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Welcome to Make More Money without Selling Your Soul with me Polly Lavarello, evergreen marketing expert. This podcast is for you if you are an online entrepreneur who is looking to simplify their business to scale.  On this podcast you can expect to hear regular talk about wealth, about selling and about wellbeing. Because I believe these three core fundamental things are pivotal to your growth moving forward.

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Hello and welcome to make more money without selling your soul with myself Polly Lavarello, evergreen marketing expert.

I’m so happy you’re here. Today I’m talking about the truth about creating consistent results. This is something I shared on my Instagram feed perhaps a couple of weeks ago. And it got some really strong responses, funnily enough, not so much under the actual post, but I received significant, like numbers of DMS. And you know, there was a lot of really interesting, deep conversations, which many coaches admitted to me, they didn’t feel were being spoken about within the industry, transparently enough, there wasn’t enough honesty around what this means to people. So I felt like it would make a very juicy podcast topic. So that’s what we’re talking about today. So what do I mean about creating consistent results? And where and why? And how can this be an issue. So what I mean by this is, in the coaching space, we are selling people on a transformation, whether that’s a scalable business, like in my case, where I support people to essentially elevate their revenue, elevate their brand authority, really capitalise on expertise. But I support clients, obviously, in areas that aren’t in business, in fact, predominantly, I support clients in the holistic space. So in many cases, they’re doing things like helping people to become better parents, to have a better relationship with their body, perhaps manage their anxiety, better perfectionism, I mean, you name it, I’ve probably supported someone with it. And ultimately, one of the things we know when it comes to selling is that we are speaking to a specific transformation. That’s why we niched down, right, we’re speaking to a specific person with a particular sticking point that they want to get unstuck from, and what we invite them into is a journey where they can get unstuck with us in whatever capacity that looks like. Now, the reality is we’re working with humans. And humans are inconsistent AF, you know, we can have a very clear understanding of who our ideal client is, we’ll be able to say, this is the kind of revenue they have, perhaps you know, where it’s relevant. This is, you know, the things they’ve tried already. This is, you know, the outcome that they desire, this is why they’re getting stuck. And this is why what I do is going to help them in a way that they haven’t tried before. So we can have all sorts of clarity around what makes someone a good fit, you know, whether they are action takers, whether they are self starters, whether they are perhaps people who who need nurturing, who aren’t self starters, you know, I mean, every single client I work with works in an entirely different capacity, some of my clients create very nurturing, trauma informed, safe spaces, and that in itself carries a huge amount of power. While there are other clients I support, who are, I wouldn’t say the antithesis of that. But there’s a huge emphasis on self responsibility, self accountability, and all of those things. And neither is necessarily right or wrong, as long as we clearly advertise what it is that we’re inviting people into.

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But anyway, that’s that’s almost verging into another subject. But the point here is, we can do a lot of things to be very clear on who it is we’re selling our offer to. And ultimately, what is our responsibility as a coach or consultant Mark, let’s let’s talk about coaching, because I think consulting is different. And but what is our responsibility as a coach or a mentor, to bring the results for that particular client and I have excluded consulting from this because while there will be elements of this, which are true, when you are consulting someone there is, generally speaking, a more direct, obvious outcome, while in the coaching space and and in the mentorship space, there’s an element of supporting clients to find the answers and the answers that come through for them, and that moment will be relevant to where they are, while as a consultant, it’s a different scenario, in that you will be able to see the answers that they can’t see currently. And you’ll be able to give evidence and examples as to how and why that’s worked for other people previously. And very often, even if it makes them feel uncomfortable, they will meet you at that level. My goal, for example, as a mentor inside scale with the power one is, I want people to feel fully self resourced. I want them to be able to trust their own decision making process. So it’s not about stretching people to do things that make them feel uncomfortable, because ultimately, what I’ve seen as the end result of that is people who feel resentful, particularly when they don’t see the results immediately. So it’s all about meeting people on their own timeline and supporting them to stretch that timeline and make it happen faster by recognising all the things that are available to them if they allow it to for themselves, but ultimately, it’s on them to make that decision. So what are our obligations? This is how I’m going to break down this this conversation. Today I’m going to be sharing with you what I believe the obligations are of a coach when it comes to taking on a client and you know, essentially what their obligations are to support them to get the very best results. And then I’m going to be speaking to

