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[00:00:00] Hi you guys and welcome to the Sweet Life Entrepreneur Podcast. I’m April Beach, your host, and I am so glad you’re here. You have tapped into one of our best of episodes. These episodes are cherry picked from our most popular episodes, with the most downloads, with the most comments. So these are the ones where whether it’s in a speaking engagement, Or whether it’s by writing to us or sending us messages on social media where you guys have reached out and said, Hey, listen, this episode you did was really powerful for me. Thank you so much.
[00:00:30] And they’re also the other episodes that we believe are the most important as we move into the next year for the online business landscape that we are going into for coaches and consultants and experts and speakers and authors. And so this episode is absolutely amazing. Though it’s previously recorded, all of the resources can be found by clicking on sweetlifeco.com. You can visit us online and just very simply select the podcast and you’ll find all of the show notes [00:01:00] in there for you with up to date links. Making sure that you’re getting to the right place. If you’re looking for resource. Now special message to those of you guys that have been waiting for this show to come back.
[00:01:15] I am so excited to announce that the next generation of the Sweet Life Entrepreneur podcast is dropping the week after Christmas, before New Year’s, as we roll into the new year, going from 22 to 23, and I can’t thank you guys enough. If you are a new listener to the show, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but after five years of faithfully dropping a business training or recording, a strategy for you every single week and winning awards for this show, I needed to step back and take a break. And you guys have been so gracious in actually encouraging me to do that. What turned out to be one month off, turned out to be about a year off of recording this show, but the reality is, is that we have [00:02:00] been producing so many business trainings, hundreds and hundreds of them for five years, and entrepreneurs have relied on. I needed to take a step back and get a perspective of what you guys really needed for the next generation of the show. How should this show actually help you to continue to grow your businesses? And many of your businesses have significantly grown since we first started this show. And you are growing and we’re growing and what does that actually look like?
[00:02:27] So I have had the gift of spending almost a year to build the entire next generation of the SweetLife podcast for you, and I can’t wait for you guys to hear it. I’m so excited. So the wait is almost over and I wanted to send you a message about it. Thank you for the emails and the comments on social media encouraging me to enjoy my time off. But April, please come back. I need your show to grow my business. You guys are amazing and you have really been the fuel to the fire. That has helped me see clearly, clearly of where this show is gonna go in the next gen. It’s gonna sound a little bit [00:03:00] different, but it will continue to be the place where you can come to for true proven business trainings that are transformational for your company.
[00:03:11] That is business coaching that isn’t pulled out of thin air, from experts delivered to you in such a way that you can implement it. That’s why this show has been so popular over the years, and that’s what we will continue to do for you. I can’t wait for you to hear what we have planned.
[00:03:27] The first series we’re kicking off is called Becoming Known and the Experts, so we have in here that are teaching you these proven business trainings without a hook to sell you something, they’re just coming in here to pour into you are absolutely epic. I can’t wait. So if you haven’t yet, subscribe to the show, please click subscribe. Please share this with your friends. Please resubscribe in case that you were unsubscribed during my little hiatus, and I just, Love you guys so much, and I’m so excited to be back here. I can’t wait to drop the whole entire NextGen of the show and the [00:04:00] episodes coming for you.
[00:04:01] And in the meantime, enjoy this. Best of it is very powerful and it’s been chosen for you for a reason. I’ll talk to you guys soon.
[00:04:13] You’re listening to The Sweet Life Entrepreneur podcast, simplified strategies to grow your service business, and launch a life you love faster with business, mentor and entrepreneur activator, april Beach.
[00:04:31] Hi, you guys. Welcome back to the show. This is week and episode number 245. On the Sweet Life Entrepreneurial Business Podcast and I’m April Beach, host of this show and I’m so glad to talk to you. We are coming up on our fifth year podcast anniversary just in a couple of months, and we just really appreciate all of you guys who’ve listened to this show for so many years, and those of you who share it with your friends, we do not intentionally accept any advertising [00:05:00] on this show. I literally get pitched all the time, every single week from companies that wanna advertise in the show. And I just think that screws up with the flow of this show and our connection and how we really hang out together here. And it’s like you and I are sitting across the table from each other or having to cup of coffee, and we intentionally work hard to give you business trainings and coaching that other coaches charge thousands for. Totally free here on the show. So thank you so much for continuing to tune in.
