A Powerful Question that Should Require a Permit

We all know that for someone to take the step to work with a health coach, they have to first reach a point where their “why?” is strong enough to take action.

It could for any of a variety of reasons… dire medical news, big life event coming up (wedding, vacation), or they just had one (divorce or breakup), they’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, they want to look good in a swimsuit–or just fit into jeans again… you get the picture.

They need to really want change.

I did a brief video training for you on that topic, along with lots of specific questions to ask to get them talking about it. (If you ever watched the old TV dark drama “Nip/Tuck,” the plastic surgeons asked it on every episode.)

Go watch it now. I’ll wait.

I’m serious…

___________________

OK, great stuff, right?

So, now, how do you easily transition into the discussion where you talk about working with you?

Hint: It’s not, “OK then, you would be a fit for my twelve week program. I’ve got menu plans, yadda yadda, blah blah, pitch pitch.”

No.

That would be salesy and yucky, right?

(I find it funny that what non-salespeople fear is sounding like a salesperson, yet when they are not confident in their skills, or what to say, they default into talking about their product/service, which is sounding like a salesperson. I digress.)

So, what to do?

Easy.

Ask a natural, conversational, caring question.

One that will seamlessly transition you both into a discussion where they now want to find out how they could work with you.

Are you ready for this?

(This is so powerful, it should require a permit. Just sayin.)

Here goes…

After you have helped them–with your questions–into a state of mind where they are thinking about what they want to change about their health and appearance, and why, you then pause and say,

“Would you like help with that?”

Boom!

Easy, right?

What are they going to say next?

Some variation of, “Sure. How?”

(Side Note: depending on the context of the conversation up to this point, they might or might not know what you do. That’s why you need to have your finely-tuned “What I do” statement ready to go. If you haven’t yet, go through the brief, free video course we’ve put together for you on that. More awesomeness for you.)

Also, at this point you’re still not ready to talk about your programs. Remember, they don’t want programs. They want the end result.

So we want to dig even deeper with questions about what they had said earlier.

“Meg, you mentioned earlier that you tend to binge eat at times and want to quit… tell me more about that.”

Do this with the other areas they said they want to change.

Then you’ll move them even more into a state of mind where they will be eager to hear how you can help, instead of feeling like they are being sold something.

That’s what you want, right?

To review, three big things here,

• ask the “change” questions,
• be prepared with the “What I do” statement,
• practice your delivery of “Would you like help with that?” so you say it in a confident, caring way.

You got this.

In a future post, we’ll get into the recommendation phase, and how you can make that visual, emotional, and irresistible.

(If you received value from this, would you please share it with a coaching colleague, and in the professional forums and groups you participate in? Much appreciated!)