When I had to choose the name for the Facebook group that I started last fall, I went with "The Coaching Jungle" 

It seemed to fit - since starting a coaching business (or any business) is a lot like entering a jungle. 

And keeping with the whole jungle/wilderness theme, there's something that I've noticed from hacking and slashing my way through the bushes every day ... 

The various creatures (prospects) in the wild can detect who is weak, and who is strong.

It's like they have a radar, and most can smell neediness a mile away. 

In The Prosperous Coach, Rich Litvin and Steve Chandler nailed it when they wrote: "Needy is creepy".

So why do so many coaches continue to give off that vibe? 

It's because it's not easy to build a coaching business. Few coaches are independently wealthy and just doing coaching as a hobby. 

Bills have to be paid.

Business expenses pop up. 

The bank doesn't accept the logic that "So-and-so promised that he'll be hiring me next month, so can I get an I.O.U?" 

In a perfect world, coaches would have a year or two of living and business expenses in the bank ...

But in reality, the mortgage is coming due next week, and the car payment comes out the week after. Oh, and later this month there's that bill for that shiny, brand spankin' new website that you needed done. 

Is it possible to cloak this neediness? To somehow hide it from the creatures roaming around in the wild? 

I believe there is.  It's not easy, but you can lessen it by being so passionate about what you do that your energy is impossible to ignore. 

If you go into every call pumped up and eager to help (not sell) the other person, your mindset will shift and you'll discover that you close more sales while thinking less about selling. 

I had a guest on the podcast before who consciously replaced the word "sell" with "help". So every morning when he starts his day, he asks himself "Who can I HELP today?" 

He's been able to change his thinking. Now, he sees it as his obligation to help someone. And to help that person, they have to hire him. 

Look at it this way.:

If you don't work with the prospect, he/she could get connected with someone who isn't even in the same league as you. Then that person suffers, and you suffer. 

Try replacing "sell" with "help", and see what it does for those feelings of neediness. 

If you want my help with your coaching business, here you go: 

Marc