Better Business Coach Transcript
This is Better Business Coach session number three.
Hello everyone, and welcome to Better Business Coach. My name is Matthew Pollard, and as always, I am your rapid growth guy.
If you haven’t already, please take a second to subscribe to both the video and audio version of this podcast. The audio will give you all the ideology and training you need to be the most successful business coach possible, while the video podcast will give you step-by-step instructions on how to use the worksheets and templates that I have spent over a decade creating and perfecting. These are all available for download from MatthewPollard.com or BetterBusinessCoachPodcast.com in the session notes for each one of the worksheets that we run through as we go through them.
Now, this is part two of the two part series, so if you haven’t already, please go back and listen to part one of Better Business Coach, where we cover why you’re potentially not getting the results that you need out of your networking events.
We also talk about the three-step elevator pitch that you can use when you’re at networking events to change the entire outcome from “I deliver coaching” and “Oh, okay. I had a bad experience with coaching once,” and the conversation finishing, to “Really? How exactly do you do that?” and getting the client asking you to tell them more about your products and services.
This was a very simplistic approach and actually sounds very scripted, but the reason I started with that is that I really want you to see how something as simple as that change can provide such a different outcome at any networking event. This will give you confidence that what I’m telling you about networking really works. We’re now going into the next step, step two, what Michael has coined as the conversational elevator pitch, which will make a great deal of effect on the success of your business.
Also, if you haven’t had a chance yet, make sure you go out and actually put this advice in action. So many people are learners and learners only. Go out actually use this information. If you haven’t got a networking event lined up, go to meetup.com and find somewhere to go with the intention of just experimenting and practising.
Let’s talk about conversational elevator pitches. To do that, we have to do a little bit of preparation. In the last session, we discussed the segments that you were working, and we discussed that there could be several of these. What I want you to do is grab a piece of paper and divide it into four columns, and in the column on the far left, write every one of the segments that you feel comfortable working with or in which you get your best results. This could be anywhere from a person that wants to start a new business, to somebody who has been working in a business for 30 years and needs help in getting out of their business, to somebody who is struggling in sales and needs assistance with that.
In the next column, I want you to write what they were looking for when they started their business. Maybe they wanted to put their name on something, or maybe they wanted to earn the money their boss was earning. Maybe they wanted a better work/life balance. Whatever you think it is for those segments, write them down. Quite frequently, a lot of the things could be similar, so don’t be afraid to write the same thing twice.
Next, in the third column, write down what challenges are preventing them from getting what they are looking for. This could be unmotivated staff, struggling to find the right staff, no understanding of the sales process, systems that don’t work, causing them to say in the office and fix things, all financial control; the list is endless. Write down the ones that you think are most likely to apply to your customer segment.
In the fourth column, I want you to write the bigger problems, i.e. my staff don’t perform or I can’t find good staff, which means I feel uncomfortable and anxious, every time I leave the office, or I feel like I’m never going to get to a stage where I am in control of my business, or I feel like I’m no longer interested in my own business that I used to care about so much, or I feel devalued, or I’ve lost confidence in myself. These are the higher problems that people can really identify with; they will think that you understand their problems and what’s happening to them. These are problems that you may have experienced yourself in some stage within your business, so don’t be afraid to list some of the things that you really struggle with, because these are the same concerns they might be having.
Okay, now that we’ve got this down, let’s workshop what you say when a prospective person says to you “What do you do?” Your response should be “Well, do you know how a business owner opens up their business, and they have dreams of creating their own brand for themselves, getting that work/life balance that they really want, and earning the money that they’ve seen their employers earn for years and years and years, but for some reason, they find themselves struggling with managing staff and getting them to perform, getting the sales that they need for their business, and getting the system set up to allow for them to actually provide their services and products efficiently without things going wrong and customers getting upset with them? Do you know anyone like that?”
And what you will generally find is that somebody will say “Yeah, I have that problem,” or they know somebody that does. What you’ll then say is “Oh, okay,” and you’ll then talk about the bigger challenges. And you’ll say, “Do you find that they’re always stressed out when they leave work because they’re anxious that their staff aren’t going to be performing while they’re away, and they can never seem to take any time off, and they seem to have lost faith in themselves or confidence in what they’re doing, and it’s almost like they want to go back to work because they’re just over the entire circumstance?”
