I'm sure that you've heard all kinds of sayings about what to do and what not to do. When you follow them blindly as absolute fact you just might be misled. For most of them there is a certain amount of truth which seems obvious to us, so we take the whole concept, lock stock and barrel. Then we end up not exploring what we COULD do with that concept. It narrows our thinking.

Let's look at one.

We've been told many times that we should "under promise and over perform." The point is that by under promising what we know we can deliver we should surprise our customers with super performance every time.

The result frequently is that a coach comes on "humble" and doesn't tell the client what they can REALLY do. They sound weak and like just every other coach. The result: not many clients.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not asking you to brag and over promise what you can deliver. Not at all. I am asking you to define your real value and step up to the plate and take a big swing by laying out there what you are doing.

It's interesting to hear some of the other coaches who here what I say. When I am at a meeting that allows a 30 second introduction around the room, I frequently have a coach say, "Wow, how can anyone believe what you just said?" And, occasionally I get a prospective client saying the same thing.

Can you do an exercise with me?

Write down three things. What is the measurable result

1. Typical MEASURABLE result that a client gets from you? (or call it the average result)
2. Maximum MEASURABLE result that a client has ever gotten.
3. Minimum MEASURABLE result that a chat an AVERAGE client gets from you?

I coach a lot of coaches on building a super sized coaching business. And these are some of the hardest questions for coaches to answer . . . because they not only have never thought about measurable results for their clients, but because they just plain find it difficult ot write down the results. Some tell me, "Gee, if I said that I'd have to deliver that." Yes you would. But that's also why we clearly define them so that we KNOW we can achieve them, have achieved them, and therefore we will clearly state to the client the value of what they are receiving . . . and your sales will leap upward by 5-10 times. Your coaching prospects buy the highest value they can for their money. If you don't show them the value they are buying . . . they won't buy.

Would you like to see your sales go up by at least 5-10 times? Then lay your value on the table. Your REAL value can EXCITE the customer as to what he's getting and increase your sales at least 5 times. Don't hold back and under promise, promise what you can deliver, and then be sure to deliver even more.

What happens if you under deliver? Make it clear who's responsible for what. The ONLY time I've failed to coach a client to the results that we talked about was when the client didn't pick up what he learned and used it. So, I promise big things as long as the client agrees in the first place to follow through.

Try this exercise to find your value.

Typical or Average MEASURABLE Resul

Pick some of your "typical" clients and write down what their measurable results were. You don't know what kinds of results your clients get? Maybe it's time to find out. Call some of your latest clients and ask them to tell you what kinds of results they got. Hopefully they will be excited about those results and babble on and on. Then ask them, "can you turn that into a MEASURABLE result?"

They may struggle with this for a while as well. If you haven't asked them for a measurable result before, they haven't likely thought about it either. Now's the time to get them thinking that way. Don't allow them to squirm away from answering this though.

If you are a business coach it should be easy. Businesses run on measurements. Look for how many dollars increase in revenue, in profits, in number of new clients, in reduction of hours worked, in efficiency. And then add time to that. How long did it take to acquire that level.

Some of my clients tell me that they more than double their business in 4 weeks or less. So, one of my value statements is 80% of my clients more than double their business in 4-8 weeks. Now stop for a minute and think, how different is that from saying "I am a coach."

If you are a life coach, it's a little harder because many times what you deliver is more intangible than tangible. But you MUST move the intangible into tangible. If you have helped them with a relationship it might be that 70% of your clients saved a failing relationship within 5 weeks. Or what percent of your clients increased their income by $100,000?

One of the career coaches I coached came up with several value statements,depending on who he's working with. If he's working with someone that would like to change jobs and find more income, OR with someone who is unemployed and wants to find a new job fast, his statement was: "Helping clients get a new career making at least $50,000 more within 3 months or less." And, YES, he does have to do it, but he has been doing it so why not say it.

You will find that what you say, how you say it, and who you say it to is "marketing" and also the key to your success. If you say "I am a coach" no one knows why they should hire you, so most don't hire you. But, if you lay your REAL value on the table you will see prospects actually CHASING you rather than you chasing them.

So, it's important to say it. But it's also important HOW you say it. Be clear in what you say.

So, for this category, "typical" or "average" is a good way of defining this. You could say, "a typical client sees this kind of results", or "an average result for my clients is". This defines the middle of the road. You aren't promising this result, only that "on the average, this is a typical result." You aren't promising it, but you are certainly laying your measurable value on the table. Use that and watch your sales go through the roof.

Maximum Results

Now, what is the maximum measurable result you have ever delivered. Think hard. I'm sure that you've had some really spectacular results.

Minimum Results

This one becomes a lot harder for most coaches. I am sure that if you've had more than 2 or 3 clients that you've had one that absolutely failed miserably. It wasn't your fault. It was probably theirs for not following through with something.

Therefore, we are going to define the minimum result that you delivered when a client succeeded.

I tell my prospects that, "when a client actually follows through to do what he's discovered the minimum result I've ever had was a 50% growth in business." And further will define that "the only real failures I've had are when clients don't do the work, don't show up for every coaching call, or tell me 'that won't work for me' and never do what we've developed." So, failures are more the result of the client failure to follow through. In fact, I'll guarantee results if they do what we discover together.

How This All Comes Together in a Value Statement

So, now you have a range of values to use in your core marketing message that you'll use instead of saying "I am a coach." You know what a typical result looks like, and what the range of results that you've delivered every time. By telling the client that an average measurable result falls here, and the minimum he's like to get is X, and he just might be able to get the maximum, Y. You couldn't be clearer as to what that prospect is likely to get.

People make buying decisions based on the value they perceive they will get. When every other coach is saying "I am a coach" and you tell a client that he's likely to see X times growth, or Y dollars, don't get hurt when he leaps for you. He will.

Deliver More

Another thing you'll discover is that since you are now measuring your clients results, and YOUR results you will be more focused on doing it, and will deliver more often, as well as constantly increasing those results for clients. So, you WILL deliver more than you promised and keep getting better at it.

So, don't under promise. Promise the value you that do deliver. And then deliver even more.