I hate being sold to this way...
Years ago I went to an amazing live event. It was three days of pure inspiration. TONS of value was given at the event. I learned and grew a lot over those three days. I felt HIGH.
At the end of the second day, an offer was made. The offer was so alluring. The sales pitch said all the right things--it painted a picture of me effortlessly making tons of money, getting all my systems in place, and really, barely having to work at all to make six figures.
OH HOW I WANTED TO SAY YES TO THAT OFFER.
It had a $10k price tag. This even was almost 10 years ago and $10k was A LOT. Of course, $10k is still a lot! But if I was going to say yes to the offer, I needed to have a conversation with my husband (probably several conversations) and time to figure out how to pay for it.
BUT HERE'S THE RUB: I had less than 24 hours to make a decision. In order to get that price, I needed to sign up and make a deposit before the event was over. Otherwise the price went up (I think it went up to $13k but can't remember exactly). AND -- if I didn't sign up during the event I would miss out on a ton of really enticing bonuses being offered!
(The above gif is Rachel Kay Albers who speaks out loudly with a fabulous sense of humor about the...incongruities...of the coaching world.)
I'm not kidding when I say I HAD A TOTAL MELTDOWN. I was sobbing into the phone with my husband who was confused and angry that a decision of this magnitude needed to be made so quickly.
My response: "You don't get it! This is how this business works!"
But somewhere inside me I knew my husband was right. I knew that this sales tactic was F**KED UP. I knew that even if I said yes to the offer, I WOULD NEVER FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE TRANSACTION.
In the following years I cannot tell you how many times I experienced these same sales techniques. Several times I actually signed up for the offer. And I can think of two distinct times that indeed, the offers changed my life and made a huge impact on my business (and own personal growth). But I can also tell you that I still massively resent the sales transactions for those offers.
I felt cornered and resentful. Every time it caused friction between Scott and me. EVERY. TIME. That sucks.
Honestly--those sales techniques left me feeling victimized. Icky. Manipulated. Coerced. And it caused me to not FULLY trust the people I was learning from--even if I adored them! Listen people--emotions are messy. You can adore someone AND still have a part of your heart that's like, "You f**ked me over."
You know what I'm really excited about? I'm really excited about the conversation that is happening in the coaching world right now around sales, marketing, power, and integrity. I AM SO ALL FOR THIS CONVERSATION.
Lest you think I'm above all the bullshit, I can assure you that I 100% participated in sales techniques akin to those described above. I never lead a live event, however I do think I used psychological triggers and false urgency to sell. I never felt good about, not that that's an excuse. I literally (and I think so many coaches feel this way) didn't understand there was a different way to do things and still make a living. You see, I needed to make a living and for whatever reason, I thought that was the way to do it.
FYI--THIS APPLIES TO ALL BUSINESS, NOT JUST COACHING! However the online space is especially rife with this.
There's more to say but this email is probably already TLTR. I know we are busy. But here's what to know: I'm going to be talking a lot about this because bottom line is this is how we dismantle the patriarchy and create a new paradigm that contributes to a more just world. Period.
If you're reading my blog and following me on social then I'm pretty sure you give a very deep shit about the world.
If you're not already, please come hang in my FB Group so we can continue this conversation.
LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS AND GIVE ME THOSE QUESTIONS!
xoxo-
