Estimated read time: 7 mins

A few weeks ago, a brilliant coach, poet, and content creator I follow named Phoebe Kuhn shared a story about *almost* working with a 7-figure business coach.

The thing that swayed her from saying HELL YES to a $30k program? The assumptions this coach made in her DMs.

When Phoebe ended the call by saying “give me a few days to sit with it before I make my decision.” 

This coach immediately started “countering her objections”…implying that she:

=> was just playing small

⇒ had been unclear on other things for a long time so would likely be unable to make a clear decision about initiating a coaching relationship (pay me and then we’ll do it together) 

⇒ was incapable of making her own decision without being coached through it… without her consent 

But she was completely off base. She assumed Phoebe’s objections and in doing so, shot herself in the foot. 

Because instead of asking questions she decided she already knew the answers. 

You can read the post here. 

You know what they say about assumptions… 

So why are so many businesses operating from the compass of their own bias? 

Because it’s human nature, baby! 

It’s what we do and it takes PRACTICE & INTENTION to *not* do it. 

Say what you will about the coaching industry, at its heart, coaching is an INQUIRY based process. 

Whether you’re a coach or not, there’s a strong parallel between the process of creating a compelling offer that people want…and being an effective coach. 

That through line is composed of 3 things: 

1. Inquiry
2. Evidence
3. Reading between the lines 

If you’ve been struggling to create an offer or compose content that feels highly aligned and gets results — today’s Spill the Tea is for you 👇

What you’ll learn in this article:

🍵💲 How assumptions hurt your sales and what to do about it. 

🍵💲 Intro to the Wildcrafted Research Method: part mindset, part modality 🌿

🍵💲 How to put it all together to create an EASY YESoffer.

This week’s tea: How assumptions hurt your sales and what to do about it

Brene Brown has this practice when she gets in an argument with her husband where she’ll pre-face the confrontation conversation with this statement: 

“The story I’m telling myself is…” 

Try it with your business. 

• The story I’m telling myself about what my audience wants is… 

• The story I’m telling myself about why people aren’t saying yes to my offer(s) is… 

• The story I’m telling myself about the solution to all of the above is… 

From there, can you parse out what’s rooted in fact vs. fiction? 

PSA: Fact does NOT equal one person’s opinion. 

So how do you get yourself some real, hearty, nourishing FACTS — in multiple formats, from multiple sources, on a consistent basis? 

%FIRSTNAME%, meet the Wildcrafted Research Method 🌿

A process that’s designed to tick the boxes that help you divorce yourself from assumptions: 

✅ Inquiry
✅ Evidence
✅ Reading between the lines 

If you’re not familiar with the term “Wildcrafted” let me explain…

Wildcrafting is the act of harvesting wild plants for food or medicine. 

& WTF does it have to do with research, ditching assumptions, and increasing your sales? 

Being a wildcrafter is an identity, not an on/off switch. 

Same with being a researcher. 

Audience research is often taught as this one small phase of the business building or offer creation process where you move through it and you MOVE ON. 

But it’s wayyyy easier if you adopt the identity of being a researching, always in learning mode, always looking for tasty morels morsels of insight into the people you serve.

Want to play with applying the Wildcrafted Research Method to your own business?

Here are 7 ways I do it in mine (or with clients when I’m doing done-for-you projects): 

1. Get on a 1:1 call with someone on my email list every single month (free for them — insight and instant empathy booster for me) 

2. Analyzing the Q&A analytics on my quizzes 

3. Annual audience surveys 

4. A tab on my IG where I save posts with particularly rich comment threads to later snag and add to my Wildcrafted Research Spreadsheet 

5. An ongoing simple 3-question survey that I include in my welcome sequence 

6. Tracking common questions/challenges/patterns I see my students having 

7. MOST IMPORTANTLY. Asking lots of questions every chance I get… especially in a sales conversation

Sip on this…