• Figure out where your target audience already spends time and go be there.This sounds a little obvious, but I’ve seen coaches spend lots of resources creating a fantastic blog with loads of interactive features and wonder why their potential clients aren’t swarming. Why create a new place for them to go, when they’re already looking for someone like you elsewhere? For example, on LinkedIn:
  • Search for groups that are relevant to your potential clients – for example, by interest or industry
  • Ask your current clients what social media sites they would use to find someone like you
  • Connect with current and prospective clients to see what groups they frequent
• Spend some time observing, before you join the conversation. Remember: most of what you post on various social media sites becomes public and available to search engines. You’re better off establishing a presence in one or two online communities, rather than having one or two posts on every site under the sun.
• Once you decide to participate, do so consistently. One of the most important things you’re trying to establish is credibility, and it’s hard to do that when your name only pops up in front of someone every few weeks. Devote a little time every day, instead of getting bogged down for hours.
• Don’t spread yourself too thin. Focus on one or two online communities – maybe even on the same website. Trying to be everywhere at once just doesn’t work. Or if it does, you probably won’t have much time for anything else!
• Make sure your profile is complete and include a photo. If you’re going to spend time building relationships in a social media community, be sure people who make their way to your profile find some substance. Think of this profile as you would a resume, even on sites that feel more informal, like Facebook.
• Focus on giving, not marketing. Don’t waste your time telling your audience about your expertise; instead, simply show them you’re a generous expert. Answer questions, chime in on conversations, provide resources. That said, your posts should end with a brief signature that lets readers easily find out more about you.

But just as often, coaches get caught in thorny situations that could have been avoided, had they spelled out some clear policies.

For example, consider the following:

• How often are you willing to be contacted for “tune-ups” between scheduled calls?
• Do you prefer to be contacted between sessions by phone, email, or some other means?
• How late can a client be before you consider a session “missed?” Will you allow them to make up a missed session? If so, for how long?

These and other “sticking points” have the potential to become full-blown problems, if they aren’t addressed in advance. And if they’ve yet to come up between you and your clients, chances are, it’s only a matter of time!

Here are some ideas to help you create an agreement that “covers your bases:”

1. Make a list of potentially difficult or awkward logistical situations you’d like your agreement to address:
   • Think through your own experience and make note of preventable situations that have surfaced between you and your clients
   • Brainstorm potentially difficult or awkward scenarios you imagine could happen
   • Consult colleagues to see what issues have come up for them
2. Get clear on your position for each issue on your list
3. Put your policies in writing (create your agreement)
4. Get your client to send you a signed and dated copy of your agreement before your first session
5. Attach your signature and return a mutually-signed copy of that agreement to the client

With a little forethought, many coach-client predicaments can be avoided. That said, it’s tempting to assume what hasn’t happened yet won’t happen down the road. Being clear from the outset often means the difference between a dissatisfied (or even lost) client and a harmonious coach-client partnership.

While both parts of the process involve some research (both of the market and internal varieties), that doesn’t mean you need to stop being a coach or building your business while you’re working on them.

Building Your Business While You Work On Niche I.D.

In the article, Attracting More Clients (available from the Coaching Tree Resources Page), there are a number of ideas you can use to grow your client base. One of the easiest and most accessible is a “Coffee with a Coach” event.

The idea is simple: talk to the events coordinator or manager at your local bookstore, library, coffee shop or community center. Explain that you’d like to offer them an opportunity for their members to learn more about what you do by experiencing coaching.

Getting The Host On Board

The key to getting the host enthusiastic about your session is to frame your request in terms of “WIIFM” (“What’s In It For Me” – or “them,” in this case): they provide the space, a couple of chairs and a little publicity. In return, they get an increase in foot traffic, interest, and maybe even a boost in sales.

Help them understand that you won’t be a drag on their resources or staff, but that the format of your presentation (allowing participants to hang out, get coached, and browse through your materials) will encourage participants to spend more time in their establishment, most likely, spending more money during their visit.

