely powerful forces at play against coaches employing a sales-based marketing methodology. - Most coaches invariably feel uncomfortable delivering a ’sales pitch.’ Coaches generally have better technical skills than marketing skills. They’re therefore uncomfortable talking about themselves and endorsing the quality of their product. This means they don’t close, and comes across to prospects as a general lack of confidence in themselves, and their product and service. - Sales marketing is extremely expensive - narrowing your net margin on your service. The more you spend to get a client the less net profit you’ll retain at the end. - Generally people are very sceptical and defensive against sales approaches. This exponentially increases the barrier of making a sale. When you employ a sales-based marketing method, most prospects have already closed themselves off to learning about your services due to their natural tendency to put up a defence against sales-based marketing. - There is no trust and rapport built through a sales-based marketing approach. For a prospect to buy from you, there needs to be an element of trust. Your prospect needs to trust that you can deliver on your promises and that they’ll gain a positive return on their investment. This level of trust is extremely difficult to build through a sales-based marketing approach. - You build no reciprocal obligation on the prospect to investigate your offer or purchase from you. It’s a natural human tendency to reciprocate in kind what’s been given to you. You can not build reciprocal obligation through sales-based marketing. - You attract price sensitive shoppers and ‘tyre kickers’ that take up a lot of your time and result in extremely low conversion. - It’s difficult to maintain contact with prospects for long enough to build rapport and trust - it generally takes 4 to 6 contacts before a prospect will buy from you. So, we can hear you shouting “If sales-based marketing is not going to be effective, what’s my alternative to get clients?” The answer will be in the following articlestay close. Life Coaching Institute (Aust). If you wish to republish or reproduce this article, please include this information in the end of the article. For more information about the Institute please visit www.lcia.com.au/lz. Simon Clarke has over 15 years of experience as a writer, entrepreneur and business specialist. He is also the founder and Director of the Life Coaching Institute and the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors: both industry leading training providers in Australia and overseas. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Clarke http://EzineArticles.com/?Sales-Based-Marketing-in-Coaching:-A-Risky-Approach&id=290501 personal loan for foreclousure victims cash advance loan debt consolidation loan online legal bad credit cash advance loans
