227. Stop Teaching, Start Selling

Holistic nutrition or health coaching friend: Giving Away Tips and Recipes Is Costing You Clients.

Read that again.

I see this problem a lot, and I coach my students in The Profitable Nutritionist Program on it constantly.

The irony is that the thing you think is making you MORE valuable to potential clients is actually making them LESS likely to hire you...so I'm telling you exactly how to fix it in this episode.

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Hi, I’m Andrea Nordling – Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, business coach, entrepreneur, and host of The Profitable Nutritionist Podcast.

Since age 22, I’ve built 3 highly successful businesses from scratch, including my own online holistic nutrition practice. After deleting all of my social media accounts in early 2021, my business grew faster than ever — and now I teach other health professionals how to do the same.

On this pod, you’ll learn how to:

 ✅ Build a thriving online practice without relying on social media
 ✅ Consistently attract and convert clients
 ✅ Create simple systems that scale without overwhelm

💡 Subscribe or Follow so you never miss a new episode packed with practical strategies that actually work.

© 2021 - 2026 Andrea Nordling

DISCLAIMER: The podcasts available on this website have been produced for informational, educational and entertainment purposes only and do not make any representations as to the future income, sales, or potential profitability or loss of any kind that may be derived as a result of use of the content, including paid programs and all free resources. Listeners should take care to avoid program content which may not be suited to them. The contents of this podcast do not constitute medical or professional advice, No person listening to and/or viewing any podcast from this website should act or refrain from acting on the basis of the c...

Transcript

 00:00
Andrea Nordling
My friend, welcome to The Profitable Nutritionist Podcast. I have a short and sweet, hopefully very helpful episode for you today. And this episode is based off of a lot of coaching that I have done over the last, I would say six months, honestly, in the profitable Nutritionist program, but also a lot recently, specifically with people doing workshops like what the heck are you talking about? Well, I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm talking about. I'm talking about teaching instead of selling. So for a little bit of context, I coach in the TPN program on strategy, I coach on mindset. I, you know, anything is on the table to get coached on our weekly coaching calls. 

 00:44
Andrea Nordling
And so oftentimes people will have some sort of an event that is coming up that they're going to present at or a podcast episode they are guesting on, or a workshop that they are hosting or a free training or a corporate wellness event or something where they are going to be presenting. And as part of the presentation they want to get discovery calls booked and ultimately get clients. That's why they are promoting their business. That's why they are in business to get clients. But somewhere along the way their brain, our brain, the human brain, especially that of a health and wellness practitioner. 

 01:18
Andrea Nordling
I'll tell you why in a second our brains decide that this is educational and that this, even though the goal, we say the goal is to get clients to get discovery calls to promote the business, but somewhere along the line the brain goes to must teach, must give value, must knock their socks off with so much teaching and tips and tricks and recommendations that they will then be compelled to reach out to book a discovery call or to hire me. This is what our brains do. And I coach on it a lot because like I said, people will ask me questions about how to structure an upcoming workshop or and you know, any sort of upcoming opportunity. Which by the way, as I'm saying this, I want to let you know that we will link this in the show notes. 

 01:57
Andrea Nordling
But I recently released an episode with a client of mine, Devin Delaney, on exactly how to execute high converting workshops and she screwed this up in the beginning. We coached on it, she fixed it. And so that is episode 222 and again we'll link it up in the show notes. So after this you can go back to that for some more in depth strategy on hosting workshops that actually lead to clients. But a huge piece of the puzzle that is missing for people when they are structuring their talks and their workshops and they're free things, whatever, even this shows up in discovery calls. This shows up in emails. This is sprinkled all over the place. If you're an educator, the feeling that you have to teach, teach and not sell. And like the selling or the pitching should be an afterthought at best. 

 02:42
Andrea Nordling
It should be kind of like sneakily put in there. It shouldn't be obvious. And really you should be there to serve and to teach and not to sell. This shows up in sneaky ways. It can be subtle, it can be very overt. Okay? And like I said, I have coached on this a lot over the last seven years. I also have done hundreds of webinars myself. I have also done hundreds of discovery calls myself, and I've obviously recorded hundreds of podcast episodes. So I have been on both sides of this, both as the coach and as the presenter and the salesperson and the business owner. And I am here to clear up for you exactly what you need to do differently. 

