A past client reached out to me for advice. She badly wanted a specific piece of training, saw a FB ad for a coach who was specifically doing that training, and got on the phone with the coach to explore the program.
She was then bullied, pressured, and strong-armed to make the decision to spend WAY more than she was comfortable with when she had doubts about the connection between her and the coach. The coach then tried to sell her into a lower-priced program, but the switch felt misaligned and my old client felt like she was just being sold to, and that this wasn’t someone who was actually interested in SEEING her and her unique business and goals.
She was finally told that she “needs to make decisions quick if you have a successful or wealthy mindset.” And then, when she stuck on what her gut was telling her, the woman snapped at her, “I’m not going to spend any more time on this.” and got off the phone.
It broke my heart. My old client felt confused, sold to, manipulated, and treated like a dollar sign. It made her second guess if she WAS doing the right thing by not joining, and left her feeling icky and sad.
I wrote this following my chat with her because MY sadness at hearing her treated this way is still reverberating.
In a world full of coaches who see you as a dollar sign, as just another enrollee creating income for them, heart-centered entrepreneurs, biz owners, and leaders NEED mentorship that SEE you as a human being.
Because the BEST way to grow your business is by having a mentor who GETS you. Who sees you fully. Who envisions success for you, addresses your specific, individual needs, and is DEDICATED to your business and your personal joy.
You don’t have to step into the craziness of an 80-hour workweek. Or programs that don’t quite fit you. Or cookie-cutter formulas from experts who are SELLING.
You deserve personalized, nurturing support.
Accept nothing less.
So how do you find a good coach/mentor in an unregulated, over-saturated industry of clever FB ads and sales pages?
Here are two of the top warning signs to pay attention to:
Red flag: Marketing, copy, or sales pages make promises about what you (and everyone reading it) will do with the coaching: that you’ll make a certain amount of money, add a huge amount of people to your list, or get concrete results as a result of doing this program.
Why is this a warning sign? Someone who doesn’t know you, your business, your level, your dedication, etc, CANNOT promise you anything other that what SHE’LL deliver to you. She can’t promise that you’ll make 20K a month from working with her –how could she, if she doesn’t know your biz, where you are, the size of your community, OR, frankly, YOUR degree of commitment and dedication to your biz? She can promise you that she’ll show you how to add 10,000 people to your list in a month – but she can’t promise you that they’ll be ALIGNED, be ideal prospects, BUY from you, OR stay on your list and be active members of your community moving forward.
Red Flag: Pressurized sales tactics. Watch out for people telling you that you need to make a decision ON the phone, telling you that successful people make quick decisions, that you’re hesitating out of fear, or that it’s an offer that’s only good in that moment.
Why is this a warning sign? A successful coach or mentor has done her work around being attached to the outcome. When I’m on a phone with a prospect, I’ll do my best to understand where you are and what you want out of support. I’ll then tell you exactly how I think I can help you, and what our plan would be moving forward, as well as what that would look like and how much the program costs. But from there, I’m unattached to the outcome. I trust that the women who are aligned with my form of support, who want what I can deliver to them, and who are deeply committed to my style of mentorship will make the decision to work with me. IF you’re stuck on a decision I’ll give you a little homework to clarify what feels best for you, and make time to get back on the phone in a few days, but I NEVER pressure, cajole, or manipulate women into making a decision. It’s unethical, it’s misaligned, and I know it won’t ultimately serve my client OR me.
Above all, ALWAYS take it as a red flag if you don’t FEEL good after connecting with someone or something. You are wise, and your heart, mind, and body KNOW what feels right to you. Your biz path is going to be filled with decision making and you need tools and processes that allow you to rely on yourself to make aligned decision– that’s an actually TOOL I teach in all my biz programs because it’s so crucial.
So listen to yourself. You are one smart cookie, and you know what’s best for you and your biz- don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Love and your favorite tarot deck,
Britt
With a (free) proven tool to grow a successful business.