[00:05:27] As you know, if you’ve been here before, all of the show notes and everything we’re gonna talk about today can be found by visiting sweetlifeco.com, and this is episode number 245. So let’s get into what you can expect from hanging out with me here for a few minutes on today’s show.
[00:05:45] Today we’re talking about why disqualifying clients actually helps your business grow. And this is for those of you guys who are in particularly in phase three of business. So this is the scale up phase of your [00:06:00] business. But I will say that I understand that I want you to apply this in the launch phase. There is just a little bit more of a psychological barrier to disqualifying clients when frankly you may not have ever served any before. This show really aligns with those of you who have served clients, you know how great your offer, your program, your solution is. And you’re really looking to scale up your business.
[00:06:22] And one of the best ways we do that is by actually disqualifying or firing clients. So this is what you can expect. This is a great show for those of you guys who believe in your offer, your program and your service. And you know that you know that, you know that it gives people transformational, predictable.
[00:06:42] So if that’s you, if you know what you do is amazing and there is no question whatsoever and how great you are at delivering people those results, then continue listening to this show. If you aren’t really sure, then that means that you should probably check out my [00:07:00] year Signature Offer Masterclass, and that’s a totally separate thing to talk about.
[00:07:05] We have literally numerous podcast episodes here about how to create a predictable signature program. But right now, if you are not really sure about the confidence of your program, your course, your membership community, your mastermind, go to signature offer.com and there’s a lot of information there to get you started.
[00:07:25] So for those of you who do know that, like you’re the bomb, right? Like you know that what you deliver is amazing, then let’s continue on to what we’re talking about today. We’re talking about the fact that disqualifying clients is an important part of business growth, and I get that this concept seems counterproductive to sales and marketing, and here is why it isn’t.
[00:07:47] When you concentrate your sales and marketing on only the most qualified and the best fit leads for your business, then your sales become more productive and the success from your program [00:08:00] increases. And that’s a really important part of what we’re talking about today, and we’re talking about how to go about the process of disqualifying clients and finding the perfect clients that are really the right fit for what it is that you do.
[00:08:12] So this is not, let me preface this. This is not an ideal client avatar or a niche business coaching podcast training, at all. We’re not talking about ICA development or client profiling. Instead, we’re talking about the questions that nobody tells you, that you really should be asking yourself about who you really want to work with, who you really want your clients to be, and they have to be asked and they have to be asked for, number one, your own happiness. Number two, your client’s happiness. Cuz when you have a great working relationship with your clients, then it’s gonna be much more successful for both of you and therefore for the financial success of both your clients and your company.
[00:08:51] At the end of this episode, you’re gonna know what topics or different areas you should be looking at to qualify and disqualify clients on. [00:09:00] You’re gonna have a list of questions to workshop for yourself. These are tough questions that I’m gonna give you in today’s show, and just run through them in your mind. Ask them in the air or when you’re on the treadmill, wherever you are, ask yourself these questions and come up with the answers to these and get some solid clarity, okay?
[00:09:18] You’re gonna be able to gain confidence in developing your disqualification mindset in your business, and you’re gonna leave this episode looking at your current clients. And you are gonna have an immediate understanding of who’s really a perfect client for you and who might have been somebody that might not have been the right fit for your program.
[00:09:40] Okay? So if you’re ready for that, let’s go ahead and dive into today’s show.
[00:09:53] Okay. Why does qualifying clients helps your business grow? So I totally get, this may sound counterintuitive, but disqualifying clients is an [00:10:00] important part of business growth. I know it sounds scary for those of you guys who are still working to become profitable, but this concept comes from the idea that concentrating your sales and your marketing in only the most qualified and best fit leads is actually more suitable to help your business grow.
[00:10:18] And so the deal first of all, like in most things, it starts with your mindset. So let’s first start there. If you wanna serve everybody, you’re gonna serve nobody. And here is why you’ve probably heard that statement a million times over again from tons of business coaching. It’s because in order to deliver a top notch result, you need to curate and customize your program.
