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Why the heck does filling a coaching practice feel so much harder than filling a therapy practice?
Because…it does, right? So many therapists who filled their therapy practices with virtually no marketing are genuinely shocked at the uphill lift of getting a coaching business off the ground.
Last week we talked about the personal skills that tend to make the most successful coaches.
This week the focus is a little different. If you have the grit and skills and time on the field and the receipts to show for all the work you’ve done but you’re still struggling to get coaching clients, I look immediately to two main culprits:
- • Your offer itself, and
- • Your messaging
Your Offer
Questions to ask yourself to improve your offer:
- • Have I chosen a clear and compelling problem to solve?
- • Is this a “right now” problem for my ideal client?
- • Is my niche validated? (Are there other people successfully selling similar offers?)
- • Does my time frame align with my client’s expectations of how long this problem will take to solve? (Simple example: Promise your client they’ll lose 20 lbs in a month and they won’t believe you, but promise they can lose 20 lbs in a year and they’ll go find someone with a more appealing time frame.)
- • Am I giving an appropriate amount of support?
- • Does my price point align with my ideal client’s budget?
- • Have I included elements that make this offer a “no-brainer?” (Ie: fantastic bonuses, guarantees when possible, etc.)
Messaging:
If your offer is fabulous but still not selling, the problem is likely your messaging.
It’s not whether you used the fancy new hashtag strategy, it’s not whether you posted your Reel at the right time on the right day.
It’s just your messaging.
And listen, selling coaching–but *especially* selling life coaching–is hard…because you have to make the intangible tangible.
“I’ll help you find balance,” needs to become “I’ll help you create 3 extra hours every week just for you and wall them off like your life depends on it…because it does.”
“I’ll help you be ready for love,” needs to become, “I’ll help you attract so many Mr. Rights you’ll never again give a second thought to all the Mr. Wrongs you’re attracting right now.”
So what litmus tests should you run your messaging through?
CLEAR (AF)
- • Is this as clear as you can make it?
- • When you tell people your message, do their eyes light up? Do they say, “Omg, I know someone who needs you!”? (This one is big. If the answer here is NO, keep working.)
- • Can an 8yo understand it?
CONFIDENT
- • Are you writing with confidence? (Active voice? Variable sentences with emotional punch?)
- • Does the messaging have energy and excitement?
- • Do you give me a reason to keep reading?
ALIGNED
- • Are you offering something you *know* you can do? (As in you HAVE done it, AT LEAST for yourself, and hopefully for others as well.)
- • Are your offer and messaging aligned with a deep calling inside you to truly use yourself, use your life & your story to help other people? (If you’re just here for the $$, Sally, the ship sinks fast.)
- • Is the messaging aligned with who you are as a person and how you present in the world? (i.e., if you present as super-straight-laced and your offer is super-woo, your messaging will be out of alignment in a way we can’t quite put our finger on.)
TANGIBLE
- • Possibly the hardest one!
- • Dig down into your client’s actual life. If they had the *intangible* outcome you’re promising now (more balance, more peace, feel better, build self-confidence, etc etc), how would that SHOW UP IN THEIR LIFE IN A *TANGIBLE* WAY?
- • Yes, give us concrete examples. Read our minds. Tell us the things we’re secretly dreaming we’ll feel.
- • And remember, though they are TANGIBLE, they’re still EMOTIONAL. Your tangible outcomes should feel like a gut punch to your clients in the best possible way. They want this outcome so much they feel it in their gut!
Once your clear and compelling offer is intact, give it time and constant attention!
People often create fantastic offers, do a few posts or emails, then declare it a failure and go back to the drawing board. Don’t make that mistake!
Give your offer time to breathe, time to get seen by the right people, and time to get its sea legs. Keep up the hard work of marketing it for the next couple months rather than continually trying out new offers. Your tenacity and focus over time will pay off!