 03:19
Andrea Nordling
Okay, but the big overarching theme here is that if you've ever done a workshop or a class or a webinar, or hosted discovery calls or sent marketing emails, any of that stuff, this applies to you because you might be overly teaching. And if you're overly teaching, you're probably not adequately selling. Which means that all of this work is probably for naught for you. And we don't want that to be the case. So here's what this looks like. And you may recognize yourself in this pattern. If you are structuring talks that you're doing, presentations that you're doing. I mean, this can show up everywhere. Like I said, this could be in podcast interviews, this could be in emails that you're writing. This can be in one one conversations that you're having. This could be on discovery calls. 

 04:01
Andrea Nordling
This is, this is probably showing up on your website, if you have a website. If you're guilty of this, you are probably giving tips and tricks and recipes and meal plans and supplement recommendations and how to steps. And you might have a freebie on your website that's a PDF with all the tips and tricks and all the things. And if that's the case, you're probably not having a lot of people reaching out to you with discovery calls or hiring you probably. And the reason for that is because you're teaching, you're teaching, you're giving value, you're educating, you're doing what you want as somebody who is a knowledge seeker. And if you're listening to this podcast, I know that about you. 

 04:42
Andrea Nordling
You love to learn you love to get new tips and tricks and you're a DIYer at heart and you have sought the expertise and the education that you have and you love to know why. You love to know why it makes sense. You want to know what is happening in the body. You want to know how it's all connected. You want to know the facts. And so you sell as if everybody that you are talking to and your easiest clients that you want to work with also need all of that education and they need all of the facts and the belief. I think underneath all of that is the need to give value to prove that you can help someone. Like to prove to them that you are worthy of getting paid by them. 

 05:23
Andrea Nordling
I can't just leave them with nothing when they came to the call. I can't just not help them. I can't give them, I can't not give them something. This is what I hear variations of that. And what's happening on the other side is that client, potential client of yours is probably not hiring you because they now have homework, okay? They have tips and tricks and recipes and supplements and do this, don't do that, have apple cider vinegar 20 minutes before a meal. They have the tips to go try. And so they do. And then they probably don't come back because you probably accidentally gave them the impression that a few tips and tricks and supplements and recipes are going to get them results. That is the inadvertent messaging there is. 

 06:07
Andrea Nordling
Yeah, we're just a few little tips and tricks away from all of your problems being solved. And that's not the reality for your clients. It's really not. So that expectation is not congruent with reality and it probably isn't congruent with them hiring you. If people follow up with you and are attracted from this overly teachy, overly educational content again, which can show up in all different ways, social media posts all over the place. But if people come to you after this type of content and they're attracted to it, they're probably fellow DIYers that want more free information. They are likely not buyers. And that makes total sense because that's how you frame the relationship from the start. So you can probably see how this expectation is set from the get go and it's not serving them. 

 06:53
Andrea Nordling
And I want to call out right now that the reason it's not serving them is because they don't have a personalized start to finish process for actually implementing habits long term, for actually implementing tips and recommendations and targeted supplements and support and having the accountability and Having you actually help them with a personalized plan. They don't have that, okay? They don't have that process, that whole everything I just said that's actually going to get them results. But if they're just getting little snippets of information and little DIYs and little hacks and tips and tricks and recipes, that's not going to be the result for them. Okay? And it's not just in workshops and webinars, by the way. 

 07:32
Andrea Nordling
But I do see people often do this when they are presenting to a group for whatever reason, they feel like they have to go into teacher mode. And there's a way to do workshops and webinars where you are not actually teaching tips and tricks and giving recommendations, but you're actually doing something much more powerful, which I'll explain in a second. Okay? So just know that this can show up in all of those places for sure, but also on discovery calls and in marketing emails and in all the places where you are talking to the humans that need your help. 

 08:03
Andrea Nordling
If you feel like you need to prove to them that you're an expert and teach, teach and snuggle with them indefinitely before they ever part with a dollar to solve their problem, you're going to attract people who want to snuggle forever and not part with a dollar to solve the problem. Do you see how this happens? Okay, so cautionary tale, when you are presenting some sort of a sales presentation, conversation mechanism, whether that's a sales call, whether that is a webinar or a workshop, an in person class, whatever that is, when you are structuring this, you have to really think about this. Am I over teaching? Am I giving them homework? Am I giving them tips and tricks? Or am I doing what I'm actually here to do, which is connecting dots for them that they don't connect on their own. 