[00:10:43] So lemme say that again. In order to deliver a top notch result for your clients, you need to properly curate and customize your program or your solution. And customize solutions don’t serve everybody, right, or they wouldn’t be [00:11:00] customized. So the first thing that we need to realize it is in order to be really great at what you. You have to customize it for a certain group of people, not for everybody, because it’s not gonna give them amazing results. And then from a marketing standpoint, if you don’t speak to a certain specific audience, your message is just gonna be so broad. It’s gonna be lost in all the noise of, of online marketing and nobody’s gonna resonate with it.
[00:11:23] So let’s get those things out of the way first. Those like negative thoughts outta the way first if, if you might have been having those. And let’s actually dive into the deeper conversation that I wanna have today, which is the point of this show. So we’re talking about disqualifying clients. When you disqualify clients, you make more money because the qualified clients you do accept, number one, have better results with your program.
[00:11:47] And number two, they have a deeper commitment to their own success. And maybe I should’ve flipped those around the other way. it. It really should. They have a deeper commitment to their own success, and therefore they have better [00:12:00] results in your program. So it all starts with a process of determining who wins with your coaching and who actually doesn’t.
[00:12:07] Now, don’t forget the prerequisite to applying this strategy is having a proven signature program that delivers a transformation. So everything we’re talking about today is with the understanding that you’ve already met the prerequisite of understanding that your solution you deliver is full blown, top notch, like the best guaranteed transformation for your people.
[00:12:31] Okay? So it all starts with determining who wins and who doesn’t with that program you’ve already created. All right? So if you’re thinking this ideal client avatar, that’s totally not what I’m talking about. What I’m asking you is this. Do you know where the line in the sand is between the people who are all in for your coaching and service, and those who have one foot in and one foot out? And taking it a step further, [00:13:00] understanding and accepting that only the best clients that are gonna get the best results are the ones who are all in on your program, is what we need to talk about getting to the root of today, and here’s why. Knowing where your clients are psychologically in the belief of themselves and of your services, will affect the results they get with you.
[00:13:23] Okay. So how your clients are mentally entering your service business, your coaching business, is totally gonna affect how great of results they get, regardless of how great your program is. So even if you have this amazing program in course and service and in coaching, and you have gone through all the steps we’re talking about to layout an industry leading signature program or offer, when it comes down to it, you still have to be able to identify who psychologically is a great fit and who is not a great fit.
[00:13:57] So here’s an example. Let me give you an example of this. You’ve gone through all [00:14:00] the work. You have this amazing signature offer, this amazing program or course, or whatever it is that, that you lead, that your business model within your, in your company, right? So if time or financial commitment is a barrier, a hesitation in somebody who’s having a conversation about working with you, then you have already started out by putting yourself in a bad position that you’re gonna have to handhold them.
[00:14:25] If time or finances or even questioning their own ability to be successful is something they’re already bringing up in the beginning. And these are big red flags, then you’re already starting out by having a struggle to get them results. So these are some of the things that may happen to you. If you’re in a relationship with a client like that.
[00:14:48] You may feel like you need to show up every single day proving yourself again and again as to why you know what the heck you’re doing. You could feel like you’re walking on eggshells. You could have to hold their hand every single day and reassure ’em how great they [00:15:00] are on top of the strategy coaching that you deliver instead of being the expert and coach that they really need a hundred percent. If you are having to show up and, and reconvince, and it’s almost like reselling them on what you do every single day within the process after they’ve already bought, that is a red flag that they are not gonna get great results in your program. And frankly, it has nothing to do with you. It’s the mindset that they had coming into it. So here are six questions to ask yourself to determine who really wins with your coaching.
[00:15:34] Question number one is how committed do they need to be? How committed to themselves, according to your area of expertise and what you teach on, do they need to be to be successful?
[00:15:46] Some of you guys might have a program where you’re building up their self-confidence, and if that’s a case, Then probably not very committed because that’s your area of expertise. If that’s your area of expertise, then it’s gonna be a different degree of [00:16:00] commitment than somebody who may need their clients to show up fully in and vetted already.
[00:16:05] Okay? So this totally is dependent on you and what you deliver in the solution you provide within your offers and program. So question number two is how committed do they need to be? Excuse me. Question number one is how committed do they need to be? Question number two is what time allotment do they need to have?
