Karl: Welcome to another interview by the Six Figure Coach magazine. Today is a special treat for me personally because I’ve got my own coach on the phone. This is the guy who guides me, kicks me in the pants and to a large degree, holds me accountable for all those crazy things I come up with. So this is my boy; none other than Mr. Thomas Beal.

Tom: Hi Karl, I’m excited to be with you today and to share some valuable information with everyone reading this interview.

Karl: You’re a legend Tom. I want to start by asking about your childhood because I know that had a major influence on your life and your work. You were born to teenage parents, correct?

Tom: Yes. Seventeen-year-old mother, nineteen-year-old father. This took place before the big controversial Roe vs Wade Supreme Court decision was handed down. So little did I know there was actually an inner discussion and heavy leanings to have me aborted… and somehow my parents stayed strong and gave me the chance to be born.

So I was born to teenage parents and lived around a lot of adversity and chaos that I wouldn’t wish on anybody. It reminds me today of a quote from Napoleon Hill, “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

I can look back on what I learned from that adversity as a child growing up around four divorces which may have been assisted by lawyers like london solicitors, in and out of households through those divorces; then moving to nine different schools by the time I was in 8th grade. You really start to wonder- am I even loved? Do people love me?

I was fortunate in that I overcame all of that as a child, then went on to become successful in numerous unrelated sporting activities followed by many successful ventures in the business world. Now I look back at my childhood and all of that adversity as being the fire that molded me and gave me the ability to handle difficult situations.

As business coaches, that’s what we do. We’re the problem solvers. So if you had adversity growing up, congratulations. You have an edge on most people.

We’re molded by our own individual experiences. However, when you harness your unique experiences, your unique personality and your unique perspectives, these are all massively valuable to your clients when you come in as that problem solver and business coach. That can help your clients get from where they are to where they want to be. As you embrace that and continue on that journey, it often works in your favor to separate you from the rest of your competition.

Karl: I love it! You’ve got a bicycle background, don’t you Tom? Tell us about that.

Tom Beal: I do. I saw the movie Rat back in the ’80s and in that movie they had kids doing some pretty radical tricks on bikes and I wanted to join the fun. They were doing stuff that I never thought was possible on a bike and that led me to explore what was termed back then as freestyle.

They had magazines like BMX Plus and another called Freestyling and I would see pictures of people doing these crazy stunts and all I could say  to myself was “how do they do that?”

This is prior to us having cameras in our phone; this is back in 35mm days and even Kodak Disc cameras. We weren’t able to see videos. Videos weren’t that common back then and when we finally were able to travel and go see live events, our mind was blown; our jaws dropped by what people were able to do on bicycles.

I wanted to do those tricks. I had the belief that if others can do it, I can do it too. Then I used something powerful that we’re all familiar with as business coaches; I found mentors. I found people doing the tricks that I wanted to learn and asked them to teach me.

One friend reminded me that I was still a novice. He said you can’t go from kindergarten to 9th grade overnight. In freestyling and in business there are certain steps that you have to take one step at a time. I did that, and became a national champion in 4 years.

I went from not knowing much about that sport to being dedicated and committed and just passionate about it, waking up in the morning in the summer, riding all day and learning these tricks to becoming in short order, a national champion. We then built a team and we traveled around signing autographs. We made a major impact and helped other people along that journey.

Karl: Tom, you’re a rock star in the coaching world. You’ve worked with the best of the best, Mike Filsaime, Rich Schefren and the lot. So tell me this. You’ve got two minutes with a business coach and you’re going to help them generate leads. What’s the advice that you would give them?

Tom: SOS… and we know SOS represents an emergency situation. SOS stands for Stop Over-complicating Success.

Don’t worry about funnels, don’t worry about webinars, don’t worry about the complication of all the technical snazzy things that are available to us. Down the road those are going to be super-powerful for you as you grow your business, as you become a more well known, successful coach.

But in the beginning you just have to get the word out there. You just have to start speaking with people who are great potential clients. And here’s something that I’ll share with you Karl, you asked me to share something really good that I implemented when I had taken a break.

I had taken a hiatus from coaching. I had a lot of great things going on but when I re-entered coaching I generated $45,000 within 24 hours. Here’s what I did and it wasn’t complicated. It didn’t require me to be a copywriter, it didn’t require me to do a webinar and it didn’t require me to do anything fancy other than a simple Facebook post.

Let me share some details with everyone. If you’re a participant on Facebook, you have people who keep an eye on you that may not necessarily like and/or comment on any of your posts. But they’re watching. As someone who is in good hands in Karl’s world, and the business coach that you are, you’re most likely putting out valuable information that’s helping people whether they’re liking, whether they’re commenting or not.

So here’s what I did and I would encourage you to consider doing the same. Come up with a reason why you’re giving out valuable information. There should always be a reason why. It’s the New Year. It’s your birthday; it’s the anniversary of starting your own business. Come up with your why and post something along these lines. Here’s something similar to what I posted.

