--- title: Coaching Secrets description: The secret to growth --- # [SELLING IN THE 21ST CENTURY](https://www.rickroberge.com/) [![header-sm-linkedin-blue](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-465400397-png/images/header-sm-linkedin-blue.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickroberge) [![header-sm-twitter-blue](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-465371692-png/images/header-sm-twitter-blue.png)](https://twitter.com/RainMakerMaker) [![header-sm-google-plus-red](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-462412948-png/images/header-sm-google-plus-red.png)](https://plus.google.com/+RickRoberge/posts) [![header-sm-rss](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-480298330-png/images/header-sm-rss.png)](https://www.rickroberge.com/rss.xml) # [Science for Sales Rock Stars](https://www.rickroberge.com/) ## [Coaching Secrets](https://www.rickroberge.com/coaching-secrets) ![](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/RR.jpg?width=35&height=35&name=RR.jpg) By [Rick Roberge](https://www.rickroberge.com/author/rick-roberge)   May 10, 2016 5:53:58 AM I have many secrets. I don't usually allow coaching calls to be recorded or listened to because sometimes, my client will show me their soul, their deepest fear or a secret that they don't want public. It's wouldn't be appropriate to betray that confidence.... But sometimes I can share a story while keeping it anonymous. So, here we go. A while back, I sent this email to a client that I was coaching. > *Are you selling yourself short? Are your core values/beliefs real and personally meaningful? Does your company's path align with them? better than any other company/industry? Does your $7M goal align with your CEO's $20M goal? Is $240K worthy of your effort? What if you got out of your head and put fire in your belly? Should be a good call....* Two weeks later, we received this email. > *Rick,* > *1) Currently, two opportunities are in the contract review stage and equate to $370K in software and $200K in services. My gross commission on that will be $40K. What I want to do is much bigger. I did some back of the napkin math on some of the companies we have been talking with. I also did high level estimates of deal sizes. All of that is closer to $1.3M. That’s just what I know about. That equals about $120K in gross commission. That’s a $260K year for me. Which brings me to #2 2) The above is a $260K year for me with my current comp structure. With a new comp plan, could this magically turn into $275-$300-$325? Also, as I mention, that’s just what I know about. I had a couple good conversations recently with consultants. Also, as you know I will be at the conference with my customers. They have been invited to all the consulting companies evening boondoggles. Guess who they have invited to come with them? So I will have my client taking me around introducing me to potential partners. Could be interesting. So can we start the basis of conversations here.  3) Maybe the key word here is Confidence. Meaning, i will probably still make mistakes. At the end of the next 6 weeks, I will probably not be perfect. That’s something that is difficult for me to let go of. But sales is imperfect and I know that my perfectionist tendencies have held me back. In the HBR article, I was the kid that got straight As and never really had to study. Even in college. The problem with that is that it has probably limited my growth. I’ve been thinking for that past few days that I’ve been doing pretty well pulling down $140K. I realize now that was the truth. I was doing well—but only because I didn’t know how or believe I could do better. Now I am looking at this goal I set for myself at age 27 (Make $200K) and thinking, Geez, I can do way better than that.* --- I've told this story before. A marketing agency owner did $3,500 in the month before we started working together. His goal was to get to $250K/year. We started working together and in month #1, he did $7,000. In month #2, he did $14,000 and in month #3, he did $19,800. It took him three months to reach his goal and when he did, he asked, "What would it take to get to a million?" --- Finally, I had a young startup entrepreneur that had $30K/year in sales. He also had an offer of financing, but he'd have to give up control, which he didn't want to do. We started working together. He did $15K in the first month. He did $18K and refused the financing in the second month. --- It's not me or even us. It's them. In each of these cases, they realized that they didn't know what they didn't know. - They didn't know what was holding them back. - They didn't know what to do. - They didn't know what they were capable of - They knew that they needed to change something, but they didn't know what - They didn't know that we were the answer, but they knew somebody that thought we were. Yesterday, we talked with an inside sales guy that earned "about $100K" last year. He thinks he wants to be a field rep with a potential of $500K. He thinks he wants to join his father's business so that his parents can travel. He thinks he'd like a Tesla and an apartment in Manhattan. His passion is music. He and his girl friend like to travel. His compass is spinning. Until it stops and he has a direction, he goes in circles. We suggested that he decide on a direction, then we could talk again. See the difference between yesterday's guy and the other three? But, here's the thing... > *It probably won't take as long as you thought and you'll probably realize that you could do more.* ## [Is it time to give yourself a jumpstart](https://www.rickroberge.com/contact-me)? - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Want updates as they're published? #### Enter your email: BTW, do you have an idea or question that would make a good article? Would you like to write or co-author it? Either way, **[ send me an email](mailto:therainmakermaker@gmail.com?Subject=Blog%20article/author%20idea)**. **[Rick Roberge](https://plus.google.com/116082120720832878924/posts?rel=author)** ## About this blog *This blog is for, by and about Sales Rock Stars, RainMakers, Entrepreneurs (and/or those that strive to be)* ## [Read My Articles on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/rickroberge) ## [About Rick](https://www.rickroberge.com/contact-me) **[The Original ](http://therainmakermaker.com/)****[RainMaker Maker Blog (pre-2012)](http://therainmakermaker.com/)** [**Remote Bookkeeping**](http://www.slcbookkeeping.com/blog/bid/116710/remote-bookkeeping-made-easy)[** Made Easy**](http://www.slcbookkeeping.com/blog/bid/116710/remote-bookkeeping-made-easy) [**Awesome Website Design**](https://www.inbounddesignstudio.com/contact/) Search RainMakers & Sales Rock Stars Search ### Subscribe to Email Updates ### Posts by Month - [November 2025 (19)](https://www.rickroberge.com/archive/2025/11) - 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