[00:16:24] If they’re already struggling to find the time to be successful in your program right now, might not be the time for them to join your program. And you should be really honest with them and say, Hey, look it, this is exactly how many hours you need to put into this each, each week, and when you put in this many hours, these are the results you can.
[00:16:43] Those are things you should be able to answer about your signature offer. Okay? And so then you can ask yourself, what time allotment does somebody need to have in order to be super duper successful within the programs that I provide?
[00:16:59] Number three, [00:17:00] what attitude do they need to show up with? So according, again, to you and your expertise in what you do, what is the ideal attitude/ mindset? Of the person who is going to get the very best results with your coaching.
[00:17:17] Number four, what might they need to leave behind? This is a really big deal. So a lot of people, especially people who have bought a ton of courses, they’ve spent literally thousands of dollars on coaches in the past. I hear this all the time, you guys, people come to us and they’re like, oh my gosh, you don’t have any idea. I’ve spent $50,000 on coaches and I still don’t have a result. Right. Well that really sucks for them and that’s really devastating and it shows why you really need to question who you’re receiving coaching from. Again, that’s a totally, another podcast. We should do an episode on that. But if they’re coming to you with that background, [00:18:00] you need to make sure that you’re having a conversation with them about why you’re different, why your solutions are proven, why your transformation in working with you is vetted again and again and again.
[00:18:10] So what might they need to leave behind in past experiences or, you know, bad experiences or good experiences? What preconceived notions or things that don’t serve them might they need to leave behind when they come to work with you?
[00:18:27] Number five, what should they be ready for? Some of you guys deliver insane results within your program. Some results are so good that people are like, oh my gosh, shit, I can’t believe this is, this is so amazing, right? If that’s you and you know you deliver an insane result, what do your clients really need to be ready for in working with you? and what other things do they need to have in place to be ready for that? That is a really big deal. That is definitely something that we vet clients before they come in our your signature off a [00:19:00] masterclass. Are they ready for this? And you ask yourself like, are people actually really ready for what I’m about to give them? For this awesome sauce that I’m bringing to the table that I’ve worked so hard to curate for them? Are they actually ready for it? What do they need to do to get ready?
[00:19:14] And then number six, what personality best fits with your program? This is particularly important for those of you guys that have a community within your program. If somebody is like a total B I T C H and you have this amazing community of these sweet people that are in there, I’m telling you what, like that one bad apple can spoil the bunch, right?
[00:19:37] And so your onboarding process, your onboarding presale, pre client acceptance process should include somebody talking and vetting and disqualifying people whose vibe and flow just might not align with the rest of your community. And that’s totally okay. But just be honest with yourself about what personality best fits within your program.[00:20:00]
[00:20:00] So those are six questions, hard questions that you should know the answers to in order to disqualify. And then let’s flip that around. Pre-qualify the perfect people for your program, your service, your solution, your super power. So here are some of the exercises that we can go through to look a little bit deeper to actually make this job of asking yourself these questions a little bit easier for you.
[00:20:27] Number one, what was the mindset? We’re talking about past clients now, what was the mindset of past clients and what was their personality of those that got the best results? So in looking at those people who’ve already been clients in the past, what was their mindset and what was their personality like of the freaking winners? The A gamers, the ones that did everything and they came and they saw and they kicked ass, and then they took names and then they went and they were just absolutely incredible. Shouting from the mountain tops about how amazing your program is, right? [00:21:00] What was their mindset and their personality?
[00:21:02] Also, looking at your past clients, who did you love working? Who was like the best person that when you got on those Zoom calls or when you saw this person on your calendar, you’re like, yay, I get to talk to so and so today. And what was it about them that you loved working with them? Number three, who contributed to others in your course or your community? Again, for those of you guys that have a community base, who was the one that was always cheering other people on?
[00:21:31] Who was the one that was always lifting other people up? Who was like that conversation starter? Who was that cheerleader and what was it about them that made it so amazing when they contributed to that space? Number four, who did the work without question. Like who, no matter what happened, and we all know stuff happens all the time in our life, that’s going to get in the way of some of the things that we’re working on, right?[00:22:00]
[00:22:00] But who did the work, even when all the things got in the way? Who pushed through? Who was super tenacious? Who were the fighters who refused to quit? Number five, who always needed coddling ? Who always showed up and they’re like, oh, well I don’t know. I don’t know how I am today. What do you think? Like, who needed that?
