Eight years ago, just after completing my NLP coach training, I got an invitation I thought was about friendship.
A fellow coach named Jon, who’d built a business around extreme sports adventures, wanted me to meet his mentor, a “Level 13 thinker” named Stephan.
Something in Jon’s energy felt invasive, but I still liked him. And I have to admit, I was flattered to be among the “special ones” they were looking for. So I overrode the knot in my stomach and said yes.
On the call, it turned out Jon had really invited me into a sales pitch. Stephan launched into coaching me without permission, positioning himself as the guide who could evolve me from “Level 6” to “Level 7.”
I hadn’t asked for any of that, and it felt like a bait and switch.
It taught me a few lessons that have stayed with me:
Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is.
Create clear context for conversations. If you’re selling something, be real about it; don’t hide it inside a “connection chat.”
And most importantly, selling doesn’t have to require convincing or persuading.
The expert coaches and mentors I’ve hired didn’t have to use persuasion tactics to overcome my objections. They served me generously and only shared their offerings when I specifically asked about them.
Selling can be simple.
You don’t need to prove yourself, impress someone with your credentials, or sneak a pitch past their defenses.
Just be real about what’s on offer. Be you.
That’s the foundation we start from next Wednesday, October 8th in our workshop Clients From Scratch inside the IMPACT membership.
If all your clients vanished tomorrow and you had to start from scratch, what would you do?
We’ll explore no-tech, no-hustle, permission-based experiments for connecting with people you actually want to work with. No convincing required.
Join us inside the IMPACT Membership:
https://www.theawakenedbusiness.com/impactinvite
Yours in love and play,
Steph
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