As a trainer, coach, or consultant, it can sometimes be difficult to sell your own product: After all, a consulting service cannot be physically held by the customer. We show you a simple 7-step concept that will convince potential customers of your training or coaching!
“Many consultants dream of some kind of magic formulas that make orders come to them like roasted doves. But the training and consulting market also follows the rule: 'No pain – or more precisely, without an investment of time and/or money – no price'” – Bernhard Kuntz
Do you want to attract new customers with your training and coaching? Or do you have a new product (e.g., an exclusive online course) that you want to bring to your customers? Then the following 7 steps will be a helpful support.
Author and marketing coach Bernhard Kuntz gives tips in his book “Selling the Cat in the Bag” on how to market consulting services. We have prepared the seven most important steps for you and summarized them below.
Sell your training or coaching in 7 steps, here's how:
1. What can you offer and what do you want to sell?
Be clear about what you want to sell in your training or coaching. You should ask yourself:
What can I do really well?
How have I helped my previous clients?
What problems have I been able to solve for my clients?
You should always keep in mind the problems and desires of your previous clients. How were you able to support them in achieving their wishes and goals? Derived from this, your strengths and advantages over your competitors emerge!
2. Who are your customers?
To sell your product successfully, you need to know your target group.
Who benefits from your training and coaching? What distinguishes your clients? Do you know the common problems? What is your unique selling point?
What can I do better compared to my competitors, and why should customers choose you?
Once you have answered these questions, you can better assess yourself and position yourself more confidently in the competition. Then you can look at which individuals and companies might have these problems and what needs they have. Finally, ask yourself what traits and qualifications you need to be attractive to these potential customers.
3. What do I want to offer my customers?
The next step can follow once you have answered the two previous questions. Because: Once you know your customers, it’s easier to offer suitable products. So, you should ask yourself what you actually want to present to your customers. Develop appropriate training concepts, offer individual coaching sessions, or provide separate bonus materials and extra information!
Do you want to sell additional products to your existing customers? Then try offering an additional online support – provide your customers with a modern and digital variant of your previous offer. We have summarized 7 arguments for you that will convince even your skeptical customers!
7 Selling Points as PDF
Sell online courses as training support
With these 7 arguments, you will convince your next customer of your online support!
4. How do I work?
After you have thoroughly dealt with the needs of your (potential) customers, you should focus on yourself and your working methods.
Am I working efficiently? Can my workflows be improved?
Does my working style match the needs of my customers?
If you have an online course, for example, consider whether it should take place entirely online or be combined with in-person sessions as blended learning. That is: To what extent are you actively involved in the process? Think about which method better suits your customers' wishes and fits into your workflows.
If your working style matches your product, you can focus on how to present your service to your customers.
5. How do I reach my (potential) customers?
To sell a product, you need customers. Therefore, ask yourself:
How did you reach your existing customers?
Which medium is particularly suitable?
What budget can you allocate for this?
Tip: A particularly cost-effective option is to use your customers as word-of-mouth marketers. Satisfied customers tell their acquaintances about you, which gives you free advertising. Positive reviews online can also be helpful! Are there meetings and events that suit your target group? Then go there. These questions may seem obvious, but they are often forgotten!
Optimize your coaching & training offerings for successful seminars and satisfied customers.
6. What do I want to achieve?
This is mainly about your monetary goals and how you can achieve your desired income:
What is your annual goal?
How many training sessions or courses at what price do you need to sell to achieve this?
It is important to have a clear goal in mind. Even if you don’t reach it, you have a general direction to move toward! You may realize that your product is priced too low or too high and can adjust the price accordingly.
7. How do I ensure the success of my business?
This question relates to how you reach customers – after all, you want to successfully attract new customers in the future as well.
How can I continue to develop?
What can I improve?
A successful business must not stand still, and you as a service provider should always strive to develop yourself and your offerings.
You can of course apply these seven steps to your existing offer – additionally, the 7-step concept also helps you promote a new product among your existing customers. In recent (and upcoming) years, digital training formats have been very in demand: online courses and blended learning formats are highly sought after, and the demand is increasing!
A reading tip from our editorial team: 3 tips to make your online course a bestseller
Try it yourself and offer your existing customers, for example, an online course to independently review the learned content from your seminar at home. This way, you might also gain a completely new target group!
Do you need further inspiration on how to market online courses? Then feel free to check out our 7 selling tips for your online support and see what works for you and your training and coaching offerings.