[00:22:24] Is that something that you want to help with? That would not fly so well in some of the programs that I have. Let’s just be honest, right? You can probably tell you, listen to my podcast. Like if somebody showed up every day and they were like having major excuses to why they couldn’t do it, I’d be like, you’re right. You can’t. Cause that’s how you’re showing up here. You know? I mean, are you the same way as I am? Is your program a safe place for people to show up who do need your support, who everything you do is to just to pour into them and you’re [00:23:00] the reminder of how amazing they are because they forgot it or they never were told it in the first place.
[00:23:06] Whatever it is, whatever the degree. Is this, with your past clients who showed up needing that level of support, number six, who complained about the work, the time, or the money. So who complained, if at all? I hope this has never happened to you. I’ve never had this happen to me, but I’m sure this has happened before.
[00:23:25] Like, who was like, oh my gosh, you know, this takes so much time to do That probably means that you didn’t do a good job explaining the commitment in the beginning if that is the case. So certainly look at the structure of your program and, and how you are selling your program. But after you did that, let’s just say like you totally nailed that.
[00:23:42] Who still came complaining about the work, the time and the, or the. Number seven, who questioned your processes? Okay. If you are in a space where you deliver a system, a method, or a framework, like most of our clients do, do [00:24:00] you have people who’ve showed up who’ve always kind of questioned what you do? If that is the case, then take a look at their personality.
[00:24:09] And I’m guessing that that is not the perfect person for your program. Right. Right, and again, this is saying that you’ve gone through the process to develop your signature program in method and framework. That being aside, we’ve established that prerequisite. If people still showed up and they’re like, really?
[00:24:27] Are you assured you really think that’s the way to do it? And they just constantly have a back and forth, I’m guessing that they are not the perfect fit for you. And then number eight, who left and told all of their friends about how amazing you are, who is like, let me give you testimonies. I can’t wait to tell the whole entire world man alive 95. This was the best money I ever spent. Those people, those are the people we wanna go after. Those are the people that are your perfect fit for your program. [00:25:00] So if they are not like those past clients that were doing all the stuff like that in like making a banner because they love you so much, then they probably need to be considered for disqualification.
[00:25:13] So after this episode, I’m about to give you some action steps here and how to apply all this. But after this, Then as you move forward, know that you deserve to be praised for the hard work and the time that you have put in strategically developing a solution for people’s problems. And let’s make sure that you are disqualifying the people that aren’t the perfect recipient of your solution.
[00:25:39] Because when you do this. You’re gonna be able to focus all of your attention, all of your relationship building, all of your actions on those perfect personality mindset, people that are the right fit for your program, and when they are successful, you are successful. Your client’s success. [00:26:00] My client’s success is a direct reflection, A direct correlation to my success. To your success.
[00:26:08] So we wanna pick the people that are the A gamers, right? We wanna pick the ones that we know we’re coming to the table mentally and physically prepared for what it is that you are going to give them solutions in, for your solution. And these are just some of the questions that when we talk about like ideal client avatar and client profiling and customer targeting, nobody’s saying to ask these questions and so I really felt like it was important to talk about this.
[00:26:38] We actually, I actually had this conversation a few weeks ago with a couple of women in our business client family, and this has really come up and I think it’s an important conversation to have and so, Is your action plan moving forward?
[00:26:53] Number one, look at your sales copy and see if it clearly disqualifies the wrong people. [00:27:00] So after you’ve gone through the questions above, now let’s like put it into action, right? We’re gonna say, and how do we do this? We’re gonna take it from high level to eye level. Number one, look at your sales copy, copy, look at your marketing copy, and make sure that you’re clearly disqualifying the people that are not the perfect right fit. For you or your service or your program.
