I was having a conversation with a coach who is Dyslexic and has ADHD. She provides coaching and support to parents whose children have similar conditions.

She mentioned how difficult it had been to sell her support package to parents of children with neurodiverse conditions. She had to reduce the package fee by more than 70% and even then only sold a handful of places.

Something did not add up. And as I listened, it was hard to see who would say no to such an offer.

I asked, “if we were to think about a prospective client, what do they get having purchased your package?”

She said, “joy and some strategies on how to manage their lives and those they are supporting. ”

Her answers did not inspire me. So, I said, I’m afraid, “with that explanation, I don’t feel encouraged to buy this package.”

However, something inspired me to change my question ever so slightly. I said, “let’s imagine you’ve delivered your service, and as your client is about to walk away, what would they be able to do that they could not before?”

She said, “oh, that’s easy:”

“One of my problems is that I have a short attention span, and I’m not very organised and can feel overwhelmed very quickly. These are some of the challenges neurodiverse people face.

She went on to explain the different ways in which they would benefit:

• Planning their day would be easier because managing time and organising is not easy. I listened.

• They would learn strategies to help manage everyday problems.”

• “They would feel less overwhelmed and know what to do about it.”

• “Managing family life would become easier because they will have learned what to do.”

• “As I’ve grown older, I realised that the strategies I used while growing up no longer work.” “They would learn techniques that are adaptable.”

As I listened, I became more and more excited and started to imagine (if I were an ideal client) what it would be like to apply these strategies and how much they would help me. I would also feel reassured and confident in knowing what to do.

I turned to her and said, now I would be ready to buy.

What excited me even more was the feeling of how I could get better and better as time went on.

I realised that the problem was not her product; she was clear about how they would benefit; the problem was the sales conversation and not clearly articulating how much they would improve.

This is a common situation. Sometimes you can get caught up trying to understand the situation and problems and prematurely jump to the benefits without digging deep enough to understand the impact and the cost of procrastination.

You cannot wing that conversation. Your skills are in helping your prospect imagine a different future.

Knowing your value is having absolute confidence in the outcome you and your team could provide without any feelings of inadequacy or doubt.