People often ask me how much time I spend marketing my coaching business, versus actually spending time with clients coaching.
It may surprise you to learn that I spend 75% of my time marketing or creating content, and only about 20-25% coaching in my programs.
Part of that is by design: I purposely built my coaching business be scalable so I can leverage my time and have a lot of flexibility.
But you know what?
When I only had private coaching clients I still spent the majority of my time on marketing exercises. Why? Because if no one knows about you – you don’t have a business.
So, whether you’re a life coach, health coach, career coach or another kind of coach … let’s talk about how to market YOUR new life coaching business!
The easiest & fastest way to marketing your coaching business…
…involves friends and family.
Sending out that very first email where you tell people you are hanging your shingle as a new life coach can be both exciting and terrifying. So it’s nice to start with a warm audience. 🙂
One of the first, and easiest, ways to market your life coaching business is to let those who love you know what you are up to in a specific and actionable way, and send an email where you say something like this:
“Hey Friends and Family – I’m so excited to announce that the doors are officially open in my new coaching business! I specialize in helping divorced women parent their kids and rebuild their families, so that they have a safe, secure, loving home.
To kick it off, for the next two weeks I’m offering a special free 45 minute coaching session around major divorce obstacles for women, helping newly divorced mom pinpoint any hidden problems and start to solve them immediately. So, if you know of anyone who has gone through a divorce and needs this kind of help, could you kindly forward them this email and invite them to reach out to me?
I’ll be doing this till May 20th.
Thank you SO MUCH in advance. This is such a hard transition for so many, and I want to do my best to make sure that no one has to weather it alone.”
Once you get people in your free coaching session, you can offer them a chance to work with you more closely in your coaching package!
Don’t have a coaching package? Join Jumpstart Your Business Bootcamp and learn how to create one that people WANT to buy!
How to market your coaching business in a way you actually like
Think about how you most feel comfortable communicating and marketing. Do you enjoy close one-on-one conversations? Are you comfortable speaking in front of a room? Do you like talking to a lot of people, but not necessarily from the stage?
Think closely how you like to communicate because if you hate doing something, then you won’t do it and your business will suffer.
Okay- figured it out yet? Awesome! Here’s what I want you to do next:
If you like speaking…
Then I want you to get on Twitter, Eventbrite, Meetup, Google, and your local paper and find events happening in your area or nearby.
Notice which ones seem to be recurring, and seem to have speakers. Sign yourself up to go to a few! Go, attend, and while there please cozy up to two people: 1) Speakers 2) The organizers.
Ask the speakers how they got this gig, and ask the organizers if they need any more speakers. (Obviously have an idea or two on what you could speak on in your pocket!).
Offer to speak for free on a relevant topic, but ask if you can say a few words about your business or invite people to work with you at the end of your speech.
Then, when they say yes (more will say yes than no – people always need speakers!), then deliver a delightful and relevant talk – and set yourself up to talk about your coaching. In other words, make sure that your topic leads into some of your coaching packages :).
Once you get to the end, invite people to work with you, talk about how coaching can help them, and give them an incentive to sign up for a free session with you right then in that moment. People
need a push (and that’s okay) :).
If you like chatting with lots of people…
Then use the same system above to find events that are relevant to your market. Make a list, and start attending at least two a week.
At each event, focus on connecting with people, and if you find someone who *might* fit the bill to be a client, ask if they know about coaching or want to learn more.
If they say yes, educate them on coaching and invite them to a free session with you. If they say yes to that, whip out your calendar and schedule it right then!
If you like building deeper one-on-one relationships…
Then make a list of fellow coaches, or folks who are in a related area. First off, concentrate on coaches in your niche who maybe have a slightly different flavor or client list. Then make a list of coaches or others who have the same type of market (professional women, for example), and reach out to them.
If you are a career coach who works with women, you might find health coaches who also work with the same demographic of women that you do. Okay, now it’s time to reach out to them. Introduce yourself, and ask them if they want to be a referral partner with you.
Offer to hop on the phone and chat to see if you are a match. Get on the phone with them and learn more about what they do and who their clients are. If they seem like a good fit, you can make a more formal partnership arrangement where you agree to a 25% referral bonus.
If you find someone who is a match for them, you send that potential client their way. And they agree to do the same! It’s important to find coaches in your niche as partners – it may seem counter-intuitive, but you will find that sometimes you’ll talk to a client and you know you aren’t the right coach for them. This way you can still refer them to someone who can help (yay for the potential client!) and also make a little money for your work (yay for you!). Everyone wins!
Warning: Don’t market your life coaching business till you know exactly who your clients are!
Don’t be a generic life coach, that’s a recipe for failure. Make sure that you understand exactly why people will buy your specific brand of life coaching (note: They don’t actually buy *life* coaching), so you can be one of those coaches with PLENTY of paying clients.
To find out what you need to know- just click here! (No opt-in required, helpful information awaits).