I wrote a brief paragraph that generated multiple leads that ended up depositing $45,000 in my bank account within 24 hours. I started off with something along the lines of “I don’t normally do this. However…” and then I gave my why — “However… people have been reaching out and asking me for more in-depth information about what I’m really good at. And what I’m really good at is helping business owners get from where they are to where they want to be.

Normally my prices are out of most people’s comfort zone, so I have a special promotion going on that’s not going to be for everybody. This is not a $7 offer; it’s not insignificant but it’s a dramatic discount from what I normally offer to my high-level clients. It’s only going to be available for a short time and here’s who it’s for. If you’re this person and you’re looking to do this, looking to do that, then this is perfect for you.”

It was about a paragraph long and I said, “If this sounds like you and you want the results that I’m mentioning, simply send me a direct message and I’ll share with you further details.

” Here’s how this unfolded – I came up with the idea in the morning and I was like gosh, should I do it, shouldn’t I do it? I added in the last part that said, “Send me a private message if interested.”

Here’s the thought process I had; if no one replies, no big deal. I made a post and it’s no big deal. If I get three people, if I get five people, if I get 10 people, I’ll have a process that will have the cream rise to the top and I’ll have great conversations and at the end, all of those people are going to be in a better place than when they first saw the post and when they first reached out to me. So I’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain.

So I didn’t let fear stop me from making that post. I posted that offer and went on with my day. I noticed this was one of the days that was unusual because like most people, I check Facebook on a regular basis throughout the day.

The day I made that post was a busy one. I didn’t really check on it until later in the day. By the time I did, my Facebook Messenger had numerous direct messages saying,” Hey I don’t know what it is you have going on but I want more details. Fill me in; what is it?”

I immediately thought, “hold on, there’s a decent demand for this, excellent!” So then I said, “Okay, what’s next?” I didn’t have a funnel in place, I didn’t have a video to send them, I didn’t have anything.

So I sent them this. “Hey, congratulations for reaching out. As I mentioned, this is not for everybody. In order for me to best understand where you are and where you’re looking to go, here’s a brief success intake survey that I created. The next step is for you to go complete that. Once I receive that we’ll set up a time to schedule a one-on-one call.”

So all I did is create a brief simple survey that allowed me to get a good understanding of who this person was, what their current situation was, what were their current revenues, profits etc. and what they were searching for to help them grow their business.

It was enough for me to give myself a head start so when we started communicating on the one-on-one call, I had a pretty good understanding where they were, what their biggest constraints were, what they felt were their biggest struggles and how I could assist them in overcoming that and creating some results quickly. That’s exactly what I did in the one-on-one calls.

So if you want to generate fast cash, there needs to be an offer. This might be a holy cow moment for many of you reading this interview. I ask a lot of coaches this… “Okay, so where can prospects buy from you? How are you currently generating leads — where is your next sale coming from — how are you currently getting people from prospect to client?

And surprisingly, a lot of coaches are like “Well I don’t really have a defined process. I’m creating this funnel, I’m creating this webinar, I’m creating something that isn’t there yet.

My simple process alleviates all detail, all the worry, all the complication and really gives coaches an offer and a way for their prospects to reach out and say “Yes, I want what you have. This can help me.”

And when they reach out then you have a simple next step which for me – and I would recommend you consider it – is a brief, simple survey that gives you an understanding of where they are, where they’re looking to go and what their biggest constraints and issues are.

So when you have that follow-up call you already have their information – and you just skipped probably 20 or 30 minutes of getting to know that stuff. Now you can dive right in and help deliver results in advance and then at the end, present the special that you have created for them which is the offer and move them forward.

Karl: So let’s take it one step further. The coach generated the lead off that Facebook post and now they’re in front of a prospect. Any tricks on helping the coach go from a five hundred or a thousand dollar a month client to a high end twenty-five hundred dollar a month client?

Tom: You always want to have a next step. When a coach first starts out, they generally don’t offer a high ticket program. But as you build your reputation, as your results start to dramatically improve your client’s business, it’s in your best interest to have a next step on your program ladder. Whether it’s silver, gold, platinum or diamond, every coach must have an “upsell” program.

When you get the results for your clients, they will expect to pay a higher price for your services. If you keep your prices low and don’t increase them over time, you’re going to have some people pass you up simply because they feel “if they were as good as they sound they would be charging more.”

So it’s your duty to have that next step, and that’s where you want to have more of the takeaway like I mentioned before. In the initial Facebook post, I said this is not for everybody. But due to this special reason I have something that’s going to give you a significant discount. Now that’s still going to be out of many peoples budget, but for the right people this is going to be the difference-maker for them, their future and their business.

Now when you plant that seed and you frame it in that manner, people automatically self-select. They’re either going to engage or not engage because you framed it properly. They know this is not going to be a $7 free coaching session and they will say, “You know what, when I’m ready for that I’ll move forward; but I’m not ready for that.” For the ones who are ready for it, “This is exactly what I was looking for.

