Lately, I have found myself in a strange place.
When I first started my little niche, supplying the market with accelerated life-coaching disguised as workshops for guys wanting to improve their skills with women, I had a principle. That principle has been my guide throughout my career as a coach ever since: Either be a coach, or a salesman. Do not attempt to be both at the same time. It was, in fact, deeply inspired by some true words of wisdom by my first coach trainer Steve Linder, a person I deeply respect and admire.
If you do the best for the persons that trust you to coach them, the word will travel.
As I started as a fulltime professional coach however, I started noticing that I - in some way chose to - feel a pressure on my shoulders. Use your network. Sell more to exisiting clients. Make sure you have business tomorrow.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with that in itself, I have been a salesman for many years, and concepts such as cross-selling and up-selling are some I believe I master… And I have been able to generate quite a nifty profit in business coaching and training - however, I have always drawn the line at a point where business partners in my life-coaching business have asked me to think in some of the more radical extensions of these strategies.
I am pretty sure that I could have grown the brand Powerful Connections to a much bigger one by now, if I had compromised on my base principle in this area. We would have been able to “go global” 6 months ago, if I had chosen a different path from the beginning. But, what would I be believing about my clients, at my heart, other than that I would need to attach to them like a bad habit that they are addicted to.
My pride comes frome my ability to release my clients soon after they come to me, feeling more powerful as they walk out of my office, or hang up the phone, not from the bank statement I get each month. That’s what coaching is all about to me, and that is why I will always think ethics into our product offerings, and our business model.
If my up and coming eBook “Powerful Game” priced at some $ 20 helps you out, I will be just as happy as I would, if you decide to attend one of our live events at around $ 1,000.
And of course, when all that is said and done - I don’t grow fat from the attraction business. I have given away tons of stuff for free, I have coached many people without hesitating or asking for a charge, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
One of my clients wrote me, 6 months after he attended our PowerBOOST! His life has changed immensely, he sees opportunities everywhere - and acts on them. He would gladly have paid three times what he did back then.
But he didn’t. And that, to me, is priceless.