And you’ll generally a responsive of, well, you know, maybe they’re not that bad, but they do have this problem and this problem, and I agree with you here, here, and here. You can then respond by saying “Look, let them know,” or “I want to know that you’re not alone. In fact, your problem is so common,” and this is where you introduce what you do fix it, “I have created a seven session coaching breakthrough session that takes people from the brink of losing faith in their business to getting their business back on track, getting the structures that work, and actually actively working on their business, not in it. This has been so successful that I actually have gotten –” and this is where you talk about the results you had. “I have actually received results from my clients that give me a 92% success rate in not only paying back the services that I charged for, but doubling their profitability within the period of that coaching. So there is hope for you,” or “There is hope for your friend.”
Then they’ll reply, and this is where you transfer it into a potential sales opportunity for the future. If you’re talking to that person, you say, “So there is hope for you. What I’d like to do is set up a free 30 minute session where we sit down and work out what your problems are and figure out whether or not I am a good fit to help you work with those, and whether or not my seven session plan will be effective.” And what I do is I do a full business needs analysis. I will show you how to do this business needs analysis in one of our video sessions coming up, so remember to subscribe to that.
Then you say, “So how about I pull out my calendar. I’ve got something available.” Then you give them two options, morning and afternoon. So you can say, “I’ve got a morning next Tuesday, and I’m free Thursday afternoon. Which one best suits you?” You get out the calendar and you book in the time there and then.
And then, once they book in a time, you say “Know what? I’m actually really excited about this, because every time I work with a business…” and you give them some example stories of other people that you helped, and then you leave them with that note that they’re going to get to sit down with you during this half an hour session.
Now, don’t give away all of the goodies of that session in that networking event, or you will have no reason to catch up with them again. Start talking socially. The deal is done, job finished. If are not talking to the person that has a problem, say to them, “Okay, well, I’ll tell you what. What if I do this? What if I provide your friend my e-book or my white page on exactly how they can start working on this problem, and I will also give them, on behalf of you, a 30 minute free session where we will talk about their issues and work out whether or not I am a good fit to help them fix their problem. And if I am, we can discuss further the details of the seven session plan that I have to absolutely transform their business. So what I will do is – look, I’ll tell you what. Have you got an email address, and do you have their email address?” Then you get their details and send them an email. When sending the email to your potential client, specify that you’re doing it on behalf of their friend whom you met at the meet up because they felt it would be a good service for them.
Now, I know people’s worry of wasting their time going out and seeing people that perhaps won’t have the money or perhaps won’t engage with you. I come from call sales, so my belief is that once you actually have a physical appointment with the person, it comes down to your ability to close as to whether or not you get the client, and with the business needs analysis that I’ll go through with you in a few sessions, that’s going to turn them into absolute putty in your hands. Therefore, as a result of that, you will be able to close that customer, no problems. So my suggestion is book as many people as you can, or send that email with the intent of booking as many people as you can to ensure that you get the opportunity to practice the business needs analysis coming up and your ability to close, because trust me, that’s going to happen much more frequently, and we’re going to get your business to rapid success.
Okay, so I hope you’ve enjoyed this session, and I hope you got a lot out of it. If you had a chance to network already, I’m sure you already benefited from it. If not, the main thing I want you to do is take action. If you don’t take action, you will never get the success that I have planned for you, because taking action is the only way you can obtain these skills, practice these skills, and obtain success for your business. The world of studying and continually learning to make your business better doesn’t exist. Unless you actually take action to make this happen, it will never work, so make sure you go out and do that.
If you haven’t currently taken action to subscribe to this podcast and the video podcast, do so now, and while you’re there, if you’re on iTunes, please do me a favour and post a review stating what you think about this podcast. Any of your comments would be more than welcomed, as well as the star rating that you feel this podcast deserves. Thank you very much for your time, and I look forward to sharing the next session of Better Business Coach Podcast with you. Cheers.
