As I hope you are discovering, moving people through their objections is an awesome skill to have. Not just as a coach, but as a friend, parent, spouse, co-worker...any role really.
The key to the skill is to stay in the advisor role and not get pulled into convincing or selling. In fact there have been times when I've caught myself going there with someone who tends to challenge me with one objection after another. When I get in that place...I just pause for a moment, smile, relax and say, "I'm not here to be convincing, that's not my desire or role, I am simply here to help you as best I can, discover if this is something that could benefit you right now". It takes the tension out of it.
Moving people through their objections has a few important steps:
Acknowledge their issue, fear, complaint, experience. "I understand" ; "I can see why you would feel that way, If that were my experience, I would feel the same way too"; "It sounds like that really concerns you, I understand"; "I totally get it”
Share your experience or use a relatable story. "What happened for me was"; "I have a friend who"; "What I've seen happen to other people is”
Explain what you learned. "What I discovered was"; "What my friend did was"; "The solution seemed to be”
Ask them a question to see where they are. "Would you be open to try?" ; "What do you think?"; "Do you think we could find a solution that would work for you?”
Get them what they need to take the next step. "If I sent you the link, would you be ready to join us?"; "If I got you the schedule for our training, would you be ready to get started?"; "If you took the next 30 days to save for your challenge pack, would you want to join our group in July?”
Helping people overcome the obstacles they create can be fun and rewarding. Stay curious and be a friend. They will appreciate your approach and feel like they have a coach who cares. The way to enjoy this process is to remember that it's just a conversation...and at any point you are free to give them a "graceful release". Let them know you hear their concerns and just want them to know that you're here if they ever want any support around putting their health first and taking better care of themselves. AND...you'd love their support in building your coaching business, so if they come across anyone that might want the support of a coach, you'd appreciate connecting them with you.
Keep inviting, and you will surely master the skill of being an advisor instead of a seller !
TODAY'S TASKS:
Download the Objections Cheat Sheet here which goes over some common obstacles and responses to those objections
Read through them and find a buddy that you can practice having these conversations with. Let them be the customer.
Reach out to your coach and share with them how it went. Were there any objections that made you feel uncomfortable?