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Do what I believe we’re not responsible for, and some very practical things that you can do to best attract really good fit clients who will get the best results with you. Here’s where this conversation is a bit of a loaded topic. I think if you’re listening to this, there is potentially the chance that you have been on either side of this coin. There are many people who have gone into coaching programs where they feel like they have been mis sold, what the experience was that they were going into, and therefore they feel quite burned by it. And they feel a severe lack of trust, when it comes to going into anything else. Because they didn’t get the exciting, they were all revved up and excited by the transformation being sold. And then when it came to the tools that they were provided within the experience, and the support and everything else, it was severely lacking. And that is not a nice position to be in. And unfortunately, it is a highly unregulated industry, which means that these stories are way more common than they should be. And on the flip side, there are also scenarios where we have taken on clients, I say we I mean, I speak for the experience of various people who reached out to me in the DM saying, yes, I’ve so had this scenario where I’ve had various clients who I’ve worked with exactly the same toolkit with exactly the same kind of support, where, you know, they haven’t had the same kind of results as other clients have supported. And it’s given me a massive complex, because in this world where we value a lot of our work according to external factors, like how many followers we have, and how many likes on our last post, and how many clients we got, who are singing your praises, it can really sting. And by the way, I’m not saying that’s correct by any means we shouldn’t be attaching ourselves with those things. But because so many of us do, even when we try not to, it can really sting when a client turns around and says, This isn’t working for me, I’m not getting what I need. And ultimately, while personally it can stand on a professional level, we need to respond to this in a way that it deserves to be responded to, you know, people deserve support. So here’s a kind of almost practical toolbox of things that I have been leaning into recently to kind of really get a firm grounding as to what I believe, supports both you as a coach, and also you as a client. So when you whether it’s you deciding what to invest in next, or whether it’s you thinking about how do I safeguard myself moving forward in terms of the clients I take on? Or how do I handle it when a client isn’t getting the results that they want? This kind of meets both sides. Okay, so obligations, here’s what I believe to be true. And obviously, this is all very, my own experience. And if you have anything to add to it, please reach out to me on Instagram, I always love to hear responses, thoughts, ideas that have been provoked by listening to this podcast. So firstly, standing by your promises. Now, an important part of standing by these promises is make promises that you can stick to, okay. I put this as point one on to but really, it’s very much one in the same thing. So yes, you need to stand by your promises. What does that mean? Don’t promise seven figures in seven months to someone who’s only just started a new online business? That’s just totally unrealistic? Not impossible, of course, because anything is possible. But is it highly realistic? If you were to kind of bring 10 people into that container? Would many of them come out the other side with seven figures? without there being a very clear premise as to where they were at immediately? I mean, if they were already making multi six figures, then of course, that wouldn’t be such a. But even then, you can’t necessarily promise that, you know, this is why when it comes to my business coaching containers, I often talk about giving you the tools, the foundations, etc. Because there are people who have had incredible crazy financial winds working alongside me. And there are others who in context as to where they were have, you know, also experienced significant growth, but has it looked exactly like the others who’ve had crazy like, I don’t know, like 30k months within a few months of working with me, not necessarily. However, in terms of where they started as to where they kind of ended up by the time we finished working together, there was significant growth and progress, which is why I say like I say, the foundations for growth, because they’re seeing the evidence already. And if they continue on that path, they will get more results. And it’s very much the same the wellbeing space, right, there’s some for some people, ideas will land immediately, and they’ll get fully on board and they will start to see, you know, they’ll commit to the process. They’ll commit to all of it and be all in and those are the people that you see kind of really quickly cropping up saying, oh my gosh, this is like totally blown my mind. Like I can’t believe how different my life looks now. Well for perhaps for those who are a bit more reserved, a bit more sceptical, perhaps just more challenged in terms of time, or energy or resources. Maybe those results don’t drop in as fast for them. And so they won’t necessarily be as enthusiastic. But ultimately, they’re all receiving the same thing, right. So stand by the promises that that you’re making. And because there are promises you can make, so get clear on the ones you can be true about you know

