What a $3,000 coaching sale looks like

This is what a $3,000 sale looks like:

August 2021, New York: I open up my email. A copywriter I follow is talking up another copywriter named John Bejakovic.

“This guy’s got some really interesting stuff to say,” he says. “You should subscribe to his email list.”

Alright, I say to myself. I’m looking for more copywriters to study. So I subscribe.

February 2023, Bangkok: I’ve been reading John’s daily emails on and off for the past 18 months. At the end of every one of his emails, he promotes one of his courses. I have never bought one of them.

Now, he’s raising the price of his flagship copywriting course.

Well, I’ve been meaning to sharpen my copy skills for a while, I say to myself. And this course sounds really good. I’d better buy it now. 

So I buy it.

January 2024, Los Cabos: I get another email from John. He’s offering a newsletter coaching program for $3,000.

I’ve wanted to start a newsletter for a while, I say to myself. And I know John’s pretty good at the “making money sending emails” thing.

So I sign up.

This is how high-ticket coaching sales usually works. Somebody enters your orbit. They passively consume your content for a few months, or a year, or maybe even 2 years.

Once they reaaaaaaaaaally get to know you, then they’re ready to pay you big money.

There’s this business school statistic that you need to hear from a company 20 times before you’re comfortable buying from them.

If you sell high-ticket info products, it’s probably more like 200 times.

The good news is, after you “touch” someone enough times, they’ll get comfortable with you. Then, they won’t be so squeamish about buying from you anymore.

Psychologists call this the “mere exposure effect”. Basically, the more times you see something, the more you grow to like it.

It probably dates back to when we were hunter-gatherers on the plains of Africa, working our butts off to survive. If you saw something over and over again and it didn’t kill you, maim you, or poison you, then it was probably safe.

So if you want people to know you’re safe, show up on their computer screen. Over and over again.

Show up in their Instagram feeds. Show up in their Facebook notifications. Show up in their YouTube feeds. Show up in their podcast app. Show up in their inboxes.

Keep showing up, and little by little, your business will grow.

Best,

Theo

P.S. Want some help showing up in front of people every day? Send me a reply.

How to get free coaching from anyone in 10 minutes

This simple exercise is like getting $2,000 of coaching for free.

It's not quite as good as actually talking to somebody, of course. But instead of costing thousands, it costs $0.

And, you can do it in just 10 minutes.

Here's the exercise:

First, pick your favorite influencer.

This can be anyone — Oprah, Gary Vee, me — as long as you have a pretty good sense of their philosophy.

Now, pretend you're them for a second.

And "audit" your business (or your life) through their eyes.

What advice would they give you?

So for example, let's say I wanted to do "coaching" with Elon Musk.

He would probably tell me to make my product better.

Tesla doesn't spend any money on advertising. They just make really freakin' good cars. It works.

On the same note, if I want to build my freelance business, I should focus on writing really good copy for my clients, getting them awesome results, and making them happy.

Why does this work? Because sometimes, part of you already knows what you need to do.

You just gotta remind yourself.

-Theo

P.S. If you do this exercise, and your big revelation is that you need to email your list more often, create more content, spend less time creating content, delegate more, or get better sales copywriting, feel free to get in touch with me. :)

American Sniper + the real reason why people buy coaching

On the outside Chris Kyle was this badass soldier. He killed hundreds of terrorists and insurgents during the war in Iraq, and probably saved hundreds of Americans’ lives.

But not on the inside.

Last week I was reading Chris Kyle’s autobiography, American Sniper. My big impression was that the dude didn’t think for himself.

He never asked himself whether the war in Iraq was justified or not. He never asked himself whether his wife and infant son might need him more than his country. And he never tried to get a promotion. He just did his job.

He wanted someone to tell them what to do, where to go, and who to shoot. He didn’t want to give orders. He just wanted to follow them.

Most people are like that.

Human beings are a herd animal. We evolved to follow the leader.

I know because I’m basically the least “follow the leader” type of guy you can imagine. I hate being told what to do. I got into digital marketing because I don’t want to have a boss breathing down my neck.

Still, part of me misses having a “real job” — because life is a lot easier when somebody else is telling you what to do.

You don’t have to answer the hard questions yourself. Someone else is doing that for you. It’s comforting.

I think that’s a big reason why a lot of people sign up for coaching. Starting your own business, finding a romantic partner, getting in shape, and most of the other things people get coaching for are solo journeys.

And solo journeys are uncomfortable. We’re just not built to do risky things on our own. So it’s nice to have a coach.

(I hate to admit this, because it’s really embarrassing. But for me a big part of the value of hiring a coach is just having someone telling me what to do. Sometimes I already know what to do — I just need to hear somebody else say it to get my butt in gear.)

As a coach, keep that in mind. Because sure, you’re selling personalized advice, and you’re selling expertise.

But you’re also selling leadership. People want someone to tell them what to do, so they don’t feel lost.

And you’re also selling friendship. People want to have someone in their corner, so they don’t feel all alone.

P.S. This applies before the sale, too. In order to get coaching clients, you have to show people that you can be a good friend.

In my opinion, the best way to do that is to send regular content emails, just like this one.

That way, people see your name pop up in their inbox. They get to know how you think. They get to know who you are. And they start seeing you as a friend.

Then when you launch, they buy from you.

If you want my help with that, shoot me a reply.