Does the thought of "sales calls" make you feel icky inside?
Maybe the thought of selling itself feels gross or greedy or uncomfortable for you?
But then you go online & see your favourite biz coach telling you shit like:
"If you don't like sales calls it's because you don't believe in your value"
"If you don't close them on the phone they'll never sign up"
"You have to do sales calls if you want to sell high ticket offers"
So you download a free sales script + get on the phone with some prospects.
You get a few nos & get a few signed up on the phone.
But it all feels like a blurr, because you had to completely abandon yourself, your personality & values to follow the script.
I'm not sure about you, but I'll take a hard pass on that.
Do you need to do sales calls to be a successful online coach?
Hell no.
Can sales calls have their time & place in your business?
Hell yes.
When it comes to sales calls, there are lots of upsides. They allow...
👍🏼 For a deeper personal connection with the client
👍🏼 You to communicate your offer in a way that applies to the client's specific situation
👍🏼 You to give the client an example of what support & coaching with you might look like
👍🏼 You to talk through any obstacles or questions the client might have
But on the flip-side, they...
👎🏼 Can be very time consuming & reduce your capacity in other areas of your business
👎🏼 May not be the best use of your time if you're not pre-qualifying leads
👎🏼 Can turn into "free coaching" sessions if boundaries aren't set
👎🏼 Might prevent certain clients who don't like calls from inquiring
If you're wondering whether or not you need to do sales calls, here are a few considerations:
❶ What information do you need to gather about the client?
→ Are they an ideal client?
→ Can you ACTUALLY help them?
→ Do they understand your values/coaching style?
→ Do they understand what's included in the program?
❷ How are you communicating what your coaching entails?
→ This goes beyond the "weekly check ins + customized program" list of features. Those types of details are irrelevant for most clients. How are you communicating what your program actually provides the client or the problem it solves for them? If you're doing that in your copy, & able to communicate that in a few messages to them, you might not need a sales call.
❸ How are you honouring your client's process?
→ You may be someone who can make quick decisions & commitments on the fly, but not everyone is like that. Some people need more space & time to gather information & have their process in order to make an empowered decision.
→ If you are doing a call, allowing space for their process means not pushing them to dish out their CC or sign up immediately if they say they need time.
❹ What is the price point of your offer and how many clients can you work with at one time?
→ Generally speaking, for higher ticket offers, more communication is going to be required (whether that's over a call or via messaging). Lower ticket offers like memberships, group programs or similar probably won't require that to the same extent.
→ If you have a lower ticket offer like a membership for example, and you're getting influxes of multiple clients at a time, sales calls with every person might not be realistic. How many leads are you generating and how many clients do you bring in at one time?
Remember, regardless of whether you do a call or not - the sale doesn't generally happen in the sales call, it happens in your content & interactions leading up to it.
The way you speak about your coaching, philosophy, values & programs inside of your copy and how you show up on social media is going to do a lot more of the selling than you will do on the phone.
It's also important to consider that the thought of hopping on a "discovery call" or "sales call" can feel super intimidating to clients.
We like to give the client an option of whether they'd like to chat via email, instagram DM or do a "vibe check" call, and we've found that most clients who want more info will end up booking a call.
We've also found that having an application form for the client to fill out prior to the call allows us to "pre-qualify" them, see if they are an ideal client, and determine whether a call will be a good use of our time.
This can be a simple 2-3 question form where you ask about the client's goals, their ideal coach/client relationship or what they're looking for in coaching, along with something fun to build rapport (coach Nicola loves "what's your favourite chip flavour?" 🥔).
In conclusion, if sales calls feel good to you - go for it. But if they don't there are many other ways you can build your business without them.
Stay tuned for more blog posts on the sales process, sales "scripts" and other considerations.
Sara xx