As a fellow coach and changemaker, I know you want to make a tremendous difference in the world. You want to have positive influence so you can help create incredible change for people.
Influence is one of the most powerful capacities to cultivate, especially as a coach and entrepreneur.
You need to have influence in order to get clients and build a profitable, sustainable coaching business.
My definition of being influential is being able to get exactly what YOU want, by either helping people…
- get what they want
- get what they need
- get what's good for them
Notice I bolded the word “helping?” Read the sentence above again.
When you are helping another get what THEY need, YOU will be able to get what YOU want.
But, if you’re only focused on what you want and it’s not for another person’s greater good, believe me, they can feel it.
So, how do you become highly influential without being sales-y, smarmy and slimy? (I think these are all words we may have all used at one point to describe someone trying really hard to get us to buy something.)
#1. You need to have a strong mindset
If you want to be highly influential, then you need a strong mindset.
I believe that over 90% of our success is based on our inner game and less than 10% is on the “how-to”.
Don’t get me wrong. Strategies are important too, and we want to spend a good amount of time on getting those dialed in. But, the most important success factor is mindset. It’s what’s really behind the “how-to”.
Having the ability to positively persuade and influence others is the foundation for being great at sales and marketing. And, if you have a coaching business or if you want to go into business, these skills are not only useful and valuable, they’re extremely necessary.
A lot of people think selling is bad or pushy. That’s only because they've had negative experiences with it. And, there are a lot of people using influence in a negative way. So, sales has a bad reputation because of it.
I’m sure you get an immediate feeling when you hear or see the phrase, “used-car salesman”. It’s so unfortunate. Because of poor sales training, this phrase and this role has such a bad reputation. (I have to mention, a friend’s dad was a used-car salesman and he was not like that at all.)
So, how do we start to positively influence others? Because, if you’ve had a bad experience with sales and think all sales methods are bad, you are missing out on how to truly make a difference in the world. It’s part of the whole package.
The secret is — how can you start seeing sales and influence differently and how do YOU want to use it in a way that benefits you AND your clients and even the world?
#2. The power of intention
I’m sure you’ve heard many teachers talk about the power of intention. The late great Wayne Dyer even has a book called The Power of Intention.
It’s the heart, period.
If you want to be highly influential and be able to persuade and win people over, one of the most important things you can do is genuinely care about the needs of the people you want to influence. If you're only trying to influence people for your own good, or meet your sales quota, oh you’ll bet they’ll sniff it out quickly.
They can feel the words coming out of the mouth are not authentic and not really about supporting their needs and dreams.
This is the sliminess and smarminess I brought up earlier.
You don’t want that.
You have to genuinely care. That way you can easily align your wants, needs, and desires with their wants, needs, and desires.
You may need to take them through a whole process to get them aligned and give them the gift of clarity. But when you do, they’ll see clearly how the thing you are offering is the best thing for them.
#3. The power of positive assumption and expectation
The third piece you need to know when it comes to being highly influential is expecting, on some level, that things are going to go your way.
This is also part of the intention in #2.
Assume people will say yes. Assume people will see the value in your offer. And at the same time, be completely unattached to anyone doing what you want them to do.
Attachment creates neediness and desperation, which pushes people away. Imagine going to a networking event and you meet someone who gives you 5 of their business cards, but you've just met them.
They say…
“Hi, I'm a mortgage broker. Here are five business cards for you. This way in case you know anybody who wants a mortgage you can pass out my 4 other cards and you can keep one for yourself.”
You’re not going to think, “Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, stranger. I don't know you, but I'm going to instantly do a mortgage with you and tell everybody else about your services.” Instead, you’re going to want to run the other way.
Now, don’t get me wrong, they may very well have a desire to help people, but their needy approach (that is not at all focused on the client’s need) is a major turn-off.
My daughters would probably say, “Ewwwwww!!!” (Maybe not to their face … don’t worry, I’ve taught them manners.)
As a coach, I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Dare to see your clients bigger than they can see themselves.”
It’s that piece!
When you hold the intention and see them saying YES to your services for their own highest good and their own agenda, that’s the power of intention, a strong mindset, and influence in action — all wrapped up in a powerful and life-changing moment.
There’s so much more I want to share but I want to leave these 3 keys here for you to marinate in.
My personal mission is to get the world coached (and healed). And, I know that as a fellow coach and changemaker, you are passionate about helping others live their best lives, too.
Tell me below how you plan on expanding your sphere of influence. I will be back with more tips and strategies for coaching businesses soon.
With all the love in my heart,
Christian