Yeah I’m definitely reaching out, I want to see what this person can do.” That leads to that brief survey which now gives you a peek behind the scenes. Depending on how well they know you, like you and trust you, that’s going to basically determine how in-depth they get with the details they’re going to share.

But when you get on the phone for that consultation, you already have an insight of where they are and where they’re looking to go and as they get to know, like and trust you and see that you are insightful, that you’re on point and assisting them on that journey. Then they’re able to open up a little bit more to you. And as they open up, that leads to you discerning which offer fits for them. Generally it’s up to you to make that choice, not leave that choice up to them.

But you can dangle something in front of them and say, “I have two different levels which we’ll have a discussion to see which one you feel fits you best. Level A, which is the Gold level, has these features and benefits. However, I think level B may be a better fit for you. It offers everything level A does, but level B offers you X, Y and Z. And here’s why this would be a nice fit for you.

People like to have you as a business coach give them direction… “I know that level B is exactly what you need” and guide them down that path. That certainty will come into play.

Karl: That’s great Tom, but let’s take this one step further. We’ve found ourselves a prospect through the Facebook post, and you’ve given us a strategy to get us high-end coaching clients.

Now, I want to get results for this client. He or she is paying me let’s say $2500 a month. Let’s face reality, if I don’t make them money fairly quickly, they’re not going to keep paying me for long. Any tricks of the trade you can share with us that will produce fast results for new clients?

Tom: Yeah. This definitely is the key to success as a business coach. If we don’t get our clients results fast, they will see us as an expense versus an investment. You want them to see you as an investment as quickly as possible.

Now with investments, what do we look for? We look for ROI, a return on that investment. So the quicker you can get that return on investment, the better it is for the longevity of this client.

I do this by using a more in-depth survey. The initial survey I mentioned earlier from the Facebook post involves a small committal survey. So it’s not like “Oh heck! I’ll get back to this tomorrow” and tomorrow never comes. Instead, it’s simple, brief and to the point. It’s designed to get me to the next step which is the phone call. So I get them on the phone and share the offer, they decide to move forward with the offer, then that leads to this next step.

Now we have two choices. We can spend our first hour of our next call really getting down into the nitty-gritty of where they are, looking at the constraints, looking at their team, looking at what’s working and what’s not working, etc.;

Or I can send them to this other survey which will eliminate us spending that hour but it will require them to invest probably 20 to 30 minutes of their time going deep into answering questions that they know are important for them to answer, yet they’ve been too busy to answer them. So this is highly important.

We’re going to either invest the time together or they can invest the time on their own. But if they choose the ‘on their own’ option, by the time we do have that call I’ll be able to provide them with several possible solutions on the spot. This in-depth survey gives people an introspection into their business that they have never had before, and here’s what happens.

Right away they have epiphanies and they have some ‘aha’ moments without you actually conversing with them on that deep of a level. They’ve done the conversing with themselves answering questions that you’ve put together in this longer, in-depth survey where by the time they’re done with that, they’re like, “Holy heck! This was worthwhile just in and of itself.”

Then you review that and by the time you have your first call you know what’s really ticking, what’s working, what’s not; where the big obstacles are that can be removed; where the 20% of activities are that will produce the 80% of results and returns. You’ll have a decent amount of ammunition so that when you come in and have that conversation, you’ll already have formulated multiple solutions.

Now for me, I’m not the business coach who forces my ideas down the client’s throat. I guide the conversation to lead the client to the solutions I came up with, so my ideas become the client’s ideas. That’s a leadership trait all coaches should cultivate.

So that’s the behind the scenes stuff that works for delivering results in advance. It doesn’t always have to be from your direct conversations. That in-depth survey goes MUCH deeper than the initial survey, and it always produces epiphanies and aha’s because the client is now investing time where they know they should have spent time answering these questions in the past but hadn’t.

Now they’re much more committed to being coaches because they made an investment in you as their coach. They’re going to invest that time into thinking and answering questions about their business that they knew they should have answered a long time ago but they haven’t made the time for it.

You’re now helping them make the time and those epiphanies will be profound and deliver results in advance before you even get on the call with them.

Karl: Could you give us a couple of examples where you made a huge impact quickly?

Tom: To me, I start by gaining clarity on what’s important. Where are the 20% of activities that produce 80% of the returns? I want to be super clear on those. What’s a good investment of their time and what’s a bad investment of their time?

Really fine-tuning this and gaining super clarity on where their most precious asset of time is being invested. The 20% of activities that do produce 80% of their returns. When you have that clarity, you now have the plan that can be put into place… followed by execution and accountability.

Karl: I love it! Tom, thank you so much for sharing your insights with us today. On behalf of my audience and those reading this interview, we appreciate it so much. You’re an absolute rock star and I look forward to chatting with you again soon.