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Show Notes
You can be an amazing coach, have years of experience, qualifications and clients who love your work, yet still struggle to get clients. The reason is simple: coaching skills are different from business skills.
Being good at coaching does not automatically teach you how to run a business, attract the right people, start conversations, make offers or follow up consistently. These are business fundamentals, and just like coaching, they can be learned.
Many coaches rely on social media posts, hope the right clients will find them, and then wonder why their client flow is inconsistent. They are not necessarily running the business; they are waiting for clients to appear
Start With Your Warm Network
One of the easiest places to start is with people who already know you. Think about people who have reached out, asked about a consultation, downloaded a resource, spoken with you at an event or shown interest in your work.
Do you have a system for following up and nurturing these people? Your warm audience already has some level of trust, which makes it much easier to start a conversation and build a relationship.
Even if someone does not need your coaching, they may know someone who does. Tell people what you do and ask whether they know anyone who could benefit from your services. It does not have to be salesy or complicated. It can simply be two people having a conversation.
Sell the Transformation, Not the Sessions
People do not wake up wanting six coaching sessions. They wake up wanting to change something in their life or business.
If you are selling coaching packages without clearly showing the transformation, people may not understand why they need them. Show the results you create. Share case studies, examples and stories that demonstrate how you have helped people like them move from where they are now to where they want to be.
You may already be sitting on valuable stories and results that you have never told people about. Your potential clients want to know one thing: Can you help me?
Build Trust
There are three things a coaching client needs to trust:
1. Themselves
2. You
3. Your process
If there is a breakdown in any of these areas, getting or keeping the client becomes much harder.
Your marketing should build this trust before someone gets on a call with you or reaches your sales page. When people already understand the transformation you offer and believe you can help them, the sales conversation becomes much easier.
Visibility Is Not Enough
Good coaches can hide behind social media, preparation, newsletters and procrastination. They may keep trying to get everything perfect instead of actually putting themselves out there.
Visibility alone does not create clients. You need clarity.
Be clear about:
- Who you help
- What problem you solve
- What solution you offer
- What the next step is
Think one person, one problem, one solution and one next step.
If your message is not clear, your content simply becomes more noise. You need to be the person who stops the scroll for your ideal client and clearly shows them how you can help.
Have Conversations and Follow Up
Conversations are where it starts. Do not rely on posting and waiting for someone to respond. Get out from behind the computer and talk to people, whether online or in person.
Follow-up is just as important. Many coaches avoid it because they are afraid that no response means no. But silence does not necessarily mean no. People get busy, forget or become distracted.
If you do not follow up, someone else may. You can do all the hard work of attracting someone, only for another person to appear at the right moment and take their attention.
Consistent follow-up and nurturing keep you connected with potential clients until they are ready.
Take Action Today
Choose five people you could reconnect with today. It does not have to be a sales conversation. Simply send a message, ask how they are doing or continue a conversation you had previously.
Then think about how you can start more two-way conversations, clearly explain who you help and what you help them with, and make it easy for people to take the next step.
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Why Good Coaches Still Struggle to Get Clients
You are an exceptional coach, but coaching alone does not build a consistent business. Learning the business skills, having conversations, following up, building trust and clearly communicating your transformation can help you move away from feast and famine and create a more consistent flow of clients.
You got this. You can do it.
Listen to the full episode of Small Business Talk episode 364.
You can also find the video versions of the Small Business Talk Episodes on YouTube.
