The inner game between you and your prosperous business

Creating a prosperous business is simple with a coaching approach

Two weeks ago a colleague suggested reading this book – The Prosperous Coach. I receive book suggestions all the time but this time, it felt right. And it felt right now.

I found it instantly (a free copy on Scribd) and read it within 48 hours.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression:

When the student is ready the teacher arrives.

Well that was me. Student Lisa, who had been working out the best approach to keeping my revenue consistent within my current offers for a while.

I was beginning to completely own that I have a consulting-style business model. Endless conversations with a friend and close observation of a number of colleagues had convinced me that increasing my client base, one-by-one, was still my best game plan.

Of course that plan included rate increases, working with more complex clients and niching to attract more health & wellness consultants.

The details of my business are always changing but the model has been clear.

So when The Prosperous Coach book came across my desk …  even though the thought, “I’m not really a coach” came into my head … I dove in.

I acted immediately because I knew there was a leak in my consulting business model. And if I wanted a prosperous business I needed to fill those holes.

The two main holes I had – no big surprise because most people can improve upon them – were client attraction and conversion.

Even though I had experienced pretty good attraction and conversion levels, I knew they needed to improve in order to reach the income I wanted. And I knew improving what was already working well was more time effective than investing in new channels.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again:

It’s way easier to grow your business within your current network than outside of it. 

And that’s what the coaching approach is all about – key principles that increase connection and conversion naturally.

Before you say, I’m not a coach – I’m a designer, consultant, therapist, personal trainer, nutritionist …, hear this:

You are building relationships and if you start them with a powerful conversation you will change the dynamic of every single relationship you have.

Here’s what I took away, applied immediately and used to create an immediate increase in my revenue.

Don’t sell old school style

Traditional sales includes a lot of follow ups. I like the 3 time follow-up rule. After three connection attempts I usually assume, “not at this time”.

Even after I’ve had a strong conversation with someone, they are responsible for taking steps forward.

Just let them go.

Even if you know you can help someone, the choice is theirs. Endless following up (unless they ask for it) won’t turn them into an eager and satisfied client. Give them the opportunity without forcing it awkwardly. That only diminishes your own empowerment.

When they aren’t eager to buy from you they are likely shopping around. That doesn’t always make the best client. And you can’t build a prosperous business without ideal clients.

Move on …

Serve them

The opposite of the old school style selling is service. Holding space for someone to imagine the transformation that you want them to reach is good for them. It’s also good for you because you are the one taking them there. And they’ll appreciate it.

Helping people see the shift that’s possible serves them in that very moment.

A prosperous business gives people one of the most memorable conversations they will have in their life!

That’s service that will sell to the right people at the right time.

Park your own money issues at the door

My next big aha moment was around my money mindset. I thought I had a pretty good money mindset – I charge enough, I raise my rates often …

But my block was showing up in another form. I was pre-judging my prospects ability to pay based on what I knew about them. I was making an internal judgement about their needs and wasn’t as confident as I could have been when offering to help them.

Ultimately I wasn’t holding their best potential in my mind and serving that vision.

Sneaky right? 

When you are serving, not selling, your prospects get to choose. Your prospect is responsible for making decisions on how they invest their money in themselves, not you.

Go for no

Do you have a natural instinct is to play it safe? When’s the last time you made an ask and planned on hearing back “no”? You might find that you avoid making asks that you think might incite a “no thank you”.

Well, never assume. To earn more means to aim higher.

It means reaching out to people who you want to work with even if they haven’t asked first. It also means creating bigger, bolder proposals.

In a recent outreach campaign I was surprised by the replies I received. People who I didn’t suspect needed help were actually ideal clients.

If you are always counting on a yes, you aren’t playing big enough and you won’t be able to reach your stretch goals.

A prosperous business & mindset in action

So now that you are super excited to host meaningful conversations with everyone you meet, you are on your way. When I started holding this kind of space for prospects, many more of them became clients – immediately.

Putting these principle’s in action really means:

1. Letting go of your money assumptions
2. Helping people connect to their vision
3. Making bolder asks
4. Getting uplifting support to do 1-3 consistently

I added that last one because the sooner you get into a more abundant mindset, the more prospects you will convert into dream clients.

Want to start reading The Prosperous Coach? I’d be happy to email a PDF version. Just send an email to lisa(at)lisaprincic.com and I’ll send it your way.