Recently I participated in a “give away” promotion. You know, one of those themed events where you invite your list to opt in and they get access to a range of free gifts. The “host” builds their list with all those opt ins and you build your list when people “choose” to download the free gift you offer.
I have several different “free gifts” I use depending on the theme of the event, but this time, I chose to use my Rapid Results Kit, which consists of an infographic of my 5 step Rapid Results System, my Vision Crafting Exercise, and a complementary Rapid Results Session (aka a Strategy Session) with me.
Unfortunately, I didn’t set myself up for success this time around, so I thought I’d share a couple of thoughts…
- Don’t offer a strategy session on your thank you page…offer it in your follow-up sequence. I’ve tried different strategies here and always “hope” that by getting people to schedule the session when they are most interested (right after they opt in) that the promo will be more successful.
Unfortunately, every time I’ve done this I experience high no show rates, and a lot of “freebie seekers”. It’s kind of like signing up for a webinar. People sign up and really don’t have any intention of showing up, but it’s easy and they think they’ll get a replay (not sure what they think they’ll get with a consultation, but hey, the sign up is there, right?)
No show rates are high, I believe, because they haven’t even seen your free gift yet to know if there is any kind of a connection with you before they decide to set up a consultation.
When you offer the session in your follow up sequence, you know that the potential client has actually experienced your work and is resonating with it enough to request a session with you.
- If you are time-strapped, which I am right now, always include a pre-session questionnaire to pre-qualify the sessions. And don’t be afraid to cancel a session if it clearly isn’t a good fit. A pre-qualification questionnaire can also increase your show up rates because people get really clear on what they want out of the session.
I blew it on this one this time around. I decided to participate in this promotion at the last minute and was in the middle of preparing for my Rapid Results Intensive, and simply didn’t take the time to put the questionnaire in place.
And I paid the price as ove half of the sign ups no showed, and about half of the ones who did show were not ideal clients because they have product based businesses (aren’t my specialty), don’t yet know what they want their business to be (not my focus area), or just clearly weren’t interested in taking the work further (freebie seekers).
As you build your pre-qualifying questionnaire, here are a few questions I’d recommend you include:
- What is your biggest challenge right now?
- What would be possible for you if you were able to find a solution for this challenge?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to finding a solution right now?
- What is your budget for finding and implementing the solution?
- How do you think a coach can help you better achieve your goals?
- Have you worked with a coach before, and what was the outcome?
Strategy sessions can be very time consuming. Always be aware that you are giving away your time, one of your most valuable assets. It may not seem like much but a 30 minute chunk of time here, and another chunk of time there can add up pretty quickly.
Does this mean you shouldn’t offer free consultation calls? No, because they can be very useful. You just need to ensure that you’re not attracting all those freebie seekers with no intention of hiring you and that when a call is scheduled, they call!
A pre-session questionnaire that gets filled out before you even schedule a consult time will help with this.
To sum it up, the main objective of a free strategy session is for you to support the prospective client in gaining clarity around the area you work in and you both to experience each other and explore if working together is a good fit to support the prospective clients in moving from where they are to where they want to be.
Here are my top 5 tips for setting yourself up in advance for successful Strategy Sessions…
- Always use a scheduling link – the days of emailing or texting back and forth are over! Bite the bullet and get a simple online tool in place.
- Use a pre-session questionnaire to pre-qualify – Unless you are in the very early stages of your business and want to talk to anyone who wants to schedule, even for practice, this step will save you tons of time and frustration.
- Always send reminder emails – people forget! Be sure to send at least one automated reminder, and a couple is better.
- Build relationship before the call – send the potential client something in advance to get an experience of you and your work. It could be a short video training on a topic you focus on, an assessment to get the client thinking about their gaps, or even a checklist or e-book that gives them a feel for your point of view.
- Always have the potential client call you – you learn a lot from this! Did they not read your confirmation and realize they are supposed to call you? Do they call late or no show? If you choose to call them when they no show, do they make up some excuse or make it your problem? How people behave at the start of a relationship is typically how they’ll behave throughout it!
Strategy Sessions can be an invaluable marketing tool when you are starting up your business, and a great way to hone your enrollment skills. Have fun with them, and learn from my mistakes!
Share your experience with these complementary sessions below!
