How To Get Coaching Clients Series #4 - 7 Proven Ways To Up-Level Your Business For Long-Term Growth

Welcome to the fourth and final post in my blog series that shows you How to Get More Clients.  If you missed the first three you can go back and read them here  and here and here.

In this instalment, we’re going to ramp it up and talk about some of the more complex or longer-term methods of filling your calendar with paying clients. The goal is to have your calendar as full as you want it. And to have a steady repeatable stream of clients coming to you ready to begin coaching.

But before we go any further, if you haven’t read the first three blog posts in this series I highly recommend you check them out before you read further. They walk you through the most important mindset shifts you need to prime yourself for success and they show you all the basics you need to be ready to welcome a consistent flow of high quality paying clients

Before we dive in I want you to know I’ve used all of these methods myself and they work. Read through these ideas and decide which ones feel “like you”, then choose the one you will focus on and master.  There is no point in spreading yourself too thin, it’s better to take the long-term view. Which method looks the most fun?

Start there, be consistent, apply it until you’ve mastered it, then if you need to implement another.  Only you know exactly how many clients you want, how much money you want to make and how busy you want to be.  

Remember, that in a nutshell, every method of finding clients and easily building a profitable coaching business can be boiled down to these

6 Business Building Steps:

Step 1: Go where your ideal clients are (both on and offline)

Step 2: Offer service and provide value

Step 3: Tell them what you do and show them how it works

Step 4: Build a relationship

Step 5: Ask for the business

Step 6: Coach your clients and help them get awesome results

In the last article, I recommended you print and keep a copy of these 6 steps as you strive to fine tune your client attraction mindset and prospecting skills.

7 Proven Ways To Up-Level Your Business And Get More Clients

Here are 7 proven ways of getting clients. Notice how each of these proven approaches uses the 6 Business Building Steps outlined above:  

1. Groupon

Set up a Groupon special for one or more of your coaching packages.

People are looking for a deal, and many people scroll through the Groupon deals daily looking for interesting things to do and solutions to their problems.

Groupon takes a percentage of the sale, but they also advertise you for free!

I recommend if you use this method make sure that you set your rates reasonably. Don’t set your rates too low, as it will undervalue the service you provide and you will feel frustrated that you’re not earning enough.

My experience is that many people who sign up for a Groupon will continue afterwards as a regular paying client.

2. Sell Your Services on Fiverr or Upwork

Create a Seller Account with Fiverr or Upwork, both these online platforms are great for freelancers.

If you’re interested in this method, begin by doing an online search for some of the top sellers in your category.

Next create and complete a detailed seller account including your bio, history and areas of focus.

Finally, create a coaching package (it can be individual coaching or even a self-coaching handbook that you sell). Each package usually has 3 levels (Basic, Standard and Premium) where you can increase coaching times and frequency and increase flexibility around scheduling to accommodate the people who want a higher level of service more quickly.

3. Become The Kind Of Coach You Would Hire

The best way to create clients is to show up powerfully in the world. This means practising what you preach and truly living in line with your values at the highest level of integrity. Unfortunately, these qualities are rare today, and those who do embody them truly stand out. To create the clients you really want, you've got to become the coach you'd want to hire.   

This means being committed to your personal growth. Attend training sessions and continually upgrade your skills.

Hire your own coaches. The most successful coaches have more than one coach. Since each coach has a speciality look at hiring a specialist for your personal development and another for your business.

Add value consistently in how you live your life.  Be active, helpful and generously contribute to your community through service

4. Nurture Your Contacts and Clients With Regular Content

Touch base regularly with your clients. I have a basic system set up where I will often send a note to each of my past clients every few months to let them know I’m thinking of them.

A more formal approach is to send a weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletter using an email service provider such as MailChimp to your list of past current and potential clients.

Since you’ve specialized and continually do research to make sure you understand your clients’ common challenges, it’s easy to send them valuable content.

You don’t have to write the entire thing yourself, you could embed videos, have guest authors or use excerpts from other material that you’ve gathered (as long as you clearly credit the original source) Not only does it help me keep in touch with people I am meeting, but it also lets me share my expertise. Many readers will reach out to me after they regularly receive my weekly emails. It gives them a chance to get to know me better and they know I'm there when they are ready.  

5. Get Referral Partners By Using Businesses That Complement Yours

This method of building a business based on complementary business partners works well with coaching.

Consider your ideal clients. What do they need the most help with that you are not equipped to provide?  For example, a small business coach’s clientele includes other business owners. 

Business owners often need services such as bookkeeping, legal services, website design and development, IT support, social media, VA (virtual assistants), marketing services, accounting, and more.

As a result, this business coach could carefully develop a list of preferred partners. These partners must provide excellent service because there is a high level of trust implicit as a referral partner.

The leads go both ways. Sometimes she refers her clients to other service providers and sometimes those partners refer customers to her. It’s a win-win-win arrangement. A win for the coach to gain more clients, a win for the referral partner who also gets more clients while spending less on advertising and a win for the client who is getting great service and less trial and error headaches.

6. Hold A Sale

When you have a large audience either through social media or on your email list you can occasionally run a limited time sale.  For example, a Black Friday special, or a discount code that can be used to celebrate your birthday week.

We all love a sale, and this is a great way to re-engage past clients who have been thinking of coming back to coaching with you so they can pursue a new goal or work through a particular challenge.

One word of caution, anytime you hold a sale it’s important for you to carefully consider your boundaries.  Make sure the terms are clear, for example, it could be a one-time deal, only available for a very short window for clients who pay in full.

7. Give A Signature Talk

 Prepare a signature talk and offer to speak at groups

Prepare a short speech (signature speech) that combines your expertise and coaching. Since coaching is still relatively new, many people often don’t know how it can really help them until they’ve seen it in action.

Create a list of local groups where your ideal client spends time. Offer to speak, many local groups are always on the lookout for speakers for their agenda.

During your speech clearly, demonstrate how you help your ideal clients and spend some time answering questions. Tell engaging stories or share a case study they can relate to and show them the specific results people benefit from.

Make sure you have a way to gather names, email addresses and collect business cards. You can offer a draw for a prize to encourage them to sign up.

After your talk, use LinkedIn or your preferred social media account to reach out to each of the people who signed up and offer them a breakthrough/ clarity/ sample session.

If you have received their permission in advance, you can also add them to your email list for future follow up.

I’m curious, which of these 7 ways are you going to try to increase your lead generation and find people this week?  Let me know by pressing the “message us” button in the bottom right corner.

To wrap up I wanted to share a reminder for those days when you doubt yourself.

If one person can grow a profitable sustainable fulfilling coaching practice, then you can too.

I believe in you and that’s why I write these blog posts to encourage and help you along your path.

xo

Candy

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All posts in this series:

#1-  7 Steps To Get Ready To Welcome New Clients

#2 -  Mindset Hacks To Make You A Client Attraction Magnet

#3 - 7 Proven Strategies To Get Paying Clients In The Next 30 Days

#4 - 7 Proven Ways To Up-Level Your Business For Long-Term Growth