Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sandra Possing. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sandra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

Our education system needs a lot of work. I believe it’s outdated and not at all inclusive of people with different learning styles and neurodiversity. So many students do not necessarily thrive in an environment where they are expected to sit still, be quiet, and just listen for eight hours a day, memorizing information in order to do well on tests. We should better support students who need to sit less and move more, who learn best by being more hands on, etc.

Also, while math and science and reading comprehension are important, we fail at equipping most young people with crucial life skills, such as personal finance, emotional intelligence, and effective communication.

While the standard educational system happened to work well for my learning style, and I did do well academically, I so rarely actually use anything that I learned in school in my adult life. The more valuable learning experiences for me included what I learned in improv classes, three years of bartending, and especially in my coach and leadership training. Most of my most applicable education these days comes through podcasts, business mentors, and digital courses.

Sandra, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a late bloomer and did not find my way to my true calling until I was in my early 30’s. While I learned early on that I wasn’t suited to the 9-5 world (because I have family in Scandinavia and love to travel and also don’t like being told what to do), it took many years of trial and error to finally find my way to the coaching industry.

In my 20’s I was a scrappy side hustle queen. While soul searching and trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up, I always made ends meet by getting creative and resourceful.

It was thanks to almost a decade of working in the fitness industry, which was close but not quite it, that I eventually discovered the coaching industry, and immediately fell in love and dove in, recognizing that I had finally come home.

As a life coach, I guide individuals through deep transformation. I help then figure out who they are, what they want, and how to get there. I inspire, empower, and challenge them to seriously step up their game. We work on unleashing their inner badass, and creating extraordinary lives they love. It is the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

In addition to 1:1 coaching, I also love motivational speaking, creating digital courses, leading retreats and masterminds, and facilitating workshops and corporate trainings.

I’m most proud of the results my clients get. Watching the light come back on in their eyes as they come back home to themselves and start to feel more comfortable in their own skin is indescribable.

The world needs more people who have come alive, and I am so honored to get to facilitate that kind of transformation.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Interestingly, the best source of new clients for me has been a combination of Yelp and Google. People tell me that I am a bit of a unicorn in my industry. Most coaches get most of their clients on social media these days, or some combination of social media marketing, word of mouth, webinars, automated funnels, email marketing, and paid ads.

While I do some social media, email marketing, podcast interviews, etc. and I get a fair amount of referrals, the bulk of my new business has consistently come from simply being findable on the internet! My Yelp page has 45+ 5-star reviews and I show up on the first page for many key word searches.

Part of what makes me different is that instead of niche-ing down and targeting a very specific audience in my marketing, I’ve actually embraced being a general life coach and that is exactly what my clients seek me out for. They are specifically looking for support in multiple areas of their life and they want to work on their relationship with themselves and upgrade their whole life, not just focus on career, health, or relationships.

In order to continue being findable online, I make sure to optimize my SEO, use keywords on my website, and get featured in lots of articles and on podcasts that then link back to my website.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

One of my favorite sales stories is when I realized that I wanted to create a very high end VIP program, and sell it for $25k. I knew the transformation I could offer was worth that amount, but did not think I had the confidence to actually sell it.

I had a steady flow of clients at a much lower rate and decided that it would likely take me many months, if not a year, to have the confidence to sell the VIP program, so I figured I may as well start practicing.

Way too scared to say the price out loud on a sales call, I decided that a baby step would be to write it in an email. I’d just completed a 6-month container with a really ambitious client I adored, who was interested in continuing.

Instead of just signing them on for another package at the same rate, I mentioned that I had a new VIP program in case they were interested. They were, so I shared the details in writing. And to my great surprise, they said yes!

I was thrilled, of course, but then also immediately hit by imposter syndrome, and honestly it took me a solid month to work through my own limiting beliefs and resistance, before I finally felt calm and confident about the whole thing.

In the meantime, I challenged myself to just embrace the discomfort, did my best to deliver the most value I possibly could, and that experience truly upleveled not only my conviction and self belief, but my idea of what is possible when you work with clients who can meet you at that level.

That same client actually bought the VIP package twice, completely transformed their life, and ultimately stayed with me for almost 3 years total.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sandrapossing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandrapossing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandrapossinglifecoach/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandrapossing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandrapossing
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sandrapossing
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sandra-possing-san-francisco-6
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oh-hi-self-w-sandra-possing/id1667626598

Image Credits

Angela Moon