How is your money mindset, Coach?
A healthy money mindset is a make it or break it thing in coaching business success — especially when it comes to confidently asking for money from potential clients.
It’s fascinating because it doesn’t matter if a coach had a high-powered job before, how much money they earned, how many certifications or degrees they have, or even how confident they appear — I hear the same admission from coaches …
“I’m afraid to ask for money!”
I felt the same way until I made some mindset shifts. I now know how to attract clients in a non-salesy way. And also, I’ve discovered the power of investing in one’s future.
In this episode I share details about a coaching session I had with a coach where her money mindset shifted.
Are You Afraid to Ask for Money from Coaching Clients?
One of my VIP clients recently said to me: “Rhonda, I’d rather give money away than ask for money for coaching.” By the way, my client gave me permission to share details about our session with you. She knew this would be valuable to other coaches.
We had been working closely together to build her coaching business foundation before launch. With her launch just around the corner we needed to focus in on a mindset issue I picked up on that could hold her back from earning enough in her coaching business.
Money is a sticky subject for most people. There’s so much baggage that influences our decisions and actions around money based on what we learned about it as kids.
Old Money Stories Could Sabotage Your Coaching Business Success
There’s a wonderful book called Taming Your Gremlin – A Guide to Enjoying Yourself by Richard D Carson. It’s not a new book. It’s been around a while and it’s still perfect for coaching around childhood influences without getting into therapeutical realms. It’s a thin book full of exercises and wonderful drawings to help you face the part of yourself that sabotages your efforts to grow.
The idea is to draw your own gremlin and shine a spotlight on it as it scuttles around trying to squash your courage or keep you from advancing in life. And, just seeing this character for what it is changes you.
There was an exercise in there about drawing the floor plan of the primary home you grew up in and then answering a set of questions about what you learned while you were living in that place. And it really helps to bring you back in time.
While I was coaching my client, that book jumped into my mind during our call and gave me an idea about how to coach her.
I began by asking her:
“What did you learn about money from your parents?”
She responded immediately and with a lot of charge in her voice:
“In my family you would certainly NOT hire someone for therapy or coaching. The idea of seeking and asking for help was taboo. We didn’t spend money on ourselves and self care.”
Because I knew she had made an investment in working with me, I asked:
“When have you invested highly in your own transformation?”
She said:
“When I reached a point where my best efforts didn’t bring the results I needed to happen. When I get to that point I’ll do whatever it takes.”
And I said:
“Brilliant! And by the way, that’s the kind of evocative seeking you want your future clients to undertake to find you and your services.”
She paused and took that in. And, I could tell she got that message.
Then, I said:
“So you’ve invested in your personal and professional goals when something is very important to you. How much would you say you’ve invested in becoming a coach and getting your business launched with support?”
She said:
“Thousands and thousands.”
I asked:
“What has investing in yourself to that degree done for you?”
Without hesitation and with passion in her voice she said:
“It’s changed the trajectory of my life. It has grown a new me! I now have a design for living that’s far more effective and far more rewarding. I don’t even think about the money I’ve spent!”
I wasn’t surprised to hear that. Then, I said:
“So … what does that tell you about other people — your potential clients for example — and the opportunity to invest in themselves?”
She said:
“I would only want to work with someone who is willing to do what it takes to get better, achieve their goals.”
Well, that was a bonus mindset shift and I think it was important to her process. And because, with my help, she is targeting a unique and viable audience and her messaging strategically speak directly to that compelling moment of wanting help for her audience, I know she will attract her ideal clients.
And then she said:
“I have so much compassion for someone willing to reach out to me. It gives me a sense of joy to say to them ‘I can help you.’ It makes asking for money a lot less scary because being willing to invest is a SYMBOL of their desire.”
I love how she talked about that so articulately.
And then, we talked about how Olympic athletes visualize their success before they take action. And I encouraged her to develop that practice before a Discovery Call with a coaching prospect to visualize how it goes and how she feels about it.
We talked more about developing resilience for the answer ‘no’ and how to not make that about you. It’s really important not to take that as ‘rejection’.
We talked about the idea from episode 82 – to ACT AS IF you are already booked, you have plenty of income and are highly successful as a coach because acting from that place is powerfully attractive.
At the end of the session, she said:
“This was so helpful to look at my own experience (of investing in myself) and see that there’s value I offer to someone else who will want to make that investment in themselves too.”
It’s amazing how powerful it is to shift perspective. Your perspective that has you fearful is just one perspective. There are others!
What old moldy money mindsets might be holding you back? Ready for another perspective? A little coaching perhaps?
