Coaches fill a critical niche in the world by walking people through new experiences and phases. Looking to start a business? A business success coach can help you build from zero revenue to six figures. Looking to switch careers? A transition coach can show you how to do that with finesse.
So why is it so challenging for these professionals to find clients? I work with coaches all the time, and a large chunk of their time and energies is spent looking for individuals who
- Need their help
- Understand the value that they bring to the table
- Are willing to pay for their services
If I didn’t know better, I’d say these coaches were hacks who don’t know their stuff. After all, if you have an irresistible offer, you shouldn’t struggle to find customers.
Right?
Wrong.
Acquiring new clients has always been a bit of a pickle for many coaches. But certain factors have made it even harder in recent times.
In this blog, I’ll discuss the top three based on conversations I’ve had with coaches across numerous industries.
By the end, I’ll also share simple but effective copywriting strategies you can use to circumvent the challenging factors and build your client list.
Top challenges
1. The market is flooded with new coaches
Who is a coach?
Is it someone who uses their years of experience to guide people in a specific field? Or is it someone who enrolled in a coaching program, got a certificate, and changed their LinkedIn bio?
The answer is both, and that’s part of the problem.
Coaches who bring real value to the table find it harder to differentiate themselves and stand out. On a level, this almost doubles the difficulty of landing clients because you need to rethink the way you sell yourself and your experience.
After all, how will people recognize your value if you can’t sell your expertise?
To be sure, new coaches aren’t second-grade in any way. In fact, some of the most insightful and supportive coaches I know are people who recently launched their businesses.
My point here is that differentiation is tough. You are now competing (and I use this phrase very loosely) with dozens of individuals who, on the surface, offer the same services as you do.
Without a unique strategy to break through the clutter and differentiate yourself, how will your ideal client tell you apart from other coaches?
2. Inflation has shrunk budgets
Gas prices are skyrocketing worldwide; supply chains are breaking down, and the costs of essential supplies keep finding new highs.
The result?
Individuals and businesses are wary of how they spend. They need to know for certain that every dime spent on a service will produce a quantifiable improvement in one or more areas of their lives.
As a coach, that’s not a problem for you. You know what you offer and the results your clients can expect. But do they know that?
Because regardless of how helpful your coaching is, if your ideal clients don’t understand that, they won’t hire you.
In the past, it was easier to communicate value. Heck, people sought out coaches because they knew what they didn’t know, and they understood that a coach could help them out.
But these days, businesses are struggling to stay open and business owners have to make tough decisions. The question on everyone’s minds suddenly becomes, will paying someone REALLY help me achieve this result?
3. There is more online clutter than ever
Ad blindness, a term that explains how we unconsciously ignore ads without receiving their message, affects all businesses.
We are bombarded with all kinds of messages daily, and tuning them out is the easiest way to cope.
But you know, ad blindness doesn’t just apply to adverts in the traditional sense. Think about it; when was the last time you engaged with a post where someone was promoting their services?
Friends and family don’t count.
The moment we see a message that remotely involves selling, we tend to ignore it unconsciously.
What does this have to do with landing coaching clients?
Well, you as a coach also happen to be on the other side of this ad blindness. You need to promote your services, and unfortunately, people are likely to ignore your message unconsciously.
Unless you find a way to break through the clutter and share a captivating story/message, people will most likely ignore what you have to say.
Good news; Building trust still works
One way to circumvent all of these problems is a strategy that successful coaches have used for decades – building trust first.
If you already employ a relationship-led client acquisition strategy, this is good news for you.
In the next section, I’ll suggest how you can make a few simple tweaks to your content strategy to attract better leads and communicate your value clearly, despite the road blocks I just described.
Switch from announcing what you do to starting conversations
If your social media posting strategy is to keep reminding people what you do and asking them to reach out to you, then you must have discovered one thing by now – that doesn’t work.
Ad blindness pretty much makes you invisible to your target audience. But you know what still works? Conversations.
In fact, all platforms, from Facebook to LinkedIn thrive on engagements. The more you ask thought-provoking questions that demand a response, the higher the number of people who’ll find your posts.
So, it’s time to switch from, “I’m a career coach who can help you succeed” to “Here are five myths about working with a career coach.”
Work your experience and specialization into your online presence
If you find yourself operating in a crowded speciality, a good idea is to contextualize your messages by sharing your experience. That way, you communicate what you bring to the table.
A great example is your LinkedIn bio. Instead of “executive coach,” you’ll find better results with something like, “I help business leaders break into the C-suite.”
Another awesome approach is to share tips based on your experience. Think, “top five lessons I learned after 10 years of being a lifestyle coach.”
Share success stories that highlight the direct value of your coaching
People want proof that your coaching will lead to a quantifiable improvement in their lives. While you may not have the figures of a marketing consultant, what you have is (hopefully) a list of clients who have found success thanks to your input.
Did they switch careers, grow their revenue or even sleep better?
Any improvements that your past clients made is proof that your coaching works. You already know it works, and your current clients know it too. You just need to share that information with your prospects.
The bottom line
Business owners have always had to adapt to the times, tweak their approach, and rethink their strategies; this is another one of those periods.
And the information from this blog may be just what you need to get started.