Let’s talk about clients who doubt/question you and don’t do the work – and how to never ever get clients like that again while making multiple six figures per year.
(I’ve actually achieved both things simultaneously – but such was not always the case, so I’ve gathered a lot of wisdom on this subject over the years.)
(1) Be super clear in your marketing about what your process involves.
I used to not have a very clear process for getting results (and therefore I couldn’t talk about a clear process in my marketing) and some clients would be surprised about what I’d ask them to do, and have all kinds of doubts and resistance and question me every step of the way.
Looking back, it’s really obvious to me now that the things I was asking them to do were not spelled out in my marketing. So clients did not know about them before they signed up. This is very easy to fix if you have an actual process that works.
(A lot of people think they don’t have a process and that everything is completely organic and in-the-moment from client to client. Hint: if you’ve helped a lot of people, you most likely do have a process that is 80%-90% the same from client to client – you just don’t see it. One of the things I help my clients with is actually seeing what their process is so they can be more explicit about it in their marketing.)
I’m not proud to say that in the past I’ve also been one of these not-great clients who resisted counting my calories, cold-pitching leads, and getting vulnerable in my relationships.
But also, my coaches in those areas did not ever say in their marketing that those things would be required of me. So it’s partly on them. If they had, I would’ve had the opportunity to either self-select out of their lead generation system or start to mentally get myself on board with the methods and accept them before I ever reached out to enroll.
(2) Charge high enough.
We’ve all probably heard the maxim that charging more attracts more committed/invested clients. It’s generally true, but there are some further distinctions and caveats.
You’ve got to know what’s “high enough” for your particular ideal client and the outcome you’re working on.
If you’re helping new coaches to start their business and get their first clients and your particular avatar has never earned more than $40K/year in a job, a $2K-$5K price would probably be high enough to get their attention.
On the other hand, if you’re working with $100K/year coaches and your expertise helps them to scale to a million, they may not take a $5K or even a $10k price seriously.
If you help people to get healthy and fit, a busy millionaire CEO may need a higher price to be motivated than others would.
Etcetera.
You’ve also got to balance the motivation factor with making sure that the outcome you’re providing is valuable enough that the client’s ROI (return-on-investment) will be many times what they pay you.
(Pinning down the outcome you provide has been the topic of MANY of my past posts and emails – click here for a selection of my past writing on this subject or consider attending one of my Outcome Workshops if you need help with this.)
Charging high enough, however, will not eliminate all the clients with a victim mentality and/or who don’t do the work. Which brings me to #3…
(3) Stop “helping” people to sign up with you.
This means no follow-up, no chasing, no “discounts if you sign up today only” or other trap-em-on-the-sales-call tactics. Even no phone calls at all, in my case! (I do Messenger sales)
I used to do these kinds of things and there was a strong correlation between those who had to be “helped” to sign up and those who ended up being doubtful and victim-y in the process of working together. (It wasn’t true in every case, but I noticed a pattern.)
I now do absolutely nothing to “help” people take action or “sign up today.” I only enroll the people who pursue me and keep messaging me to keep the conversation going and ask questions or let me know they’re still interested.
I’ve had zero problems with any client who enrolled this way, and I believe it’s because only the most committed will enroll purely of their own volition.
Very important note: Taking this stance of expecting people to pursue you will be a lot more likely to work if you have a rock-solid process for getting particular [big] results and if people can see that process spelled out plain-as-day when they look at your marketing. That sharp clarity makes you a powerful invitation, and the committed will flock to you like bees to honey.
However: If you’re using a marketing/lead-gen method that doesn’t make your process crystal-clear as noted above, or is a more “outbound” approach (such as cold-calling/cold-DMing), or your offer doesn’t provide a massively life-changing outcome, then what I said above doesn’t really apply.
Follow-up and deadlines and discounts and other sales tactics may indeed be necessary if you’re selling something that’s less clear, or a smaller outcome, or if your marketing method doesn’t afford the opportunity to fully educate people on your process before they come to you for a sales conversation.
Other than that… know that when you’ve done the work to clarify your offer and your process for getting results (especially according to my method 😉 ) they will speak for themselves.
Fun note, too: I actually never particularly intended to stop chasing or following up with people or offering sign-up-today discounts/deadlines.
I just got so many leads when I cleared up my offer and my content that I didn’t even have time to think about prodding the ones who weren’t responding to me or weren’t saying “yes” and asking for invoices. I got super busy serving the ones who were signing up and it’s been that way ever since.
If you try this empowered business model, I think you may like it.
If you want help to tweak your offer and your posts so that they’re a powerful invitation to the committed, just send me a FB DM about my 30-day intensive for experienced coaches and consultants.
We’ll have a chat over Messenger to see if I think you’re a fit for it. And, no worries – I will do absolutely nothing to pressure you. I trust that if you agree it’s a fit, you’ll sign up all on your own. 😉