I Give Free Consultations... So, Why Dont They Hire Me?


I show my clients a way to answer the question, "So, What Do You Do?" quickly and effectively. What I sometimes hear afterwards is,

"Anna that works great, people now 'get' what I do and say, 'Yeah, I could sure do with help like that' but they're still not hiring me. What am I doing wrong? I get them talking about a problem and help them arrive at a solution. I then ask if they want some more coaching. They respond, 'No, I'm fine at the moment, I'll let you know'. "

Coaches feel tempted to start coaching right then and there. It's a natural tendency because we are good problem-solvers and want to showcase our ability as competent coaches. Next time someone shows interest in your coaching, ask questions to discover some of their challenges - BUT DON'T TRY TO SOLVE THEM at this time.

You see? they don't need a "freebie" session to be convinced you are a good coach. They need to hear pertinent questions designed to find out is troubling or impeding them. Show you care enough to find out the big picture of what is going on and you'll peak their interest in hiring you. The idea is leave people wanting more of your help.

Ask, listen carefully and file their answers in your mind. Then talk about an ideal solution. Not your solution, a general ideal solution. Use phrases like:

"Wouldn't it be great if you felt more confident doing ??""It would probably be ideal if you could make better decisions that resulted in ?? Is that right?"

Here is another common frustration I hear:

"I offer a complimentary coaching session and even then I don't always convert them."

What I recommend is to offer a complimentary coaching assessment session. Where you find out what's bothering someone, how bad it is and how committed they are to solving it. If they are not committed to clearing the problems and moving ahead or do not have the money, why waste your precious time (and theirs) going on about how you can help? The simple question to ask before any coaching gets done is:

"How committed are you to solving this?"

If they say "very committed", then you can suggest a coaching plan that suits their needs and budget. You'll show them that:

*You know your stuff by asking questions that get to the heart of their frustrations
*They need your help - talk about an ideal solution and get their agreement
*With some dedicated coaching from you, they can reach their ideal solution.
*Working with you on X number of sessions will benefit them in many ways

Show professionalism by delving into what is important to solve and then estimate of the number of coaching sessions that will help. If a person or organization doesn't have the money or determination to clear their issues then we can safely conclude that they are not our ideal clients and there are thousands out there who are.

Anna brings to her training programs and coaching work, a background of 12 years in telecommunications as an Account Representative, first selling electronic business systems, then in Yellow Pages advertising. Following that, Anna transitioned into the education field where she honed her training expertise during 10 years of designing, coordinating and facilitating programs at learning centers like The Banff Centre for Management in Banff, Alberta, Canada and Victoria's Business Development Commission in Victoria, BC.

Anna is also the owner and founder of Emerging Wisdom Enterprises, a business dedicated to helping clients create compelling website copy, promotional material, sales presentations as well as high content, interactive TeleClasses and workshops.

What she does:
As a praised and recognized instructor at Victoria BC's "Business Economic Development Commission", Anna trains new entrepreneurs on how to get free publicity, write promotional material and improve their business communication skill.


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