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Like, for example, one of the things I know I can 100% Standby when it comes to my program is that it is a high touch program, nobody gets lost, nobody gets left behind. Because I have been in containers where you’d get on a call and a coach wouldn’t really remember who you were let alone what your business was. And I didn’t find that particularly helpful. It can be relevant, deeper on into your business, but it’s not what I believe was helpful between the phases of being like a six figure to multi six figure coach, so to me, it’s really important to know or my clients, that’s something I can promise.

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Okay, there’s something I can promise. And that’s something I intentionally make sure my program allows for that to be the case. And I will even adapt and evolve the infrastructure in my program, to ensure that that is always the case. So that’s a promise I can make. Okay, and then being professional, of course, what do I mean by this, I mean that there’s no other place in any other space in the online business world, where you can receive something and not give some kind of feedback. And not just feedback in the context of can I use this for a testimonial, like genuine feedback, when people can reach out to you and say, This is what I’m enjoying, this is what I’ve gained. So far, this is what I’d like more of, yes, these are my ideas for what we’re better at further improve the program moving forward. Now, this is where I’m finding myself getting stuck, you need that information. And if you don’t invite it in, you won’t hear about it. And that’s where it can turn ugly. Okay, so it’s really important that there is a clear route to people being able to access, additional support, and or if in the case where they can’t get additional support, at least be able to feed back where they’re struggling. So that you have the ability to respond and improve that experience for them, whether that’s giving them additional resources, whether that’s suggesting that they upgrade to a one to one, so because they need perhaps more specific, tailored advice, which isn’t pertinent to a group program can look like many things, but these are the important things. Okay, so those are the obligations, standing by your promises and making promises you can keep, and being professional allowing space for constructive criticism and feedback. And responding accordingly to that, you know, welcoming it, receiving it, and acting upon it, and where you’re not able to act upon it. Be honest about that, you know, in some cases, people will say things, which quite frankly, it’s not your responsibility, and it’s something about them that they need to adjust their own expectations. And so but this is where these conversations are held healthy and helpful, and will support your client one way or the other. Now, I’ve just kind of lightly touched on what you’re not responsible for in terms of like I say, there’s sometimes scenarios where a client wants something, but actually, it’s for them to bring to the table. So here’s the next age, here’s what you’re not responsible for, you’re not responsible for their outcomes. What do I mean by this? I mean, I’ve had clients who’ve come in, and like I said, within a few months already had 30k A month evergreen funnels working for them. Am I entirely responsible for that? Of course not. This client has years of expertise behind her, which really has influenced her confidence when it comes to selling. You know, it’s she’s also, I mean, there’s so many different things that this client has brought to the table, which has made my job infinitely easier between mindset between practical stuff between experience, you know, trialling different things to get to the stage as to where she was at all of those things made it infinitely easier to support her to have incredible financial success incredibly rapidly. Is that all on me, of course, it’s not. In fact, I’ve been in scenarios before where I’ve worked with a brand new business coach, and within a month have declared, oh, my gosh, I’ve just had my first 40k month or 50k month, and they’ve gone and then shared it on their stories that you know that one of their clients has just experienced a 50k a month and how proud they are of them, which kind of indirectly or maybe not even indirectly infers a kind of level of like, where, hey, look what I’ve supported my client to do. And I remember those moments thinking,

