The No-Nonsense Guide to Hiring a High Ticket Sales Coach
Step One: Before hiring a consultant or sales coach, make sure you understand how they work and if their techniques fit your personality.
Step Two: Make sure the coach is an expert on getting clients the way you want to get clients.
Step Three: Ask them to explain their process in a step-by-step format. If any step isn’t clear to you, ask for clarification right away.
Step Four: Don’t be afraid to ask for case studies if the consultant doesn’t have them on a website or page.
Step Five: Decide on your budget and calculate the ROI.
Step Six: Take an inventory of everything you’re good at and find one with a framework to leverage your strengths.
Step Seven: Monitor your progress and follow the new sales strategy.
If you're a seasoned entrepreneur, at some point you might want to hire a sales coach/consultant to help you reach your income goals.
Sales can be the achilles heel of so many entrepreneurs because most business owners are not sales people, they are technicians, specialists , consultants, coaches, and even product based people.Very few have sales experience.
Furthermore, sales can mean 1 million different things.. When you think of sales do you think of sales calls?
Selling in marketing?
Ad strategies?
Lead generation?
Outbound messages?
Cold calling?
Sales can mean a simple neighborhood lemonade stand to sophisticated funnels, tripwires to marketing 300 pieces of content a week to sell a book launch disguised as a giveaway. (thank you, Alex H for showing me what I won’t EVER do.)
Sales fact: Entrepreneurs are confused as to what they are looking for when they say they need a ‘sales coach.’
When people think they need a sales coach, they usually mean: they need more SALES (i.e. clients.)
Translate that however you wish.
So of course it is very difficult to know who to choose to help you, who to hire, what you can expect from them and what you should pay them to do.
Many people are overinvested to begin with, so the pressure is on the next investment for their business.
What this means is that you need a good way of vetting that next sales coach. You also should understand what you are looking for, so you don’t make an investment in Funnels when you really need help in building relationships. Or hiring a marketing person when your product hasn’t ever sold before.
Marketing, lead generation, and sales can work together, but you do need to understand what Sales means to YOU before you go looking for someone to help.
Sad Sales Statistics: Hubspot stated the industry close rate for excellent sales people is only around 19-20%. Yikes.
(Cue sad trombone guy. Wah wah.)
Most of my clients hover around the 60-70% range of closing on sales calls.
If clients follow my sales system 11-7 Formula Based on my CALL method™ they normally can bump that up to 80% or better.
Some are able to get rid of sales calls altogether and book all their clients over a simple text or messenger conversation.
That said, you need to know the results you want from your sales consultant or coach, BEFORE you hire them. And understanding exactly what they do so your expectations match the experience.
STEP ONE: BEFORE HIRING A CONSULTANT, OR SALES COACH, MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WORK AND IF IT FITS WITH YOUR NEEDS AND PERSONALITY.
Spoiler alert: Sales coaches are not magicians, genies or wizards. (you’re a sales wizard ‘arry potter!) They usually specialize in tried and tested methods that have worked for them.
Some focus more on conversations and prospecting.
Some focus more on closing the client that is already almost sold. (warm leads)
Ask yourself, do you have leads in a pipeline waiting for a follow up? Do you need leads for high ticket sales? Are you having loads of sales calls for your high ticket offer but hearing “I need to think about it?” Are you having those same calls and people are saying they can’t afford your pricing?
Download a free guide to finding high ticket leads here. (free!)
Get clear on what is happening so when you are interviewing for someone to hire, they have the whole picture. A good consultant will not take you on if they feel their method isn’t a match.
Ask: Exactly how do you work with people?
STEP TWO MAKE SURE THE COACH IS AN EXPERT ON GETTING CLIENTS THE WAY YOU WANT TO GET CLIENTS.
ASK; Do you have clients like me who want to book sales with ____? (Sales calls, speaking, events, book sales, funnels)
Maybe you want to do a webinar and fill your offer, or you don’t like small talk unless it is in person and you want to get clients from events.
