Selling Your Mindfulness Teachings to Organizations, with Danny Grieco

In this text, you may learn:

Danny Grieco has helped 1000’s of mindfulness and meditation teachers bring their priceless skills to organizations, corporations and nonprofits across the globe.

His success spans over a various range of organizations from startups to Fortune 500 firms similar to Facebook and Amazon. Danny can also be a licensed teacher at Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, the mindfulness program born at Google. His instruction is engaging, fun, immediately applicable, and refreshingly relatable.

In a recent interview Sean Fargo, the founding father of Mindfulness Exercises, speaks with Danny about how he has built a successful profession offering mindfulness within the skilled sector while helping others do the identical. 

Sean and Danny also share a couple of latest Mindfulness Sales Course they’re launching to assist anyone fascinated with teaching mindfulness and meditation to large or small organizations while also establishing contracts that support continued offerings.

Sean Fargo: What are the largest challenges involved in selling mindfulness and meditation services to organizations and company clients?

Danny Grieco: I feel the largest challenges are probably how we frame what we´re offering after which getting people to feel it.  

In the company world, we are likely to stay in our heads so much, but as mindfulness teachers we actually embody what we teach, and that has a major impact on how others feel in response to what we provide. So, a part of the challenge is holding that embodiment.

By way of how we frame what we provide, if we understand what challenges they’ve first, (e.g.) burnout, retention, stress, people not getting along, then we will frame it in way that´s relative to things that matter to them.

I do know a very good fellow teacher who, when asked, “How are you so good at bringing these workshops into firms?” she said, “I won’t call it meditation. It may be ´mental strength´, or ´stress reduction´, or ´nervous system regulation´.”

Principally, being adaptable and using compassion and empathy in an effort to put it into their words is de facto a strong option to bring it to them.

Sean Fargo: What specific skills or strategies do you’re thinking that are most essential for effectively pitching mindfulness programs to corporate clients?

Danny Grieco: In sales pitching, it’s crucial to not only show the product but to assist clients feel its value. While discussing ROIs (returns on investment) addresses the technical side, engaging the emotional side is equally vital.

It´s helpful to ask clients about their experiences with mindfulness and the way it made them feel.  We will offer a brief practice followed by reflective inquiries to help them envision the impact that might have at work. For instance: “How wouldn’t it change things if more people in your organization practiced this repeatedly?” This enables them to attach on a deeper level.

Also, through our ability to dig deep, understand, and hold space, the person we´re engaging with looks like: “Oh my gosh, this person gets it. They’re listening. They’re asking deeper questions. I trust this person; I would like to talk to this person; I don’t desire to disregard this person once they reach back out again.” That´s a part of the great thing about it.

One other effective element to pitching is incorporating storytelling that relates the advantages to current issues like burnout and mental health. In this fashion, we will emphasize that beyond physical health, mental well-being is important in the case of managing stress, strengthening resilience, and improving the general wellbeing of a corporation.

To sum up, effective pitching involves embodying the practice, using relatable stories, and fascinating clients with mindful questions and reflection to attach emotionally and tactically.

Sean Fargo: Are you able to give an example of a demo you would possibly offer when pitching a training?

Danny Grieco: Sure. I prefer to offer a temporary practice to assist people experience how mindfulness will be implemented throughout the day without necessarily committing to lengthy sessions. For instance, I suggest trying an easy three-breath exercise:

I start by inviting them to get comfortable by taking a deep breath relaxing the body, then one other breath allowing the mind to settle a bit bit. Followed by yet another nice deep breath to drop in a bit bit more.  I then invite them to only sit with this for a moment, after which ask themself: “What’s most significant right away?”

This often shifts the conversation from a rushed tone to a more thoughtful and centered one, helping them realize a more embodied sense of what we´re bringing to the table and the immediate advantages.

You may additionally ask them: “What wouldn’t it be like if more people in your organization did that? …What wouldn’t it be like if everybody did just those three breaths in the beginning of weekly meetings. How do you’re thinking that that may change things?” This all supports clear insight into the positive impact these practices can have on the work environment and organizational dynamics each short and long-term.

Sean Fargo: Are you able to share successful story where selling your mindfulness training to an organization led to significant positive changes inside that organization?

Danny Grieco: Sure. I can share a pair.

One story I really like recalling was when on the very end of a training with a serious tech company, we invited everybody to share their experience & takeaways. There was one young woman, who´d been a bit scattered the entire time, she didn’t seem as focused. And what she said was: “My biggest takeaway is that I now see my fellow employees as actual real people.” That blew me away.

The actual fact is: not only is she seeing her employees as real people, they’re seeing their clients as real people. A number of the firms we work with will not be only interfacing with their fellow employees, they’re interfacing with the world through the work they do.  Seeing that ripple effect come out is de facto powerful.

One other success story is when there was a variety of doubt about bringing mindfulness to a giant software company where employees are likely to be highly analytically and conceptually oriented. We were anxious that they would not take to the training. Nonetheless, there’s an incredible article in Reuters sharing how they saw a 200% return on investment with the training resulting in an increase in worker engagement and a fall in absenteeism.

Knowing we’re making these changes is so positive. This is not just: oh, do that and feel good. They’re actually having bottom line business results that come in consequence & good thing about mindfulness & meditation practices.

Sean Fargo: How do you maintain authenticity and compassion while navigating the business facets of selling mindfulness or meditation offerings?

Danny Grieco: I feel it really starts with connecting together with your intention, and from there, connecting with the unique challenges that organizations are facing. That is the very first module within the Mindfulness Sales Course, connecting with our ´why´ and asking: What’s the positive impact I intend to make on this planet?

