For the most part, I love marketing & sales.
I love sharing about my work. I love sharing about how folks can step into my work and make a difference in their lives. I love using my marketing to inspire others and share my values and ideas I believe can help change the world.
But I’ll tell you: it wasn’t always this way.
I used to be terrified of marketing & sales. I used to be repelled by it all and want to have nothing to do with it.
So what changed? you might be wondering.
It all comes down to two types of confidence:
⇒ confidence in the quality & power of the work I do (which is why I’m such a huge advocate of learning world-class skills like the ones we learn in Sacred Depths)
⇒ confidence that the marketing and sales techniques and strategies that I’m using are ethical, heart-based, authentic….and non-sleazy.
I wasn’t able to truly get behind marketing – and to do it really well – until I found a way of marketing & selling that felt “right” to me….that felt in integrity.
When I first became a coach, I didn’t see examples of people marketing & selling that were aligned with my values (& so I basically kept myself invisible and didn’t market!). It took a few years of paving my own way and being willing to do things differently than what I was observing that finally gave me the inspiration, motivation, and confidence to put myself out there in big ways.
I feel so, so strongly about the need for ethical marketing & sales strategies in the coaching industry that over the decades I’ve taken a LOT of flak from others in the industry who have been ruffled about the ways that I’ve spoken out.
And my guess is that if you’re reading this article, you feel the same way I do: you’d rather not market at all if it means you have to do something that compromises your ethics and your values.
I applaud you because not everyone feels this way; we need more coaches and entrepreneurs like YOU!
And I am here to tell you that there are ways to market very effectively that are also completely in integrity (I teach these strategies every day in my trainings and programs).
Here are 3 to start off with:
1. Ditch fear-based and shame-based marketing
Any good marketer will tell you that part of effective marketing is painting a picture of what is not going well for your prospect. The philosophy is that you need to really make your audience aware of what’s not working, of the ways they are not where they want to be, of how it feels to not be where you want to be.
This is commonly called “activating the gap”.
And I agree – I have seen over the years that it is important to activate the gap, that when you accurately describe how a potential client might be feeling about their current situation, it can help them see that they really are ready for change and need help doing so…and that it can help your prospect know that you understand them and where they’re at.
But, there is an important line between activating the gap in ways that are honoring of your prospects, honoring of who they are, what their resources are, what their opportunities and possibilities are…versus activating the gap in ways that are shaming, in ways that are fear-inducing, in ways that have your prospects feel they are in dire circumstances and the only way out is with your help.
When you activate the gap in your marketing, remember to do it in ways that empower your prospects versus disempower them. Remember to do it in ways that normalize their situation so that they don’t self-judge…and instead help them to know how valuable they are and what resources they do have, even with the difficulties of their current situation.
2. Don’t create false urgency
So, I’m actually a big fan of creating a little bit of urgency in your marketing. (If you’ve been following me for a bit, you know I love early bird rates; it’s part of my generosity!).
Creating urgency is when you put a timeline on a price or a perk, and I firmly believe that people are more likely to invest in themselves when there is a special deal or offer; it can help folks stop dragging their heels and make a decision (versus staying in resistance).
But that being said, I am also a fan of not triggering people’s nervous systems in order to make a sale. Because when you do that, it’s not great for your prospect’s well-being, and it also takes them out of their highest wisdom to make a purchase decision that is right for them.
This is false urgency. It’s when someone tells you that you need to make a decision about buying right then and there in order to get the “deal”.
So, think about the timelines that you put on your pricing and your perks:
Are you giving people enough time and space to make a decision from a grounded, regulated place?
That’s the question I always ask myself to know what kind of timeline to use!
3. Share realistic marketing promises
This one is simple and obvious, but it still needs to be mentioned because there are waaayyyyy too many marketing promises out there in the transformational industry right now that are unrealistic.
And when you make unrealistic marketing promises…they are nearly impossible to see through, which means: you are making a sale under false premises and you are setting up both your client and yourself for failure and/or frustration.
It is a skill and it takes a little time to articulate your marketing promises and the possible results of working with you in a way that is inspiring and realistic and true.
But here’s the thing: when you do this, the clients who are meant to work with you will be even more likely to step in with you.
Because you’ll have gained their trust. And because they’ll see that you’re so good at what you do that you have expectations based on experience and real results.
I could share and teach for days on end about ethical marketing and sales practices, and I hope this little toe-dip into some strategies was helpful….and that it gets you maybe even EXCITED to market your work!
