Bonus: Selling with Sensitivity

Welcome to the Rich Coach Club, the podcast that teaches you how to build your dream coaching practice and how to significantly increase your income. If you’re a coach and you’re determined to start making more money, this show is for you. I’m master certified life coach Susan Hyatt, and I’m psyched for you to join me on this journey.

Oh hello, booberries. Here we are. It’s the middle of March in the middle of the pandemic outbreak, and a lot of you, a lot of coaches and other business owners are wondering, “Is it okay to keep selling my services during the pandemic? Or should I back off and keep quiet for a while? Is it okay to post something on social media about a program I’m offering? Is it insensitive if I continue to send out my weekly newsletter like usual? Is it unethical or harmful or greedy to ask people to purchase my work when so many people are in a difficult financial position right now?”

These are important questions for sure, and I definitely have a strong opinion about this topic, so let’s get right into it. Today’s episode is all about marketing and selling with sensitivity. And our big question for today is when there is a crisis of any kind, war, mass shooting, pandemic, tsunami, hurricane, should you scale back your marketing or market in a different way, or just keep proceeding with business as usual? Let’s discuss. Here we go.

As a coach, when scary things happen in the world, should you stop selling your services? My opinion is simple. Absolutely not. Keep running your business. Keep serving your people. Keep showing up. Don’t slink away and go silent. I believe it’s completely possible to keep promoting your work while being the caring and compassionate person you are at the same time.

Look, as a professional coach, your business is all about spreading positivity and helping people to improve their lives in the world. So during a crisis, what do people need? They need solutions. They need positivity, hope, inspiration, help. All the things you offer.

So now, now is our time, people. Even more than usual, people need the medicine that you provide. Okay, okay, okay, but how do you market your services in a sensitive matter? I think it all comes down to tuning into your audience, being attentive, listening, and noticing what they need most right now.

Being tuned in instead of tone-deaf. So what’s going on with your people? What do they crave right now? What do they need? And how could you serve them at the highest possible level? If your clients are panicking about money, you could offer a program that’s about creating a calm, strong money mindset.

If your clients are feeling depleted and totally stressed out, you could offer something focused on self-care. Sleep, meditation, or fitness. Different positive ways to destress. If your clients are nervous about getting on a plane, you could offer a virtual weekend retreat.

Another good question is what’s a message that you need right now personally? Do you want someone to gently remind you to exhale, breathe slow down, count your blessings, be resourceful and resilient, or focus on self-care? Whatever message you need, others probably need it too. So speak from the heart, write the medicine you need, spread that message to your people.

There’s always a way to adapt to changing times and offer what people need now. As an entrepreneur, your number one job is to identify problems and solve them in the market. That’s your role as an entrepreneur. So when the world has unusually big problems that need to be solved, this is your time to shine big. Not your time to slink away and hide.

I also want to add from a feminist perspective, I was talking about this with Scott Hyatt and in a couple of episodes, you’re going to hear an interview with Scott. I’m recording an interview, it’s basically like the marriage episode. Two entrepreneurs under one roof during the pandemic.

But I said to Scott yesterday as he was getting ready to leave the house, go to his office where they’re all very socially distant, only a couple of them, but I said, “Has it crossed your mind that you might appear insensitive if you go to work today and attempt to sell buildings and commercial real estate?”

And he just looked at me like I was nuts. I mean, no, I assure you, this kind of shaming of women doing business during the pandemic, this is not being hurled at men. Like would you shame your local restaurant during this time? No, you would not. So stop doing it to online entrepreneurs, particularly female entrepreneurs.

And one last thing I want to say on this topic for right now, there’s always something tragic and horrendous happening somewhere in the world. Fire in Australia, volcanic eruption in Hawaii, genital mutilation in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. If we stopped selling our services every time there was a terrible crisis in the world, then we would never be able to sell our services.