If you are an introvert and their method requires cold messaging or phone calls, you won’t implement the technique. So many times the sales consultant can’t get the client to employ the strategies simply because the actions don’t fit their personality. Or worse yet, goes against the client's core values!
And if you don’t have leads, ask if the coach has experience with lead generation or if that is part of the package. Ask the results they have achieved and ask them the rate of return. Do 80% of their clients reach the goal? Do 70%? Do they have that statistic? *Hint if they don’t, I would move on.
STEP THREE : ASK THEM TO EXPLAIN THEIR PROCESS IN A STEP-BY-STEP FORMAT. IF ANY STEP ISN’T CLEAR TO YOU, ASK FOR CLARIFICATION RIGHT AWAY.
Their process should feel and look very logical, and be easy to accomplish for you as an ideal client. Sometimes the offer is bloated or it is unclear. Don’t be afraid to ask probing questions and also just say no if it’s not a good fit. If you do not understand any part of how the offer works, get more information before you can make a decision.
Be sure that your sales coach understands human behavior, and also will cater to your personality type. Don’t be afraid to take your time to get to know that person‘s style before you sign up.
For instance, the steps to my program look like this;
We look at all the assets you currently have so you don’t rebuild more content.
Then we choose the best and use those to formulate seven hours of assets.
In addition, we look at three places you want to be visible in and we craft 11 touch points from cold lead to sale.
We make sure you are positioned correctly by using the lens of Consistency Authority Legacy and Luxury to craft messaging and offers, as well as sales processes.
The container is bespoke and we take into account how many clients you want and how much time you want to spend on sales or marketing.
We can also spend as long as we need to on your lead generation and prospecting, because I have a deep understanding of how those work off-line and online. I can help you create an audience of premium clients -faster and without being on social media all day. And even though I structure prospecting and lead generation, there is a personalization factor to each client. These methods are bespoke to you, particularly, if you are building smaller, more elite audiences.
In essence: in our high level sales coaching containers we answer the following three questions:
Do you need lead generation, prospecting or both?
What are YOUR SPECIFIC sales goals and what are you looking for in the way of support?
Do you understand what touchpoints your current audience needs to get to the sale?
Your consultant may ask different questions.
What you should take away from this breakdown, is you should be focused on not only sales, but also the way their specific program works. If a consultant wants you to just “trust them” because they have achieved success, make double sure they can teach other techniques just in case their’s doesn’t work for you.
Step Four : Don't be afraid to ask for case studies if the consultant doesn’t have them on a website or page.
It is ok to ask for testimonials. Since it is taking about 52 touch points in order to get to a sale, your coach needs to mitigate your risk on the front end: particularly for something that costs thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“ What I loved about working with LeighAnn is that her way of selling is so pleasant. It’s really all about helping people make their own decisions, and letting them decide”
Sankeetha Selvarajah: Attorney and company acquisition specialist In this instance, my client wanted her clients to be empowered throughout the sale. It was important to her to honor her own values in the sales process.
Step 5 Decide your budget and calculate the ROI.
Rates for professional sales coaches vary wildly. Typically, most services begin with a paid (or free) discovery call. The coach then recommends the best way forward. Recommendations can be anything from a group program, course, private calls, or a combination of all three. They might also suggest hiring outside sales people or appointment setters.
It is important to look at their results (especially for groups) and ask specifically what the typical client return is after 30 day, 60 days and 90 days.
If they don’t know the results, a general rule of thumb is clients should be getting sales in the first few weeks. Simple sales techniques can be employed to get quick wins and sales right away.
Beware of long and bloated programs where you will have to do hours and hours of homework before making money. A great coach can help you secure cash infusions quickly and then set up your long term sales plan.
And an aside about appointment setters, decide if you really want to use those for your business. My experience is the setters often are getting anyone and everyone on calls, which clogs up your day with unqualified leads. Make sure their is a vetting process for prospects before they get on the phone with you. Ask what that vetting process is and if the coach provides team members trained to facilitate and close calls.
Some questions I get on a regular basis.
HOW MUCH SHOULD A BUSINESS INVEST IN COACHING?