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hold on a sec, like I’ve just come into your world. And actually a lot of that has come off the back of my previous coach who I’ve been working with for eight months, rather than someone I’ve just kind of landed in the world of within the last, you know, month, it felt kind of cheeky, it felt kind of dishonest, which is why I find myself increasingly sharing less about financial winds and much more about how my clients, businesses now enable them to move through the world feel be the kind of experiences they allow their clients to support their clients to have now

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that just feels more genuine. And even then, of course, I’m not entirely responsible for that. But I just don’t like this idea that people suddenly become immensely rich overnight. Because most scenarios where I’ve seen that happen to clients is they’ve rarely ever been able to hold on to that incredible overnight success, usually something self employed at some stage. And for me, it’s much more about the genuine, sustainable, scalable wins that you can create in your business. So in the same way that

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I’m not responsible for those who’ve done incredibly well, like ultimately, because I’m there to support, I’m not there to be the person that does it in the same way that if I were to suddenly get incredibly muscley, and strong, my personal trainer, I’d be grateful for her support, which she’d be responsible for it. Of course not, it’d be me, I’d be the one choosing to eat really healthfully every day to do my 10k steps a day to get down to the gym four times a week. And even me that decides to commit to the process of hiring her. So it’s totally Well, this hasn’t happened yet. But if it were to, I would totally be celebrating me in the same way that the fact that is not happening right now, is also not on her, which is why I still commit to working with her. Because ultimately, those areas where I’m not committing to myself, is totally on my side. Same with when I went to university, there was a library full of books, which I could have read more of, and perhaps got to first as it was, I got to to one. So ultimately, there’s so many scenarios where we’re given opportunities to grow and expand what it is that we’re doing. And there’s so much of it that still ultimately comes down to us, and are willing to our willingness to trust ourselves, our willingness to show up our willingness to commit, but I do believe trust as well plays a very pivotal role in all of this. So the outcomes not responsible for that also not responsible, like I said, for accountability, I kind of inferred that with what I just shared. You know, like, like I said, you know, my personal trainer is giving me tools all the time to be accountable. I similarly in my coaching containers, do various things to help keep people accountable in regards to regular emails, going out, regular posts, checking in with them, regular coaching calls, but ultimately, I can’t get in their shoes and walk in them for them. And I say all this knowing that if you’re a coach as well, I’m sure you can relate to this. So one of the things I really, really heavily kind of speak to when I take on a new client is what they are responsible for, is what they are accountable for. And what I’m not accountable to to ensure that they recognise that ultimately, while I’m there for them, I can’t do it for them, and they need to show up for themselves. So what are the kind of practical things we can do to make all of this easier? What does this look like in a business. So here’s one thing, your messaging, your messaging should be really clear on who it’s for, we all know. And we should all have experience around those who are really good fit for the work we do. And those who aren’t. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to learn that through actually experiencing it. But where we can express this really, really clearly and Be in trust not be in that place of scarcity, where you take on a perfect client and hope for the best. And instead not be afraid to turn someone away and say, I don’t think this is the right fit for you right now, which I do probably with the 60 to 70% of my inquiries, while sharing a lot of valuable information with them to help them get to where they do need to be, you know, I do turn away a lot of people, because it makes my business significantly easier to run energetically on both sides, it means I get better results, it means that I can show up with a real clean energy and how I support people. And it means that I know in the past where I’ve made the mistake of taking on clients who aren’t a good fit energetically I always suffer for it. And then that impacts everyone else who shouldn’t be suffering for it too. So be really clear with your messaging. And this includes your sales page, like I say, make promises you can keep people will trust you so much more for that as well. There’s so much more integrity in that. So be really honest about what is genuinely something you can promise. The other thing I’d say is I always have sales calls, I don’t do the whole like how to avoid having sales calls. And that’s because I genuinely believe it’s really important to vet any potential client that might be coming into your world. Because oftentimes I find the red flags you see from the very first call, or the very same red flags, which will repeat themselves later, ie people standing you up for a call people dithering about making a decision and various other things. I often find the same people who did the river making decisions to sign up for the program, or the very same people who did it the whole way throughout the container about taking action and deciding on things. And those who seem very mistrusting, there’s so many different traits that can come up in a sales call that will repeat themselves in the experience of you working with them. So it’s a really good opportunity to get really clear on the kind of person that might be coming into your world to ensure that, you know, you’re not just safeguarding them, you’re safeguarding yourself, because ultimately, you’re going to be getting really up close and personal to this person. So you want to make sure that they’re a good fit on both sides. One of the things I guess I want to share is trusting in the long game, I want to speak briefly on the fact that I myself have made several not so great business investments in terms of the transformation I was being sold in terms of what I wanted to have on the other side. And having said that my business has grown and progressed immensely over the last few years. And for every single thing I’ve invested in, that hasn’t quite worked out for me. There has always been an invaluable learning, whether it’s not to take on too much at once. Whether it’s not to try and get ahead of yourself and actually to embrace the chaos. What can be like chaos in the early stages when you’re juggling, say