Once we start by really knowing what our intention is, we robotically come from a spot of purpose and authenticity when relating with potential clients.

From the primary conversation, we will share that the intention is to see if there’s a superb fit for bringing more peace to their organization by effectively addressing current challenges in ways in which they feel can be helpful right away.

Research shows that the very best salespeople are those that recognize a superb fit, explore it without pressure, and maintain alignment with their deeper intentions. It’s okay when nerves come up, that is normal, but reconnecting with that intention helps prevent becoming overly aggressive or heady.

Corporate staff have develop into used to people pitching them, just attempting to get money and persuade them to sign the dotted line. But when our intention is to actually work together, and there is alignment, that puts them comfortable. And that is what really comfortable sales looks like.

Sean Fargo: What are essentially the most common misconceptions or objections that you simply hear from organizations once you’re attempting to sell your mindfulness offerings?

Danny Grieco: First off, in the case of objections and skeptics, the primary option to respond is to welcome them. If someone is asking questions, it means they’re actually interested by it versus checked out. So, welcome questions, invite further clarification and acknowledge the validity of their concerns.

Probably the largest misconceptions or objections I hear are that it feels ´woo woo,´ or I’m asked, “Where’s the cash in it? Where’s the cash in respiratory?” Traditionally, firms don’t spend money unless they’ll see that it’ll generate profits.

There is a couple ways to reply to this: one is a logical approach and one other is a sense based approach.

On the logical side, we will present current data. For instance, there’s a whole bunch of articles and peer-reviewed journals showing how respiratory calms the nervous system, which allows the brain to work higher.

Within the Mindfulness Sales Course there is a spreadsheet of links to highly supportive articles. A variety of effective sales is sharing evidence-based support, including from third parties, and referencing other firms who´ve incorporated mindfulness and meditation on the workplace. For instance, Hyatt Hotels uses this, Ford uses these tools, the UN uses this, and it is also been utilized in skilled sports. The more places they see it successfully applied, the more it’s like, okay, I can not really ignore this anymore.

Sean Fargo: As you said, a variety of firms need to know if there’s money in respiratory or wondering what they’ll get out of this financially, for instance how mindfulness training impacts their bottom line.

How do you measure the success of a mindfulness training, or how do you measure the return on investment of your mindfulness for organizations?

Danny Grieco: Great query. The fast answer is survey, survey, survey people.

There’s a number of vital pieces relative to surveys. I’d strongly recommend starting with a pre-survey, where you possibly can ask questions like: Are you able to name any specific ways stress affects your work today? Then, taking one other survey immediately following the workshop, asking questions similar to: In what ways will this affect your work?  And later, in a post-workshop follow-up survey asking about any noted changes of their work and their biggest takeaways.

Once we have done a number of workshops, meeting with the client and reviewing each the quantitative and qualitative data offers clear evidence of how the workshop and practices have had a positive impact. For instance, mentioning how the top of sales said that now they feel like they’re capable of be way more present and get more work done in a day.

So, with the ability to have specific examples of success stories and specific numbers is de facto powerful. I like to recommend making this a component of this system itself.

Danny Grieco: Since teaching in organizations, I even have really come to see how vital it’s to search out ways to integrate bite-sized micro-practices throughout the day. For instance, if I’m about to hop on a call and I’m nervous, I take a number of mindful breaths; it doesn’t must be twenty minutes on the cushion. Or, if I’m feeling flustered after a call, I can 1) notice that I’m flustered, and a couple of) I can do some grounding practices.

Emotional intelligence has been one other really big piece that’s strengthened by integrating micro-practices. For instance, I now know that I haven’t got to attend till tomorrow morning to sit down on the cushion in an effort to calm and center myself.  I can practice mindfulness at any moment.

So, offering easy, practical, and accessible practices that will be implemented throughout the day has really enhanced my practice and approach to mindfulness and it’s probably the greatest ways to show it.

Sean Fargo: What advice would you give to someone who desires to share the practices of mindfulness and meditation with professionals, understanding that they’re selling their services?

Danny Grieco: First off, as I discussed, all the time connecting to your intention is vital: i.e., your why behind doing this work. Knowing that helps with confidence and supports grounding in purpose, which increases motivation, drive, and desire.

Then truthfully, I´d say, get the sales skills to do that in order that we will effectively bring the intention on the market.

In corporate sales today, we reach out in a certain way, we’ve got a primary call in a certain way, we ask certain questions, we share our price in a certain way, we share contracts in a certain way. Understanding what these mechanisms are and the way they work makes a possible client feel comfortable.

They’ll see that: okay, this person has the intention, the groundedness, the flexibility to show, but additionally, they know the way our world works. They are going to find a way to work with me and collaborate with me throughout this process. That is what the course that I share is about.

So, the recommendation is: Connect together with your intention, know that you simply have already got a variety of the essential mental and emotional skills in place. Then balance those skills with the tactical skills of sales to make for a very powerful and effective presence with what you bring.

Sean Fargo: Beautiful. Thanks a lot in your time, Danny.

Danny Grieco: My pleasure. The distinction is de facto mine. I feel that each one of us together can turn the tide of this world. Thanks all for supporting the intention to amplify the reach of mindfulness by supporting mindful transformation within the workplace.

Sean Fargo: There’s never been a greater demand for mindfulness teachers within the workplace.

So many individuals in skilled settings and organizations are suffering. They’re stressed, they’re depressed, they’re overwhelmed, they’re burned out.  So many professionals could really profit from mindfulness practices, which cultivate compassion inside and without while strengthening emotional regulation and resilience.

I encourage you to envision out Danny’s course on our website mindfulnessexercises.com so you can effectively help people in organizations with integrity and authenticity.