 08:52
Andrea Nordling
Am I showing them how things are connected that they don't actually know are connected? Am I giving a belief shift? Am I giving them an understanding that they didn't have before about why what they've tried before hasn't worked? Is that the actual teaching I'm doing is just unlocking a new paradigm shift for them because that's what we really need to be doing in a workshop or a free class or on a discovery call, et cetera. Okay? And again, I want to just call out, I get this. I get why this happens. And I am right there with you. We love to learn. We, we love to immerse in the education the why. We want to understand the why. How is it all connected? And it's so fascinating. And we assume that everybody is so fascinated and they're not necessarily so fascinated. 

 09:42
Andrea Nordling
Or at least that's not why they're going to hire you. I shouldn't say, I shouldn't make generalizations that nobody's fascinated and nobody wants any education from you. That's not true. But that's not the reason they're going to hire you. The reason they're going to hire you is because you are going to make it more convenient, simpler, easier, and a lot more likely for them to succeed than whatever else it is that they're doing. That's the value that you're providing. So in any sort of a workshop or a webinar or a sales email or a sales call or any of that, you need to be exhibiting that you are the person that has the process that is going to make it more convenient and simpler and easier and more likely for them to succeed. 

 10:21
Andrea Nordling
They don't need more information about tips and tricks and, you know, little side quests to go on before they make that decision. They want help implementing. They want to feel like this is actually going to move the needle. I'm not going to fail. This is going to be the support that I need. And they want the simplest possible path to get the results. Okay. And I get why we want to dance around that. Because educating and teaching feels very familiar and very safe. And selling can feel scary. Pitching can feel uncomfortable. Talking about money can feel awkward. When you haven't done these things before and you don't know exactly how to do is much safer to teach, teach, much safer. I get it. 

 11:04
Andrea Nordling
And so what people do is they make the offer such an afterthought that nobody actually realizes that they can hire you or what the next steps would be to do that or why they would want to. And then as a business owner, you wonder why nobody booked. What did you do wrong? What, like what happened? Well, you're probably over teaching and you're doing that because you're super generous and you do want to help people, and I understand that. But it isn't helping them if they don't get the full step by step, end to end process and they don't actually get your support in the long term. So for the sake of your business and the longevity of your business, as well as the results of your clients, I want to caution you against over educating and over teaching. 

 11:45
Andrea Nordling
One more example to really drive this home, because this is what's Top of mind. I just coached a student in TPN on this. She was not converting people on her discovery calls into her premium six month package. And she couldn't figure out why because she had been previously and it wasn't converting anymore. Those sales calls weren't going where she wanted them to, and she was very frustrated. And so we dug into what was happening on those sales calls and the structure of them, and it came out that she was giving supplement recommendations to the people that she was talking to before they'd even hired her. And so I asked her, why are you doing that? And she said, I feel like I need to give them something. I can't just leave them with nothing. 

 12:18
Andrea Nordling
When they came to the call, they're spending time on the call. I can't just give them nothing. And here's what I told her. The value that you give them on the call is not a supplement recommendation. The value is that they finally understand what is actually going on in their body. I'm going to say that again because I've said it several times, but I want to make sure that you hear this today. Okay? The value that you are giving to your prospective clients, whether they ever hire you or not, is that they finally understand what is actually going on in their body. In the simplest terms possible that a fifth grader would understand. You are going to connect some very basic dots for them on how things are connected that they don't previously understand is connected. You're not going to give them supplement recommendations. 

 13:01
Andrea Nordling
You're not going to give them a meal plan or a recipe. Okay? Most people with chronic symptoms have been chasing those symptoms for years and they've tried this thing and that thing and nothing has worked long term. And they've gone to specialist after specialist and nobody has really probably ever explained to them that everything in their body is connected. And we really overestimate people's understanding of that. Okay. What you're giving them on a call or on a workshop or on a webinar is the understanding that their symptoms aren't random. They are connected. There is a root cause and there is a methodical, simple plan to actually address all of these at once instead of chasing symptoms one by one forever. Okay? I know that you know this separate. I don't know exactly your modality as you're listening to this. 