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Many things, whether it’s recognising what kind of coaching I don’t gel with, and what kind of coaching I do, whether it’s being clear on the kind of group programs, I want to sign up moving forward, or whether I even want to be in one and whether a mastermind is a better fit. There are so many valuable learnings I’ve dropped in even with the investments that haven’t given me the ROI I was expecting. And what’s really interesting is the very same week, I shared the post about inconsistent results, I received a voice note from an ex client, who said to me, when she finished the program and skill with the power one, she wasn’t entirely where she wanted to be. And, you know, that felt sad on both our parts. I mean, she still managed to have a 10k launch, which was gorgeous. But you know, we’d expected to have more pieces in place by the time she left, and various factors in her life had contributed towards it not being quite where we wanted it to be yet. And what was really beautiful was that she reached out to me and kind of said, six months on everything you taught me like, it’s just all it’s almost like so you know, like growing something in the back garden in terms of the roots taking up more space and holding it holding the business more steady. That that essentially, she kind of said, the way I’m showing up the way I speak about my offer, absolutely everything just feel so elevated from where it was previously. And things that didn’t land immediately for me, during, throughout the duration of my time and the container are landing now. And I totally get it. And essentially, it was a message of gratitude for the experience. And it was a real reminder to myself that similarly, sometimes it takes a few months on from an investment for me to really understand what it was there to teach me. And that ultimately, all of these things are really, really valuable. And I’m really happy to say that luckily, that client also tends to come back to me and work with me repeatedly, which shows I must be doing something right. But it was a reminder to me that sometimes the learnings we need don’t necessarily drop in immediately. And that ultimately, it can be helpful. And I don’t want to say this in a way that’s going to totally gaslight anyone. But I certainly like to take the mentality of I never make a bad investment. Because to me, that means there’s always a learning and that learning is always valuable. If I allow myself to get into an energy of resentment and anger, I don’t really find that serves me or the scenario. In fact, it doesn’t affect the scenario or the coach at all. All it really does is damage me what is helpful to me is to look at the learnings that I need to take from that experience so that I don’t repeat them again moving forward. And so that they get to be the foundations of better decisions moving forward. So there we have it guys. I hope that was really helpful.

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I am going to be back in your ears next week talking about how to elevate for evergreen. How to avoid those common pitfalls. I unfortunately see people making way too often when it comes to investing in ADS too early, or trying to turn their group program evergreen too soon. I’m going to be talking about how you can avoid those common pitfalls and scale, grow and scale. Let’s talk about it. Okay, we’re talking about it next week. See you all then in the meantime, if you are interested in how to turn your group program evergreen, there is a free on demand masterclass in the links below. So go check it out. I’m constantly receiving DMS day to day with people sharing just how helpful it was for them so do not hesitate to check it out if you haven’t watched it already. Thanks for listening and speak to you soon.