Life Coaching Lessons — ‘Pleasing Doesn’t Pay The Bills’
Are you struggling to make money in your coaching practice?
I can probably guess what’s at the core of it, and that is ‘people pleasing.’
I know I’m being very blunt and straightforward, but I must be. I’ve witnessed this phenomenon so much that it actually hurts me to see it.
The majority of the coaches I worked with were in the business of people pleasing, and PLEASING DOESN’T PAY THE BILLS!
Let’s take a look at a few ways of how this shows up and how you can navigate it better next time you’re inclined to fall back into that trap.
1. Free sessions: you think you are providing people with a service and helping them out by offering them free sessions. You don’t want to ask for money for fear that you may come off as greedy or that you’re not really there to help them.
2. Let prospects talk non-stop: you allow prospects to vent their drama, and before you know it, an hour or more has passed by, and you’re not any closer to telling them about how you can help them and what you have to offer.
3. Avoid confrontation: you are holding back from giving honest feedback because you’re worried that if you were to say what you’re really noticing and how that’s impeding their growth, you run the risk of driving the client or prospect away.
While on the surface, these may seem helpful, the examples I just listed have the opposite effect on your prospects or clients.
Here’s why:
1. When you offer free sessions, you’re basically reconfirming that your prospect isn’t able to be resourceful; therefore, you’re validating their limitations.
2. As you let the prospect talk non-stop (and yes, active listening is crucial to powerful coaching), they are the authority in the call, therefore they feel like they spoke to a friend, and not so much to a professional who can actually help them transform their limitations.
3. When you refrain from giving feedback (yes, ask for permission first), you are essentially telling yourself and them that you don’t know what you’re doing and that what you have to offer is not valuable because you believe more in being liked than in standing up for the better version of your prospect.
What will you do with this awareness?
When you’re inclined to fall into these traps next time, think through these points and explore what you can do differently that will be in the best interest of you and your client.
Essentially, what I wanted to convey with this article is that if you’re pleasing people, not only are you doing them a disservice by not providing them with a powerful experience, but you’re not making the sale; therefore, you can’t pay the bills.
So ask yourself this:
- What do I want to stand for?
- How do I need to show up?
- What is best for my client?
Remember, being nice and being a people pleaser is not the same thing.
If you’re struggling with this and want to explore how I can further assist you, connect with me at www.catalinapark.com and let’s get you serving more people in a powerful and prosperous way.