 13:43
Andrea Nordling
And if all of that is exactly what you teach or what you do, but some version of it is, I'm sure. So take it and run with it, okay? And understand that is actually the value that you are giving in your teaching. Big air quotes on teaching. You're teaching them why what they've been doing is actually the hard way and how there's much easier, simpler, more effective way. Okay. In whatever it is that you do. I know that is the truth. And that, my friend, is. Is valuable. That shifts the way that they see their entire situation. That shifts the way that they look at what's possible. Gives them an understanding that they didn't have before. And just an aside before I move on from this, I've said this, but I'm gonna say it again. Giving one off. 

 14:27
Andrea Nordling
Supplement recommendations on a discovery call or elsewhere, by the way, before you have the full picture of somebody's health, before you've done the intake, before you know their actual whole scenario. And it's not a best practice. I'm sure it's not. Could actually make their symptoms worse, a lot worse, not better. So when you feel the urge to give more or somebody's pressing you to give more, I really would recommend stepping back and explaining why that actually isn't in their best interest, that you don't want them to get worse. You don't want to make more extreme symptoms for them or actually start a reaction with something they're not even having yet. It could be worse. Okay? And actually helping them is knowing the full picture and working with them on a long enough time horizon that you actually have that with them. Okay? 

 15:12
Andrea Nordling
So them hiring you having the full picture, that's how you can responsibly actually give them recommendations. And you should tell people that. Tell people that. That's a value add, not a detriment. Okay? So let's get into what to do instead of teaching and recommending and tips and tricks and I have to help everybody and all of that, right? The best sales presentations, the best discovery calls, the best workshops, they're not teaching execution. Okay? That's why there aren't tips and tricks and recipes and all that. What is actually happening in the bestsells presentations and discovery calls that you have watched or been part of is they are teaching what's possible and why something works. Okay? So think about that. 

 15:56
Andrea Nordling
What is possible and why a different mechanism works and works better and is actually simpler and easier and faster and insert good thing here than what they're currently doing. Connecting the dots that weren't connected before, showing people why they've been struggling, not how to fix it themselves. That's not the type of client that you want to attract. And honestly, you can't probably give recommendations that would actually fix them. So I want you to hear me when I say this. I'm not saying be a scrooge and don't help people and they have to pay you first and it's all behind a paywall. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is don't set the expectation of that. Just a few tips and tricks and recipes later, somebody could be fixed. Because I'm sure that's not the case. Okay? 

 16:38
Andrea Nordling
Whatever it is that you're teaching, whatever your process is, whatever the clients are that you're working with, my very strong punch is that you actually couldn't give them tips that are going to help them actually get results, okay? They'd have to work with you for a longer period of time. Get your full process and your full support. So paint the picture of what becomes possible when they do that. Get them excited about what that looks like, what that feels like. Paint the vision of what is possible for them when the root cause is actually addressed. How it is simpler. Get specific. Give them a vision, not a to do list. Get them excited about what's possible. Please do not assume that they know. They do not. They absolutely do not. 

 17:19
Andrea Nordling
When you show someone what's possible and why it works, you shift their perspective without overwhelming them with steps. With step by step, okay? And that shift is what puts someone in a position to actually buy, to actually enter into a conversation with you on a discovery call and want to know more and be excited about it. Not someone that has to be pitched and convinced and feels like you have to pull them over the goal line. That is should never be happening. When you have shifted someone's beliefs and they are excited about what's possible, they're moving towards you, not you pulling them towards you. Do you see what I mean now? The how is what they get when they work with you. Okay? 

 17:57
Andrea Nordling
So in the presentation, in a workshop, in a webinar, in a discovery call, in your marketing emails, you are showing them what's possible and why it works, but you're not giving them the how. The how. The implementation support is what they get when they work with you. That is the process, okay? That's what they're hiring you for. All roads lead back to this process that you bring your clients through. And of course you will be talking about the components of the process in any workshop or webinar that you do and that for sure in your discovery calls, but you're not actually giving them the step by step process because that is what they get when they work with you and it's highly personalized. 

 18:33
Andrea Nordling
Okay, now listen, I also don't want you to disguise the fact that you work with clients and that they can hire you, which a lot of people do. They feel like people are here for the value. They don't want to be sold to. They are accustomed to me giving value. They don't. It's going to be off putting to them if I start selling to them. People tell me this specifically about their emails and that may or may not be true, we'll never know. But somebody who would be offended by being sold to is never going to be a client success story of yours anyway. And you are here to serve the people that want to be helped, that want the results that you can help them get and they want your help and support in getting it. 

