Tailor the diagnostic ‘sales’ process to work for you and your clients, says Ginny Baillie. It will give you everything you need to contract successfully

You’ve seen a suit on someone else and you really like it. You decide to buy one for yourself. The first time you wear it you realise it doesn’t look quite the same on you. You still like it, but you need to make changes. So you accessorise it differently, you shorten the legs, you customise the lapels – you make it your own – and then you love it. I want you to do this with everything I say from here on in.

Unfortunately, I didn’t follow the above advice. Instead I copied another coach’s diagnostic process, almost word for word, and made an idiot of myself.

I still shudder to think of the potential client’s incredulous look as I stumbled through this thing.

So my advice is, take any ideas that are interesting to you and customise them to be just right for you – then do this with all your coaching inspirations.

This article follows on from the last issue on the importance of proper diagnosis. To understand this it can help to think of the difference between a general doctor and a brain surgeon.

You get 10 minutes with a GP and a referral to a specialist. The brain surgeon is the specialist; they take you through an in-depth diagnosis so you both understand the extent of the situation. You then, as the client, have everything you need to make a genuine decision, and the surgeon knows how to help.

This is exactly what you want for your clients.

 

Client diagnosis

Ways to assess a new client

  • A phone call and a meet-up

The call, an hour long; the meet-up, more like two. I have tried doing two phone calls, but found that I don’t like to take on new clients without seeing them first.

  • Never take a call on the fly

If someone calls to enquire about coaching, schedule another time to talk (even if you are totally free to talk at that moment), because you will need time to prepare. If the caller has been referred to you, talk to the referee about them, find out a bit about their industry and any other relevant research. In one case, I was contacted by someone in publishing. By the time we had finished speaking I knew all about the challenges facing the industry and therefore more of the context in which they were operating.

  • Make contact

Email the potential client to confirm the appointment, how long it will be and what will be covered. In short, make sure you lead the process.

  • First call

Ensure you align their needs and your needs. Theirs: to get information from you; yours: to hear what they want. Outline that you’ll be asking questions and they’ll be answering them. Then, at the end of the call, you’ll both decide if the second stage is appropriate.
Check they are OK with this. Remember, you are in charge. You’re the expert and you know the best way to help them explore coaching with you.

  • Prepare questions

It’s not rocket science, but it is important not to rush. You don’t need to feel the potential importance of this work the way they do, so take your time to get to the realities of it.

 

What should you ask?

  • Why have you set aside this time to talk to me? (Why now?)  
  • What is it that you want? (Get into specifics here, get comfortable with asking about commercials, ie, turnover, net figures, if you’re not already. This is where you drill down into relevant business or emotional topics)
  • Why do you want it?
  • Why do you think you don’t have it/are not getting it?
  • What happens if you don’t get it (in 3-12 months)? What will that be like for you?
  • What will it mean if you do get it?
  • What evidence do you have of your commitment to this? (If that’s too strong, ask: ‘how committed are you to this’?)
  • What do you think it will take from you to achieve your goals? (I need to get a sense of self-awareness and this is a key question for that.)

 

Next steps

There will be opportunities in this process for you to demonstrate value to serve, such as mirroring back what you are hearing or pointing out gaps in what the client is saying, to summarise in a way that brings more clarity. Take these opportunities, unless you are a content-free coach, in which case, don’t!

Now you are at the stage where you could agree to contract or you could take it further.

I take it further. There’s rarely enough evidence for me at this stage that the client is coachable and I am the person to help them.

The next step is to arrange a meeting in their office. I want to see where they work and get a sense of the environment. I also want to have a think about what they have said, what I have noticed and see what else I want to understand.

They will receive an email ahead of time, with some of my reflections and any further questions I have. I am very clear that this is the meeting at which we will make a decision about if and how to work together.

At the beginning of the meeting I cover fees and contract. The meeting is to understand how this is a strong investment for them and I want them to know what is on the table. As a higher value coach I don’t want to surprise them later.

Take a tour of the offices, run the meeting according to their reflections and perhaps my thoughts. Clarity on the genuine outcome is needed here. At the end you’re looking for an emphatic yes or no.

However, should there be a clear requirement for, say, board permission, ask when they will meet with the board, help them with what they are going to say, and make sure you have a diary appointment to discuss the outcome of that before this meeting finishes.

Do not let the situation arise where they are vaguely going to get back to you. You’ll end up sitting by the phone like a jilted teenager – and nobody wants that.

Your goal is to get the client to connect to what it is they want to accomplish – if they don’t connect, their resistant subconscious will effectively throw you out of their office.

Ultimately, clients are not buying you or coaching, they are buying their belief in themselves and their goals.   You are both highly relevant and completely irrelevant to their life.

It’s all about them.