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5 Steps To Get Your First Coaching Clients

Aha! You’ve chosen one of the most rewarding professions, you’ve trained yourself to understand and be of help, of service. Now all you need to do is get your first coaching clients.

To get your first coaching client you need to understand that clients come to you when they need someone to work with them and push them hard enough to make them work better than they ever have. You can either make or break and you definitely don’t want the latter.

But how do you get them as clients? It’s disheartening to see zero response and you’re feeling lost. You might feel like you’re a nobody, you barely have an audience and you’re feeling down about this whole coaching business..NO! Stop right there. This rabbit hole isn’t the one you want to go down on.

Here’s where we tell you: You are a wonderful coach, your first coaching clients will come calling. Your coaching business needs a bit of nurturing and we are here to tell you how.

Remember, every coach started out with the same step you are at. How you plan your next step is what will gain you the traction you desire. And what you desire requires time, effort and creativity. You know how to be a coach, now all you need is that first client.

There have been many coaches before you who have tested methods and shared the ones that work best. If you asked any coach who would want to start over again, they’d tell you they’d stick to the same steps that worked for them to get their clients. Learn from the coaches who have made it big, letting them discourage you is illogical.

Once you get your first coaching client, it is a game-changer. You have the confidence and the right attitude to continue getting more coaching clients. Most of us have had slow beginnings but with constant effort and persistence, we’ve all made it to where we are now. You are not alone.

So here are a few steps that have been tried and tested. You can decide which one works for you and you can shape it to suit your personality and character. The ball is in your court.

Be a Specialist, not a Generalist

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As a coach, you need to remember that you cannot be everybody’s solution. You might be able to be, but it’s taxing for your personal growth. Establish yourself as a coach with an area of expertise.

The coaching business is an industry and you need to acknowledge it to understand how to make the best of it. There are oh-so-many organizations and individuals who contribute to the competition. Setting yourself apart will only keep you one step ahead of the competition and in tune with some of the industry’s best.

Having said that, your area of expertise might be a popular one, with many coaches involved in it. How do you solve this? Set yourself apart from the crowd: Be unique in a particular way, be it a simple change in your business structure or personal mannerisms that tells your clients who YOU are and why you being YOU will help your clients. This is where your creativity comes in.

The structure of coaching businesses keeps evolving over time. You want to keep improving and evolving with the changing trends. Being a specialist, you can tweak your specialization to suit you personally and professionally.

Remember, by being a specialist you’re sending a clear message. You know who you are after all. You know your goals too. You are the leader your client is looking for.

Get on Stage

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What better way to showcase your abilities and expertise to the world?

Experienced or otherwise, this smart move will let your audience see what you can offer.  Your prospective clients will see the confidence you are willing to show.

Prepare a small (really really small) speech to introduce yourself and the human being you are. Your audience should see you as an approachable person, someone humble and calm. They will see you for your expertise, and even if they don’t need it, they are sure to remember you and bring you referrals.

Your speech should also be designed to sound like a conversation that can be continued by your audience later.

You could host an event by yourself and you don’t have to worry about the budget. Sites like Eventbrite or Meetup lets you organize your events for free! Advertise and market yourself. Nail your seminars with the help of this article.

In a seminar or workshop, you get to meet and acquaint yourself with other coaches. This is a good platform for you to observe and learn. Coaches are great mentors, they want to come forward and help you. Their openness will help you create a support structure for yourself. Choose wisely.

Workshops help you get away from your online persona and meet your audience in person. As mentioned earlier, your prospective clients will see what kind of a person you are. Showcase your talents, skills and leadership abilities by being a part of your community by truly being there for them.

After all, if a coach won’t be there for their clients, what have they hired them for?

Social Media and Networking

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I cannot stress enough about how brilliant a tool social media is for any online business. More so for coaching businesses. Your presence on social media matters. Everybody you know is on Facebook, you have come across many businesses on prominent social media platforms.

Use this factor to leverage clients. Your friends and family could bring you great referrals. This is your personal network, the people in this circle can easily vouch for you, knowing you personally. Bank on this as much as possible and you will have your clients.

Content on social media is everything! Create your own content and share it, let the message be simple and outreaching, not preachy and patronizing. Remember the humble human being you are. Consistency in sharing good and relevant content on your pages is key and your prospective clients will see this.

Edutainment or educational entertainment is a huge factor in helping boost your content. Your expert knowledge can be converted to an educational and enjoyable experience for your readers. There is plenty of information on the internet that can help you with your social media content.

Tap into this potential until you can hire writers who can get the content flowing for you.

Networking is an asset that you must keep building over time. Your social media platform will help you with online networking. Attend workshops, seminar and events for personal networking. You can capitalize on both with the right approach.

With the right kind of networks, the chances of getting your first clients are quite high. Coaching is a dynamic field with quite a range of diversity. Coaches must be committed to respect this professionally. So your competitors are not your enemy.

They can be a good source of referrals so maintain a good healthy relationship with your network.

Video Marketing

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If having your face on the internet does not cripple you with anxiety, there is nothing stopping you from creating a video blog. Video sharing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo help coaches sell themselves with complete clarity on the message sent. Remember to have a good body language.

Your videos must show your skills, personality and promise of deliverables. A sound research must go into the material you want to showcase. You must come across as a credible leader. There’s a lot of unwanted information on the internet, set yourself apart!

When it comes to the content of the video, follow the golden rule of simplicity. Use vocabulary that everybody can understand and keep your video within 8 minutes. You can have longer videos but that shouldn’t be the norm, it should be an exception.  As mentioned earlier, edutainment is a great tool to reach out to the masses.

Video marketing also helps you set your brand and be creative at that too. This will help you set the groundwork for your business. Your comment section helps you with getting good feedback (ignore the trolls!). Ask your viewers to leave their questions while you ask them some too.

You can always use these questions to create the next video!

If you want to learn more about how to grow your coaching business by learning the right coaching techniques, build a six figure coaching business and learn how to get better results for clients in less than half the time, come join my free webinar here!

Easy Business is Easy Clientele

The way your coaching business is structured will tell your clients a lot about you. A business structure that is attractive is a clear and concise one, your clients should be left feeling like it was an easy-breezy transaction. This is because you were smart enough to have payment options that are clear.

People do business when they like you, and that extends to the kind of structure you set up for your business. From your social media presence to how easy your website is to understand, simplicity and straightforwardness will help you get your clients calling you.

Having an easy structure will help you maintain your personal and professional life. Your coaching business will have the priority it needs. With the technological advances, we have today, you can increase your effectiveness and transparency.

For example, we have multiple calendars available online that help your clients see your schedule and book an appointment with you. You’ve removed the in-between steps of your client calling you and then figuring out when and how.

In a dynamic environment such as a coaching, you need your business to be prepared for the varied mindsets it will attract. Not only are you prepared for such diversity but you have options for them in the products and services you can offer. You set the message that you are the coach your clients need.

Move onto to one on one consultation as soon you get your leads. With these steps mentioned above and with your own research, you will be able to come up with a solution that is perfect for you.

 

 

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1 Comment

1 thought on “5 Steps To Get Your First Coaching Clients”

  1. Awesome advice and a great read as it reninded me of several important factors in being the best i can be for my clients. The easy business part resonates greatly as i can see why its so important to get this right now. Fantastic tips cheers Sai! 🙂

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