How to Do Sales as a Coach

I’m Mike Foster. I’m an Executive Coach and Counselor to high-level leaders, like Navy Seals, Chick-fil-A operators, CEOs, and even HGTV stars.

And I’m writing this weekly newsletter to help you…

• Become an effective coach

• Build a meaningful business

• Impact the people you’re called to serve.

In a previous lesson, I taught you how to turn your daily interactions into coaching opportunities through “Everyday Prospecting”.

Now, let’s talk about how to turn those follow-up conversations into paying clients.

In other words…

“How do I do sales?”

First, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room…

No one likes sales, right?

Okay, maybe a few people love it, but I think it’s safe to say that most of us feel a tinge awkward when talking about what we do in front of others, especially if you’re new to coaching and especially if you’re talking to someone who might buy from you. This is normal, and I think it’s a healthy caution.

It’s a sign that you genuinely want to help people and that you care more about serving them than you do about the money. 

If that’s you, you’re actually in the sweet spot for closing sales.

However, if you don’t learn how to “land the plane”…

• People will say they’re interested but then ghost you.

• You’ll have coaching skills, but you’ll still struggle to put food on the table.

• Despite your sincere heart to help others, you won’t impact as many people as you want.

Simply put, sales is a non-negotiable skill if you want to increase your impact as a coach.

The good news is, I can show you how to do sales without feeling “salesy”.

Most people shy away from sales because they don’t want to convince someone to do something they don’t want to do. That’s not what we’re here to do at all. We’re here to help.

The secret to success is viewing sales as a service.

That’s right, don’t focus on selling them anything. Instead, focus on serving the person in front of you. Help them make the best decision for their life, even if it means NOT working with you.

Think of “potential client conversations” less as sales opportunities and more as an opportunity to help them discover clarity. 

This completely shifts the definition of success. Success is not a sale. Success is helping them find clarity.

How do you get there?

7 Steps to Lead a Successful Discovery Call

I can’t teach you everything about sales tactics and handling objections in one email. The good news is, those things come naturally when you understand the overarching structure of a Discovery Call.

Your goal is to help them identify 7 things.

1.What do they want?

Start off the call by getting clear on what they want. How do they want life to look different in 12 months? Ask follow-up questions to get ultra-specific.

2.Why do they want it?

Next, go deeper into the “why”. Why does this goal matter to them? What’s wrong with staying where they are right now? Who in their life benefits from this goal?

3.Where are they now?

Most people never think about this. Helping them see the size of the gap between where they are and where they want to be is one of the greatest gifts you can give a person. It opens them up to the truth that they need more help than they thought.

4.What’s stopping them from getting there on their own?

In other words, if they want this thing so bad, why haven’t they achieved it yet? What external or internal obstacle is keeping them from the life they say they want? How are they getting in their own way? 

5.How is the problem impacting the rest of their life? 

Next, dig deeper into the real cost of the problem. How is it impacting their relationships, their health, their self-concept, and other relevant domains? What’s at stake if nothing changes?

6.When do they want the problem solved?

Some people are content to live with their problems for years. That’s okay. It’s their decision. It just means they’re not ready to work with you. Get clarity on when they want to overcome their problem and achieve their goal.

7.What is solving this problem worth to them?

Finally, identify the value of the solution. Let’s say a year goes by and they still haven’t achieved what they said they want. What would they give to go back and change that? 

That’s it!

Once you get clear on these 7 things, you will know whether or not you should offer to help.

If it’s a clear yes, that’s a win. If it’s a clear no, that’s a win!

Either way, you served them by giving them clarity on their best next step for their goals.

I hope this framework alleviates some of the anxiety around sales, and I know that serving people in this way will lead to meaningful, thriving practice for you.

Thanks for reading,

Mike Foster

Want to learn more about sales as a service?

There’s an entire 11-part training module on how to become great at sales in my coaching certification program. We’ll teach you everything from how to structure a call to how to handle objections to how to charge a card online to voice, tonality, and body language. Schedule a Discovery Call with my team today.

They’ll serve YOU by helping you get the clarity you need to take the best next step.