101: Authentic Marketing is Alot Like Coaching

This episode was inspired by a recent conversation. Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/101.I’ve never met a coach who loves the idea of marketing. And most coaches tell me they hate the idea of selling. And that’s why it always surprises me when I see coach’s websites, emails and social posts worded in a salesy way.I made up that word. Salesy is when you make your marketing about you and what you do instead of your target audience and what they want. Salesy is about pushing and convincing prospects to buy your program way before trust and connection are established.For example, imagine …·      a coach’s website whose brand, domain and messaging is mostly about them and the wonders of coaching. That’s salesy.·      or social posts that spout the tenets of coaching. That’s salesy.·      or a lead magnet — also called a free offer or freebie — that delivers a bit of coaching guidance about limiting beliefs, balance or imposter syndrome — addressed to no one in particular.These approaches shout “hire me for coaching” but coaching isn’t something most people know they want.Listen, I did ALL of these salesy things when I started as a coach, so I totally get why coaches do this. None of us knew any better. No One Likes to Be SoldSo then how will you convince people to hire you without selling coaching? First, let’s shift that to a more powerful question: How can you EARN the attention of IDEALclients and INSPIRE them to hire you WITHOUT selling coaching?Let’s break this down. I ask the question this new way for 3 main reasons:1.     Earning attention comes way before asking for the sale.In our fast and full marketplace with so many marketing messages flying at everyone, earning attention is a true art. Before you throw out social posts or throw up a website develop a smart strategy.Attention is earned when you show up consistently focused on what’s most important to your target audience. Speak their language. Build trust and connections. The word ‘coaching’ or ‘coach’ is not present at all in that effort.2.     It’s better for you and your prospects if you DO NOT TRY TO CONVINCE them to hire you.Think about a time when someone tried to convince you of something. How did that feel? If someone tries to convince me of something I am turned off and will quickly get excuse myself. If I’m online I’m bouncing away so fast it will make your head spin!Convincing someone is to try to hard sell them. It’s the stereotypical car salesman joke – relentless high pressure. Human beings are wary of pressure. Inside them the walls go up. As a coach you want to run your business with integrity. You want to feel good about what you do 100% of the time. You want to put out positive energy.So let the pressure off. Let go of any whiff of desperation to enroll a client. Instead SERVE your target audience faithfully. Serve as a form of marketing. That’s called generosity marketing.Read about generosity marketing -- an authentic way to market.