Discover Your Coaching Niche

Archive for the ‘Research’ Category

I’m conducting a quick survey to see what you most want to know about Twitter.  Both the poll and its current results are displayed below.

In the first two posts of this article, I explored the pain of not having coaching clients.  Whether the pain is currently mild, moderate or severe, there is a remedy.  The remedy is to know who you are coaching and know what their problems are.

3. Demonstrate you know what they want – Gaining Credibility

If you don’t know what your prospects want, you’ll be just like any other coach who can’t get clients.  These other coaches can’t get clients because they can’t demonstrate credibility in the eyes of their prospects.  Their prospects just can’t see the relevance to them. 

But you will gain credibility when you demonstrate that you understand the issues and problems your prospects are facing.  That’s so fundamental I’m going to repeat it.  You gain credibility when you demonstrate you understand the issues and problems they are facing.

4. But I don’t know the solution to the problems…

By knowing what the problems are, you’re more than half the way there.  The first step on the way to resolving a problem is to define it unambiguously.  With your coaching skills, if you help your prospect to do just that, the likelihood is that the two of you will be able to work towards a resolution.

Conclusion

If you’re a coach, whether you’re suffering mild, moderate or severe pain in getting clients, there’s a remedy. 

This involves you:
1. Being clear on who you are coaching.
2. Knowing what problems they want solved.
3. Demonstrating you know what they want.
4. Working with your new client to solve their problem.

Alun Richards helps coaches find and reach their coaching niche.  Discover yours with Alun’s free mini-course, “Discover Your Coaching Niche”, available from
http://www.nichecourse.co.uk

© Copyright Alun Richards 2007. All Rights Reserved.  You may freely distribute this article providing you do so in its entirety; ensuring the copyright and contact details above are included.

In the last post we suggested that the pain of having no clients can be mild, moderate or severe.  We explored mild and moderate pain means.  But what if you have severe pain?

Third Degree – Severe Pain

You’re finding prospects have no apparent interest.  In fact, just getting in front of prospects who might be interested in your coaching is hard.  Where are they all?  Even when you get hold of a prospect, the conversation falters after you mention you’re a coach.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  What can you do?

The Treatment

I said there was treatment available for even the most severe case.  So what’s the prescription?

1. Be clear on who you are coaching

Who are you coaching exactly?  Just stop and think for a minute.  Now start to define precisely who wants your coaching – or could want your coaching.  The narrower the field, the better.  And no, the answer “anyone” is no good.  No good at all.  “Anyone” is the reason why many coaches have no clients at all.

Focus!  You must have a niche.  Begin to use a rifle, not a blunderbuss.  So who could you coach – who might want your combination of background, experience and knowledge? 

Which groups would value your set of skills?  Start making a list.  Which ones appeal most?  Which ones are most relevant to your background prior to you becoming a coach?  Start to narrow the list down.

2. What do they want?

Now you have some possible targets, what do these people want?  What do you mean, you don’t know?  Find them and ask them! 

Discover what their biggest problems are.  What is it that keeps them up at night?  What would make their life so much easier, if it were to be resolved?  Whisper it quietly: this is market research.  Do you have to do this?  Yes, yes you do – now get out and just do it.

This article will continue in the next post.

“The purpose of marketing is to get and keep a customer.”
Theodore Levitt

“But how on earth do I do that?”
A Coach

The Problem

You’re a coach, and you’re not getting clients.  It’s not a matter of your coaching skills – you know that.  Anyone who has had a coaching session with you compliments you on the insights your coaching brings.  Many of your clients have achieved significant changes in their lives, even if you do say so yourself.

So what is the problem, exactly?

The Three Degrees of Pain

The sad news is that this situation is only too common amongst coaches.  And it can come in three degrees of pain – Mild, Moderate and Severe.  Luckily, for even the most severe case, there is treatment available.  Read on to establish how much pain you’re suffering right now, and what to do about it.

First Degree – Mild Pain

Do you recognise this description?  You’re meeting plenty of prospects, and you’re generating some interest in your coaching.  Some prospects sign up for a complimentary coaching session with you.  You get few or no conversions to paying clients, however.

Second Degree – Moderate Pain

Or perhaps it’s worse?  You do get in front of prospects from time to time, but it often seems to be the same old crowd.  You feel your initial energy and excitement in your coaching services beginning to wane.  Is it showing?  You’re a great coach.  You’ve coached loads of people during your training.  Why is it so hard to get clients?

This article continues in the next post.

In the previous posts, we’ve stated that clients want leads rather than clients, and have outlined how coaches can get these leads.

