When most coaches hear the word sales, they shudder. 

It’s a word that feels greasy and putrid in their mouths, and they say, “I didn’t get into the for the money, and I refuse to do anything unethical to make money.”

That is a fundamental misunderstanding of sales, so let’s define it. 

Sales: communication that influences behavior. 

Does that sound unethical?

Hopefully not, because you’re already doing it all day, every day.

You’re selling every time you cue someone to move their body in a certain way or adjust their grip or stance. 

If you try and convince your significant other to watch the show you’d rather watch, you’re selling.

When you suggest going to a restaurant you enjoy to a group of friends, you’re selling. 

These examples are selling because you’re communicating with the intent to influence behavior. 

Selling only becomes unethical when your intent is to influence someone’s behavior in a way that’s against their best interest.

What does this have to do with improving your client’s results?

First, it ensures that those who need and should be working with become your clients.

When you’re better at sales, you’re better able to help your prospective clients understand exactly what they’ll get working with you and what’s at stake if they don’t. 

Second, sales give you the ability to efficiently transfer your knowledge to your clients and help them apply it to their lives. 

Consider this; there’s nothing you can teach your clients or put in their programs that they can’t find on the internet; it’s already out there.  

They pay you for the application of that knowledge to their specific circumstances, which requires more from you than simply presenting information. 

It requires your ability to communicate the correct information in a way that facilitates the behavior changes necessary for them to achieve their goals. 

It requires the skill of sales.