Get Coaching Clients Now – and Avoid the Top 7 Problems Coaches Have in Getting Clients
If you ask a group of coaches, they will consistently cite getting new clients as the biggest problem in their practices.
But why exactly do coaches have so much difficulty in this area?
BrandingYou! undertook research by asking practicing coaches what stops them getting new clients. The coaches told us of seven main issues that come up again and again. This article, spread over several posts, outlines those seven problems, together with suggestions for their resolution.
1. Problems with Marketing
Coaches tell us they have a number of different problems with marketing.
While no coaches believe that clients will just fall in their laps, many coaches starting out do not realise quite how much time they need to spend on marketing activities.
A rule of thumb from experienced coaches is to take all the time you are not actually coaching, then spend 100% of that time on marketing.
Other coaches are unsure which marketing strategies are most effective for coaches, and expend energy and money on ineffective strategies. Knowing which strategies are effective for the promotion of professional services is vital to the success of your practice.
The kinds of promotion that work well in the mass market, like advertising in the media do not serve coaches well. The good news is that other forms of promotion like networking, giving presentations or talks and writing articles do work well.
Some coaches have stated they dislike marketing activities to the point that they avoid them. This may stem in part from the perception that they shouldn’t boast about their services. Or that being seen as ‘sales-y’ is a bad thing.
But the fact is that no matter how good a coach you are, you won’t get any business if people don’t know about you. And people will not know about you if you do not engage in effective promotion.
The key thing is to find the marketing activities that are compatible with the professional services you are offering, and that you enjoy doing. That way you’ll be motivated to carry them out, and they are more likely to be successful.
The next post will focus on coaches not having a niche, and what you can do about it.
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