7. So I Don’t Want Clients, I Want Leads? 

Absolutely. To recap, you want a means by which a large number of people from your target market can try you out on a low-cost, low-commitment, low-risk basis.

You want your low-cost product or service to be representative of you and what you offer. It should meet your prospects’ needs, and encourage them to want more from you.

8. So What Do I Do First to Get Leads? 

Locate your target market, and ask them what they want most.  Make sure you cover content and medium.

Listen to the answers. Then act on them!

Conclusion
 
In this article we’ve looked at why coaches should not be looking for clients.  We’ve argued that they should be looking for leads.

And we’ve laid out a process to follow that will ensure you get leads from your target market.

So the only remaining thing is to ask “What are you going to do next, as a result of reading this article?”
 
 
Alun Richards
Author of The BrandingYou! Workbook
Free Discover Your Coaching Niche Mini-Course available here:
http://www.brandingyou.org/ecoursesales.html

© Copyright Alun Richards 2007. All Rights Reserved.  You may freely distribute this article providing you do so in its entirety; ensuring the copyright and contact details above are included.

in the first part of this article, we asserted that coaches don’t want clients – they want leads.  And we started to explore how coaches can attract leads.

4. That’s Quite a List – What Should I Choose? 

Well, rather than you choose what your target market might want, why not ask them?

Its always tempting to assume you know what your market want.  Sometimes it just seems so obvious.  But you can be surprised – it’s much better to ask, and act from knowledge, rather than guess, and act from ignorance.

And while you’re asking them what medium your product should take, do check that the content of the product is what they require, too. 

For example, you might believe that your target market need to know how to get clients. They might actually have a problem with converting prospects.  So ask! 

5. So They Tell Me What They Want – Then What? 

Now you have the most important information about your target market. You know what they want (the content) and what format they want their product or service.

Now all you have to do is produce the product (or service).  As you know it’s what they want, you should have no problem getting them to buy it.  Assuming you can produce the product – or get someone else to do it – you have a means to generate leads like they are going out of style.

Naturally, you’ll want a means to tell your target market about your product, to get it to them and to take payment, and you’ll want to keep your new prospects – your leads’ – details on file.

6. Why Do I Want To Keep My Leads on File? 

Because in the example we used at the start of this article, no-one is going to marry you straight off the street. (Or no-one you’ll be happily married to in a few years time, anyway.) They’re going to want to get to know you over a period of time.

So you’re probably going to have a few more interactions with these leads before any one of them commits and decides to buy your coaching services. Of course, several will drop out along the way. But that’s fine, as long as:
(1) they spend some money first, and
(2) there’s a queue of people to replace them.

This article continues in the next post.

Introduction

One of the biggest problems that coaches say they experience is getting clients.  In fact, their biggest problem is the thought that they need to get clients.  Read on to find out why… 

1. Don’t Get Clients! 

You heard me right – don’t get clients.  Look at it like this: do you, assuming for a moment you’re male and single, walk up to girls in the street and ask them to marry you?

No, of course you don’t!  That would be too big a step.  You want to take smaller steps first. You might want to go out for a coffee, to see if you might like to spend more time in each other’s company.

Well, it’s the same with clients.  If you have a mindset that you must get clients, you’re handicapping yourself from the start.

What you really want is leads. You want prospects who might be interested in what you have to offer, but would like to get to know you a bit better first.

2. Are You Sure I Want Leads? 

Yes. To many prospects, to ask if they’ll be a client – perhaps for a minimum of three months – is a step too far.  They’re going to say no, most likely. You’re asking them to commit time and money – and a lot of effort – with someone they’ve only just met.  How can they know if you and your services are right for them? 

Now, if there was a way to try out your services that was not such a commitment, then they might be interested.

3. But How Can They Try Out My Services? 

There are several ways, and savvy coaches are already employing a number of them. Basically, you want a low-cost, low-commitment product or service that a prospect can try out, and get to know you.

These may include offline presentations at your own, or other peoples’ seminars, exhibitions or workshops, where prospects can get a taste of what you offer. They could include your newsletter, e-courses delivered by autoresponder, e-books, specail reports, teleclasses or other low-cost products.

They could also include articles, recordings of presentations, your blog, podcasts, home study courses – the list is long and only limited by your imagination.

This article continues in the next two posts…

Coaching MegaTrend 7: Availability of Web-based Technologies

We are in the midst of an explosion in the availability of affordable, easy to use web-based technologies.  And savvy coaches are beginning to realise what benefits this can have to their coaching practices.

A coach’s website is taken for granted these days, as is a their newsletter.  If you look at several coaches’ websites you’ll see a remarkable consistency.  They no longer differentiate.  The area in which to compete has moved on. 