For newer businesses on a budget, we recommend setting aside $2,500-$5000 for a group or private container. You should make that back in the first 30 days or less. Especially if you have a 4 or 5 figure offer to sell and you get good results for clients.
HOW MUCH SHOULD ESTABLISHED BUSINESS SET ASIDE FOR SALES COACHING OR TRAINING?
More established businesses should budget anywhere from 15000 to 50,000 for three months support. (corporate support can look different -100-250k, but has a much higher ROI.) Groups can be less expensive but in my experience, the fastest way to master sales is through private support.
SHOULDN’T I JUST KNOW HOW TO SELL MY OFFERS INTUITIVELY?
You will go faster and understand the nuances of sales better with support. (and avoid mistakes!) Particularly during times of economic uncertainty or when you want to pivot your offers or audience.
Step Six:Take an inventory of everything you are good at and find a consultant with frameworks to support and leverage your innate strengths.
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLE QUESTIONS THAT CAN BE USEFUL TO ASK.
I am an introvert. Will your way of getting clients work for me?
My audience is tiny, are you good at helping clients book in business from a small list?
How many types of prospecting do you teach?
Will you show me how to start conversations with high level people and develop relationships with them?
Do you also teach sales teams and train them for launches?
BE PREPARED TO SHARE DETAILS WITH YOUR COACH SUCH AS:
Offers that have sold well for you in the past
Things that are working for sales currently;
Your capacity for clients (how many you can handle or want)
Where you get leads now
What isn’t working.
Your average close rate (if you know it)
The size of your audience and how you are getting leads.
Step Six: Clarify the next steps once the container wraps up.
Every sales consultant has a different approach. There’s no “right” approach, but it’s important to know what you’ve committed to. For example, I joined a mastermind where the promise was make 100k months. What I didn’t comprehend: the program required 3 full years before I could reach my income goal!
If you were delighted by your experience with your coach, ask them for options to continue to higher levels.
Give them a stellar review on Google business and a video testimonial!
STEP 7 : Monitor the progress and make adjustments.
Most entrepreneurs don’t start tracking sales until they reach big milestones in business. Start now so you know where you source your best leads, the most effective prospecting strategy and how and when clients close into your containers.
WE RECOMMEND KEEPING TRACK OF SALES TRENDS AFTER A QUARTER AND THEN ADJUSTING AND MONITORING FOR ANOTHER THREE MONTHS.
This way, you'll see all the patterns which allow for up or down months/sales cycles. (historically the last quarter of the year tends to be the best, summer the slowest.)
Sales needs to be predictable. Without surety surrounding income, you cannot plan for hiring, expansion, or growth.
-NO MATTER WHICH CONSULTANT OR COACH YOU SELECT, THE TECHNIQUES SHOULD BE THE BEST IN THE INDUSTRY WITH THE MOST MODERN, UP TO DATE STRATEGY.
Think of your sales strategy as the heartbeat of your business. The life blood of any business is revenue. Without the heart pumping blood to to each part of your body, the body quickly dies ! Your sales coach is a partner who can help shape long term growth. Pick the best you can afford and implement the techniques quickly.
If you’re a business owner interested in working with someone who infuses data driven sales techniques and high level marketing in the coaching or consulting industry, you may enjoy working with our team.
Our promise to you: we will always use the latest strategy, honor your value set, and shape bespoke methods true to your business and mission.
You will also grow your income faster than you ever thought possible.
If all that appeals to you, reach out to request a call with me (LeighAnn) and let’s chat. Or book an hour strategy coaching session here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS & TIPS ABOUT HIRING A SALES COACH OR CONSULTANT;
Figure out what sales means and what you need to reach your goals
Find a consultant who will use your strengths to reach your sales goals and a person or team who won’t force any methods on you that don’t fit your personality
Ask careful questions about how the coach works, the method, time commitment and why this is different or better.
Good sales coaches should have numbers of ROI (return on investment) you can expect in 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. Check those numbers before buying.
There are many approaches to SALES so take care to find the perfect fit.
Want to get more insight on how to hire a coach? Book a strategy session and we can create a plan on how to choose someone right for your business.
