The best teachers are the best sellers (They Aren't Quite Sure of It Yet)

The majority of teachers feel that selling is awkward and uncomfortable. But there's a way to make sales in a healthy and natural way through the teaching method.

I interact with creators on a daily basis. I've studied hundreds (maybe thousand?) of creators on nearly every scale imaginable. Of creators at every scale. If there's a single takeaway from getting close with the creators of our world, it's this:

  Creators are uncomfortable selling (and consider themselves to be terrible in doing it).  

Offering hampers for sale "course creation ability and enthusiasm," one told me. "It's not something that we're accustomed to or good at," another says. "I realize how vital [marketing] can be, however do I know how to implement a strategy for it? I'm not sure." Comments like these are commonplace in 's Facebook group.

I'm on a mission to make selling natural for people who need it. My goal is to make selling natural for those who want to share their knowledge.

A major component? Shifting core beliefs about what "selling" is about. Sure, selling can mean making marketing funnels, paying advertising, and emails. But that stuff is not something that teachers are looking to improve -- and it saps their enthusiasm for teaching.

But here's the surprising aspect that I would like everyone in the world of creation had known. This is a simple and powerful insight that most people miss. Every creator already possesses the single best tool to sell. And it happens to be their forte, and the thing they love doing most: instructing. To sell more, creators need to teach more.

Transformational funnels >>> marketing funnels

I've come to think about the teaching process as being a way to guide transformation. Think about it. Every time you've learned something, some kind of transformative event occurred. Before and after. Maybe someone went from "I cannot juggle any of it" to "I can manage to juggle three balls." It's quite a change! Then, after a couple lessons, another one happens that is "I can manage to juggle four balls!" Soon they begin to notice things that they could juggle everywhere they move. The world turns into one of the most possibilities to juggle. That's transformation.

Think back in your life to a time when you truly discovered something. The feeling of satisfaction, growth. There was probably a sequence of changes that built on each other in a series of steps, until you could not believe that you once didn't know how to accomplish that task. It was probably awe-inspiring, right?

For those who are creators, funnels to market need to begin with that initial change. This is why I prefer to think of them as things that are different. They're called Transformational Funnels. If your funnel for marketing transforms students that you make money through the teaching.

It takes time to dig deep and understand something. Learning and mastery is built over time. In most cases, there's the natural progression of milestones and milestones that come with the process of learning. (For instance, it's likely that you will not be able to juggle chainsaws until initially learn how to handle three balls, then four, then two chainsaws, etc.) And creators who give the first step of transformation to their fans for free are the most successful.

The best thing about it? The transformative funnel is exactly a marketing funnel. Without any strategizing or administration whatsoever, a natural and expertise-based funnel (a transformed funnel!) is already in the mind of the author.

How do you sell your services as a top-selling teacher

Let's take a look at an illustration of how this funnel transformation appears to be. We'll look at Brandon who is a teacher at the Thrive Training Institute. Brandon teaches an effective important thing is how parents can protect their children in the event of an emergency. He has recently posted an Instagram posting in which he highlighted the vital matter that choking is the most common cause of death in children. In the final paragraph of his blog post, he advised people to read his complimentary information on the topic.

This sounds like a pretty common lead-generating strategy, doesn't it? Introduce a problem, and then offer an answer. Then, what did you do? It was a disaster. 17 likes, no comments. Why? Brandon thought like an entrepreneur. He made a commercial. The commercial presents a challenge, but no solution. The student isn't able to in their process of change.

Contrast that post with another one that is more recent. Brandon has a completely unique approach in this post: he shows parents how to act in the event that their child's choking. So much value! So, what happened? There were 153 people who liked the post when I wrote the post 10-fold more than the initial posting, and a ton of comments. Through teaching the solution to the issue, Brandon provides a transformation. An easy "a ha!" moment that prompts an adventure for the audience. Teaching is powerful!

Something to note is it is that Brandon gives really great content for free. Maybe that sounds like a risk. Why would his audience purchase his program if they can access it absolutely free via Instagram? However, sixty seconds isn't enough time to master everything you have to know in order to help a child in an emergency! Now that they've started to master the technique then they'll finish through his training. Because his followers is thrilled by the transformation, they're sharing the post to others as well. (Think of the last time you learned something new, and excitedly told someone about it.)

He's gaining his followers and is offering a significant (and free!) change -- as well as building a strong lead funnel for his business. Brandon is selling through training. He's marketing in a way that's natural and authentic. It's simple, it's effective and is easy for Brandon and his audience -- everyone is winning.

The value of authentically selling

The most vibrant (and successful!) companies are built around authentic purpose and action. The same goes for teaching -- the best teachers have a deep feeling of authenticity and the purpose behind their teaching. Reminisce about the most effective teachers in your life. Take a pencil and paper or your notebook, and prior to reading on, write out a few words to explain them.

My most impactful and powerful teachers were in deep, in-depth connection with their authentic. (Thank for your teachers, Bob and Irfhan!) They were captivating, inspirational and enthralling. It was because they were authentic.

In making selling easy, we're working to unlock that potential for every creator who is willing to share their knowledge. My aim is to enable creators everywhere to teach and exist in total harmony with their authentic self. Consider, even for a moment, of that potential impact. The rapidly expanding category of people who are able to share their knowledge and experience in a genuine way and fully to sharing transformative experiences on a global scale. If I consider this possibility, that's when I clearly realize one thing that is truly amazing to be a different world.