3 Proven Strategies To Get Your First Coaching Clients

If you're starting your career as a coach, the first significant challenge you may face will be to get your first clients.

Many entrepreneurs start promoting themselves through social media channels, instantly competing with the global market. Many newly established coaches fall into the comparison trap and get stuck when they start because social media amplifies a performative approach glamorized by 6/7-figure coaches. If you’re not into this hustle culture, here are 3 proven methods to get clients without spending your life on Instagram or in Facebook groups. 

roadmap from getting your first paid client to hosting your own workshop

Before you start: Launch your offer with beta testers

You'll need at least a one-page summary of your offer with testimonials to communicate who you are, what you do, what are the benefits of your offering, and how to work with you. You could present this on your website or make a PDF if you don't have one.  

When I started, my coaching offering was brief, with an option for a single session and 6 sessions over 3 months. To build social proof, I offered sessions to 3 entrepreneurs and asked for their agreement to use their photos and testimonial. 

The benefits of having beta testers are that: 

• it'll boost your confidence and show you what's possible
• you'll identify what you want to streamline in the process
• you'll get genuine feedback on what to improve
• you'll have testimonials to build your credibility as a coach

To do: I invite you to think of 3 people in your circle who may benefit from your support. It could be friends, colleagues, or people from communities you're part of.

You don't have to provide months of sessions. It's up to you and what you feel would be appropriate to make a testimonial-worthy impact. You can use a table like this to stay on track: 

Pro-tip: It’s common to see new entrepreneurs get anxious about their niche and finding their “ideal clients” when they start, and it paralyzes them. I believe that regardless of who you work with initially, this will evolve anyway, and you’ll gain more clarity about what kind of people you want to work with as you work with more people. 

Let’s suppose that now you have tested your offer, refined it, and you have your one-pager with inspiring testimonials. 

Where will you get “paying” clients now? 

1. The underrated method: Launch to your personal network 

This one is often underrated and counter intuitive because people assume that their friends, past colleagues, or clients from previous jobs are from a different life period. Therefore, they could never be a client. 

I filled my first group coaching program with clients and friends I knew from my previous business more than ten years ago. And my clients' "first paid client" success stories have shown me that the first clients are invariably from our network - because they know us and trust us. You don't know who may need what you offer, do you? 

To do: Make a list of 50 people you know and narrow down the list to 10 persons to reach out to present what you do, what coaching is, and how you can help.

Pro-tip: Prospects are not going to take action unless they are challenged to. There are many ways to create a sense of urgency and incentive people to take action. For example, you could say that you offer a limited number of free calls each month, and if they book a call by a specific date, they will be eligible for an early bird discount when they sign up for your program.

2. The ascension method: Building your product staircase

Would you agree that it's much easier to make a more significant purchase with someone when you first made a minor purchase and saw some results? 

your product staircase

This concept is the essence of building a "product staircase'. As you grow your brand, creating more programs with different budgets in mind will give more "touch points" for people to do business with you:

• your high-tier offer would be your one-on-one coaching program
• your mid-range offer would be your group coaching program
• your low-ticket offer would be your workshops and masterclasses

Not everyone will be ready to invest in a one-on-one program right away, and allowing them to start with a smaller product will help them walk to the top of the staircase seamlessly. 

Selling the more extensive program doesn't have to be the end goal. To connect with like-minded people across the globe through a collective experience has a gratification of its own. 

The key is that the participants have an opportunity to interact with you and feel your energy. I hosted 7 workshops (2 free and 5 paid) last year and enrolled 3 clients for my 6-month signature coaching program immediately after!

To-do: What might be some workshop themes you could coach related to your coaching program? Some ideas could be a step that "prepares" them for the more extensive program, a paradigm shift, or a coaching exercise. 

1. Define your workshop topic. 
2. Create a Zoom meeting. If you plan to sell tickets, you can use a third-party platform such as Eventbrite. 
3. Invite and send the link to the people in your personal and business network. 

Pro-tip: Teaching your first workshop may be triggering, but it will get your feet wet. You'll get an adrenaline rush, and once you start, you'll be addicted to it! Remember to ask for feedback and testimonials. 

3. The systemic method: Create your irresistible freebie

"A lead magnet is a marketing tool that generates leads by offering a long-form resource in exchange for a prospect's contact information." Source: Hubspot. 

People refer to it as "content upgrade", "freebie", "opt-in", or "lead magnet". I'm sure you've downloaded some free guides from a website you visited in the past weeks and perhaps even made a purchase after receiving a series of emails? 

This method takes longer to set up because you need to create the content first and set up the funnel using an email service provider. However, the benefit is systematic because once it's up and running, it will attract quality clients to your business on autopilot. 

lead magnet workflow

I recently signed my “soul client” for my most premium program. The person had joined my mailing list through one of my lead magnets (a free productivity email course), and she journeyed through a series of 5 emails without my intervention. She was delighted with the results she created for herself through the course and inquired about the best way to continue working together. 

Another client is a birth educator, and she had placed a free resource list for moms-to-be as her lead magnet when she launched her website. Several weeks later, she was surprised that 50 people had signed up for it! This kick started her mailing list and motivated her to start sending monthly newsletters. 

To-do: What could be a tiny step of your paid offer that you could turn into a free guide or checklist? It doesn’t have to be complicated; I made my email course in Google Docs. You’ll find plenty of online tutorials on creating a “lead magnet delivery” with the email service provider of your choice. I’ve tried many, and Flodesk is my favorite because they have gorgeous, professional-looking email templates and easy-to-digest video tutorials on how to use the platform.

Pro-tip: The desire to do everything perfectly with all the bells and whistles may slow you down or even make you give up. Be OK taking imperfection actions to launch your message to the world and edit along the way. 

Conclusion

You now have 3 proven methods to kick off your coaching business and build confidence step by step. If you focus on activities with high and long-term impact on your business, you will create a thriving coaching business sustainably and without burnout. 

People who are not ready to work with you today may be in the future. It's all about putting yourself out there, experimenting, and your journeys will synchronize at the right time. I wish you peace of mind, joy, and delight as you bring your ideas to life and pursue your calling.

Maika Endo 

Business Coach

Maika is a graduate of The Arts & Science of Coaching and coaches impact-driven entrepreneurs to build the foundations of their coaching or consulting business with the Intentional Business Building™ method. Her holistic approach integrates the entrepreneur mindset, marketing strategies, and systems to help you create sustainable changes and long-lasting results. A lifelong passion for the human psyche, healing arts, and personal growth brought her to coaching. She’s French-born in Japan and currently lives in Istanbul with her family, enjoys cooking, sparkling wine, and playing with her son. 

Links

Business Clarity podcast | LinkedIn | Website

Ready to learn more about Marketing from Maika?

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