 19:12
Andrea Nordling
So there is some mindset work to be done here for a lot of people that I coach on what the expectation is in marketing and in sales and I hope that you are having a reframe here. If this has been a struggle for you, that sales is the goal. It's not sneaky, it's not hidden, it's not an afterthought. You're running a for profit business and you help people when they pay you. That is what we are doing here. Okay? I hope that is giving you some ideas and stirring up some creative juices for you. But I'm going to recap this so that you can really think it through. Teach what is possible and why, not how. Okay, so that is the teaching that you're doing. It's still going to feel educational. You get to put your teacher hat on. 

 19:56
Andrea Nordling
But you're not actually teaching them the how, you're teaching them the why. You are teaching them the how. Things are connected. You're giving them a mind blowing belief shift and paradigm shift and you are exciting them with what is possible. Which means you're going to have to talk about what is possible and the results that people get when they work with you and the results that are possible when they follow this process instead of doing whatever it is that they're doing themselves or other support that they're. That they have tried in the past. That makes sense. But the whole conversation should be oriented around helping them figure out if working with you is the right next step for them or not. 

 20:34
Andrea Nordling
And they can't do that if you're not telling them what it is like to work with you and how your process is so incredible. Okay, so that's what you are doing. Please do not hide behind how to steps and one off recommendations and teaching, teaching. It is actually much more helpful for you to confidently say to someone, I can help you. If you have that question, I can help you. We absolutely need to get on a call together, full stop. Did you hear the pause there? Do you hear, did you hear how I didn't word vomit and give a bunch of disclaimers and talk, talk, talk. No, it's I can help you. That's what's happening here, okay? That is what's going to get them results and it's also why you are in business. 

 21:18
Andrea Nordling
So I'm going to close here with a little reframe for you. I said this at the beginning, but I'm going to say it again because I really want you to think about this. You are probably not your ideal client, okay? You sought out the education, you have the advanced certifications. You are a dork with a bookshelf full of deep dives on your topic and takes one to know one because I'm exactly the same way. But that is something that you need to reflect on. That's probably not the person that is going to hire you, right? Your ideal client probably isn't watching all of the YouTube videos and taking the advanced certifications and listening to all the podcasts. Maybe, but I highly doubt it. 

 21:58
Andrea Nordling
Your ideal client that's really excited to hire you, they want you to distill that down into the most basic simple steps for them that are actually doable in their life and to help them implement and execute it. That's what they really want. They don't want more information to sift through. We have plenty of that. I've done lots of podcasts recently about people not buying information products and not buying information. They're buying implementation and the certainty that they're actually going to get support and results from a real human. This is a big, big deal. So ask yourself if you want to draw in people who want to DIY or if you want to continue to draw in people who want to DIY and have that expectation. And if that is what's happening for you, is it? 

 22:41
Andrea Nordling
Because that's how you frame the relationship, by giving all the tips and tricks and the DIYs. Because if that's the case and you're doing all the teaching and giving all of the tips and tricks, of course that's who's going to be surrounding, that's who is going to be attracted to it. That's who's going to be engaging, right? But it's not in their best interest. What's in their best interest is to have the full process and full support from you. All right? Your ideal clients, they know that they're already searching for it. They already want the simplicity. They're overwhelmed. They don't want more information to sift through. They want a very simple, succinct, concise do this. I can help you. Here's the next step. That's really what they want. And I am going to do the same thing, my friend. Okay? 

 23:26
Andrea Nordling
So very simply, if you want to consistently sign at least three to five clients a month without relying on social media and without working more than 20 hours a week, I can help you. Full stop. Pause. Did you hear it? I can help you. And it's much simpler and much easier than what you're doing now. If you're still listening to this episode right now, I know you are a teacher, an over teacher, an educator. You are giving so much value, but we need to tweak it into the value that's going to bring in your easiest, most ideal clients that are going to get the best results. And it's just a few tweaks away. I would love to help you do it. That's exactly what we do in the profitable nutritionist program. 

 24:06
Andrea Nordling
All of the details on the program and next steps are linked up in the description of this episode. You can also go to theprofitablenutritionist.com join to book a call with me where we can talk about your situation together. Or you can just jump in the program risk free right now@theprofitablenutritionist.com join.