[00:27:21] Number two, add questions to your sales call process to filter those who are not the perfect fit. So if you use sales calls to qualify or disqualify clients, Make sure you’re adding questions in there that correlate with the answers you’re looking for to either qualify or disqualify clients. Make sure you add those into your sales process. Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions. Where in this sales call, they might be like, oh wow, yeah, you know what? That’s not me. And that is a great opportunity for you to say, you know what? I am so glad we had this conversation because guess what? [00:28:00] What I have is not the right fit for you. And I don’t want you spending another X, Y, Z amount of money on a program that’s not gonna be the right fit for you. But I have a great friend I can refer you to that might be a better fit, right? These are important things to do in your sales call. You don’t want this person as a client if they do not fit into what you need to deliver the great solutions within your program. And so don’t be afraid to disqualify them right there in the triage call, in the sales. And send them somewhere else. Just bless them to go somewhere else. But you have to make sure you’re adding questions into your sales call process that can give you the answers to that.
[00:28:40] And number three, talk to your team. This is for those of you guys with teams that manage your marketing. Some of you, you know, have people that help you do your sales call, help you do your coaching, talk to them about the importance of positioning your solution and your service as the prize. It’s very, very important that once [00:29:00] you have done the work to create a leading signature program or course or offer, it is the prize.
[00:29:07] It is the pain killer, as one of my clients calls it, it, it’s like the perfect language. Oh yes, it’s a pain killer. Okay? Make sure that you hold it close to your own confidence level that you worked your booty off to make sure it was a perfect pain killer for them, and that is the prize. And this quote is like one of the best quotes I’ve ever heard from Angela Lauria. She said, ‘the prize never chases’. Let me say that again. The prize never chases, and so here are some final thoughts I wanna leave you with. I totally get that. The thought of disqualifying somebody that comes your way that isn’t the right fit, sounds really scary, especially when you haven’t hit consistent 10 K months or 20 K months, 30 K months, especially when you’re first starting out.
[00:29:59] [00:30:00] And that’s why at the beginning of this episode, I said, if you are in the launch phase and you haven’t served a ton of clients yet. I get and understand that it’s important for us to go through the process to test your solution on different clients, making sure that you are going through the testing and the traction to find the right fit after, of course, doing market research.
[00:30:21] So I understand that if you’re listening to this and you’re in the launch phase, definitely take this with a grain of salt. I’m keeping it real, but never, ever, ever sell your program to somebody that you don’t believe a hundred percent, that you can give them results. That is for sure. I don’t care what business phase you’re in that is aligned, we don’t ever cross.
[00:30:41] If somebody is not a good fit, do not sell to them. Right? But for the rest of you, Don’t be afraid to say no to the money because when you say no to something, you’re opening up your capacity to say yes to more things, and you don’t wanna be [00:31:00] stuck with clients that take a ton of extra time in order to get them results because they didn’t show up with the mindset and the prerequisites in place to get the best results with the service.
[00:31:13] You. The truth is, you should be disqualifying clients to work with you if they don’t come wanting the results you deliver in full force. If their personality won’t jive with others in your community, if they consistently need affirmation that you know what the heck you’re doing, although please make sure that you know what the heck you’re doing and if they’re only partially committed to their own transformation.
[00:31:38] And one last thing I’m gonna leave you with today, stop wondering if you’re good enough. And taking clients that don’t fit the whole bill of what you deliver. When you go through the process to diligently develop your signature offer, stop taking clients that don’t fit the bill for the solution you [00:32:00] provide, because we know that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. And I really, really, really want to remind you to only work with clients that are super duper thirsty.
[00:32:15] Okay, this was episode number 245 here at the SweeLife Entrepreneur Podcast. You can find the show notes and all of the other amazing info that our guests drop in here for free by visiting sweetlifeco.com. And if you are struggling. If you do not know how to turn your ideas into a leading industry, leading signature course, offer program, mastermind coaching event or retreat, then go to signature offer.com. Our Your Signature Offer masterclass is reopening in October. We only open this masterclass twice a year.
[00:32:54] That’s it. Only twice a year can you get into this masterclass, and it is opening in [00:33:00] October, 2021. So depending on when you listen to this, that’s an important date to note for your calendar. In the event that you’re not listening to this live, you can also go to signature offer.com at any time and be notified when this masterclass opens up again.
[00:33:15] All right, you guys, go grab all the show notes. Thank you so much for staying tuned to this show. I hope you’re having an amazing day, and I truly appreciate your listenership and just being a supporter of this show. Have a great one. Bye-bye.