Audio and even video are creeping into coaches’ websites.  But the coaches who will succeed are those offering something that their market want – their content must be relevant and valuable to their target market. 

Those coaches who utilise teleseminars, autoresponders and increasingly blogs that meet a client need will prosper.  Those that do not will fall by the wayside.

The next big technology trend is likely to be coaches’ podcasts. And the same dynamic will apply – the content must be relevant and valuable to the client.  In the next six months we forecast a flood of coaches’ podcasts – and 90% which will not be around six months after their inception.

We’re seeing far more use of internet automation – for keeping in touch with prospects via autoresponders and newsletters, for online surveys, membership sites… …the list is long and growing.

The winners in the use of the web-based technologies will be those unafraid to experiment, who use technology for the benefits it can bring to them and their clients, rather than for its own sake.

Alun Richards helps coaches find and reach their coaching niche.  Discover yours with Alun’s free mini-course, “Discover Your Coaching Niche”, available from
http://www.brandingyou.org/ecoursesales.html  

© Copyright Alun Richards 2007. All Rights Reserved.  You may freely distribute this article providing you do so in its entirety; ensuring the copyright and contact details above are included.

 

Coaching MegaTrend 5: Coaching Products

Coaches are increasingly using online products – both their own products and those of others – to achieve different marketing objectives.  These products can be ebooks, articles, short courses delivered by autoresponders, teleclasses, downloadable mp3s, CDs, home study courses and combinations of the above.

Some coaches are using products to augment their coaching offerings, to appeal to different segments of their market.  Others use them as a promotion device, to attract new prospects to their marketing funnel.  Yet others are using products to leverage their time with clients – so that the client gets the maximum benefit while minimising costly 1:1 coaching time.

Coaches are finding that products can achieve multiple objectives – they can bring in revenue while building client loyalty and gently guiding prospects to the coach’s higher-value coaching services.

Coaching MegaTrend 6: Coaching Programmes

We are seeing the growth of the specialist coach, who blends coaching with instruction and training, and sometimes adds consultancy. 

Coaching programmes typically have an overall aim, a set duration and have specific content that is communicated in addition to the coaching.  They typically offer a programme – often between six and eight weeks – designed to build knowledge and skills in a particular area.  Examples of this are CJ Hayden’s Get Clients Now! programme which blends training, coaching and consultancy.

This trend is leading to the coaching market fragmenting somewhat – and becoming less homogeneous.  It’s not enough to just be a coach, it’s what sort of coach are you, dealing with what sort of clients to achieve what?

Taken together with MegaTrend 4 – niches and differentiation and  MegaTrend 3 – the increasing maturity of the coaching market, we are seeing coaches profiting from providing coaching programmes to specific market niches.

Coaching MegaTrend 3: Increasing Maturity in the Coaching Market

The Wild West days of coaching are over.  A significant percentage of coaches have now been coaching for more than five years, many for ten – and they have a maturity of approach & experience.

There is an associated increased maturity in the coaching market itself, with clients having an much more awareness about coaching and its benefits.

Purchasers of coaching services have changed from Innovators in the early days of coaching through Early Adopters, and now firmly into the Early Majority.

This means two things – firstly is that there is a much bigger market out there – 34% of any market are seen as Early Majority, with innovators making up 2.5% and early adopters 13.5%.

Secondly, Early Majority are more cautious purchasers and need more reasons to buy.  They are deliberate, not impulsive decision-makers.  They have many informal social contacts that they rely on to know whether they should decide to do something. They adopt innovations – like coaching – just before the average member of the market.  They seldom lead, are not the first, and not the last to do something.

This means that we need to take a different approach to presenting and marketing coaching services to the Early Majority.

Coaching MegaTrend 4: Niches & Differentiation

The need to differentiate oneself from the ocean of other competing coaches is more vital than ever.  As competition in the generic life coaching market intensifies, more coaches will need to specialise to differentiate themselves.

There is more and more focus on niches – weight-loss coaching, presentation skills coaching, marketing coaching, career coaching, coaching for lawyers, dentists, executive coaching, relationship coaching…

Yes, these options have been available via life coaches for a while, but niche coaches focus on one specialisation, and therefore bring more experience and knowledge of what’s required in that niche to their clients.

The coaching market is already showing signs of fragmenting, with specialist coaching sub-markets continuing to develop rapidly.

These coaching niches are growing faster than the rest of the market, with executive coaching, relationship coaching, career coaching and weight loss coaching growing particularly fast.

This is good news for coaches who can exploit these profitable niches, and is bad news for the undifferentiated life coach.