Because unfortunately, the reality is there’s always a crisis happening somewhere in the world, 24/7 365 days a year. So if you’re going to stop selling your work during one crisis, then for fairness sake, you should probably stop selling your work during every crisis, which means that there’s literally never a good time to sell your work. You can see how this line of reasoning is flawed.

A much better, more high-quality attitude is I’m going to serve my people and make a difference all the time, no matter what’s happening in the world. So don’t stop. Don’t hide. Shine even brighter. Tune into what your people need. Show up and deliver.

So now we’re moving into the part of the show where I give shout-outs to you lovely, booberries. And I got to tell you, the writing three-part series that I did yielded some really beautiful testimonials and reviews. So I want to give a shout-out today to Miss Laura Schaefer. She gave me a five-star review on Apple Podcasts.

And she writes, “Susan, you are fabulous. I’ve been listening to Susan Hyatt for over a year now and cannot get enough of her humor and inspiring ideas. But what pushed me to actually sit down and write this review was her excellent series on writing her book. So much wisdom, I love the energy, and just-the-facts-ma’am style she offers business owners. Keep it poppin’ Susan.”

I totally will, Laura. Thank you for all that you do. And hey, if you have something to say about this show, go ahead and pop an email to us at support@shyatt.com, leave a five-star review anywhere you listen to podcasts, post something on social media and tag me, and you might hear your name on a future episode. I love giving shout-outs to y’all so holler at me. Thanks for the love. I love you right back.

Okay, one last thing I want to say before we wrap up today, and this is one of my personal mottos. With more money, you can do even more good. This coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of schools to shut down, and as a result, a lot of kids have to stay home. And this is putting working parents into an incredibly tough position.

So obviously, you can’t leave your kids at home while you go to work at the hospital or power plant or factory or restaurant or wherever you work. And maybe you don’t have a career that allows for virtual telecommuting from home, and maybe you don’t have a spouse or relative who can watch the kids, and maybe paying for childcare just isn’t possible right now.

So what are you supposed to do? Stay home from work to watch the kids and stop earning the money you have to have? This is not a viable option either and it’s the spot a lot of people are in. I was noticing this happening in Evansville in my local community, and I decided to donate money to pay for childcare for local single moms, to allow them to go to work, do their job, and know that their kids are in safe hands.

I’m in a financial position where I can do this because I have money, money I’ve worked my ass off to earn. I can help even more people and do even more good. So if I was broke, then I couldn’t make a difference in this way. So think about that the next time you’re feeling awkward or ashamed about earning money that remember, money doesn’t change who you are. It amplifies who you are.

If you’re already caring and generous, then having more money enables you to be even more caring and generous. So I urge everyone listening, don’t back away from your business. Don’t shy away from selling your services. Don’t stop earning money during this time or any time.

Because when caring, generous people like you have more money, that’s a good thing for everyone on the planet. Earn big money and use it to do big things for yourself, your family, and the community.

Thank you for listening to today’s episode. Take good care of yourself and your health, including your financial health. I’m all about your mental hygiene, physical hygiene, and fiscal hygiene. So keep selling, keep serving, keep earning.

You can make money and serve humanity at the same time, and this chapter of history is the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. So don’t abandon your clients and community when they need you most.

Thank you for listening to Susan Hyatt’s Rich Coach Club. If you enjoyed today’s show, please head over to shyattagency.wpengine.com/cash where you’ll find my brand new money magazine. Now listen, we designed this magazine to be entertaining, educational, and help you make serious bank.

So you can download the magazine, there’s a money quiz inside, there’s an interview with one of my favorite clients who went from making no money and being served eviction papers, to making over six figures in a very short amount of time. So the magazine includes that feature, lots of resources to help you do it, lots of resources about creating wealth and investing money.

It’s pretty robust, y’all. So head over to shyattagency.wpengine.com/cash to get that magazine. And you’ll also find a link to join my free Facebook community, especially for coaches called Rich Coach Club. So bring your coaching practice and your income to the next level at shyattagency.wpengine.com. See you next week.