Preparing For The Big Day

Once you’ve got the host on board, it’s time to get your own ducks in a row. Would it help if you brought your own sign? Would it be of benefit to be ready with brochures, cards, pens and a basket of candy? Sure! But when it comes down to it, the critical feature is the quality of your exchange. To make the most of each interaction, remember the following:

• Begin with an enticing opening question, such as, “What’s your biggest challenge right now?” You won’t have much time, especially if demand is high.
• Be sure to end with a “call to action.” If possible, schedule an initial consult (or maybe even their first coaching session!).
• Be yourself. Share your humor, inspiration and feelings – the real you.

With very little preparation and minimal investment, “Coffee with a Coach” is a great way to hone your coaching skills and get exposure as a professional coach. Because of the potentially high volume of prospects, once you get comfortable with initiating these conversations, “Coffee with a Coach” may prove a staple marketing strategy – even after you’ve pinned down your niche!

Blogger Peter Bregman suggests a summative questioning exercise that applies equally well to the end of a coaching session as to the end of an executive’s day (as he had originally envisioned it*). He advises comparing what actually happened in your day with your plan for what you wanted to happen.

Once you’ve collected this information, he recommends asking yourself the following:

• How did the day go? What success did I experience? What challenges did I endure?
• What did I learn today? About myself? About others? What do I plan to do – differently or the same – tomorrow?
• Who did I interact with? Anyone I need to update? Thank? Ask a question? Share feedback?

Just substitute “session” for “day,” and you can use these same questions as you wrap with each client, to help them integrate what they learned from your time together.

Don’t forget: you could create “last 5 minutes” exercises to keep any number of your own goals moving forward, including the growth of your business, your client relationships or your professional development. By investing just a few moments of each session, and a few at the end of each day, both you and your clients could be moving forward with newfound momentum!

* You can find Peter Bregman’s original article, The Best Way to Use the Last Five Minutes of Your Day, here.

If you didn’t do this last month, it’s not too late! Feel free to download and customize the free survey template posted on our resources page:

Using This Template

Once your client has returned the survey, spend some time celebrating the successes of the past year. Then, invest your focus on the forward-looking questions (questions 5 – 22 in our sample).

Besides the obvious benefits of debriefing their survey responses, this is your opportunity to build a year-long strategic roadmap with your client, not to mention a healthy list of next-step actions. As an added bonus, you might even find that clients who complete this exercise extend their alliance with you, since they’ve just refocused on a new set of goals. If you work with a client for more than a year, consider having them complete this survey each December as a way to measure their long-term success.

An annual review process (like our End-of-Year Survey) systematically addresses both “little a” and “Big A” issues, all while generating an up-to-the-minute map for the next year’s coaching journey.

“Well,” you say to yourself, “I could fire him. But this is the only hitch in our alliance. Maybe it’ll work itself out.” Sound familiar?

Not so fast – there’s a more co-active approach to this. After all, if you want your client to walk his talk, you’ll have to walk yours.

Putting Responsibility Where It Belongs

It’s time to put the onus where it belongs – on the client. The next time a client neglects to follow through, ask:

1. “What got in the way?”*
2. “On a scale of 1 – 10, how important is it for you to complete this assignment?”
3. “How would you like to forward the assignment now?”
4. “What needs to be in place in order to successfully complete the assignment?”

Be prepared to redesign the terms of the assignment.

“How close you hold his feet to the fire” depends on what level of accountability you’ve designed with the client. If that client had said, for example, that he had his homework “totally covered,” you could explore how his choices aligned with this commitment.

If, however, the two of you had agreed on more “hands-on” accountability support, it might be helpful to divide accountability for his assignments into smaller chunks. For example, he could break an assignment into individual action steps and inform you of his progress when each is complete. Or he could send you a daily summary of his progress by email or voicemail (whether you respond to each message depends on what you’ve designed, of course).

One Last Tip: Don’t Lose Another Week

However you and your client choose to reconfigure the assignment, invite him to inform you immediately of any obstacles preventing progress, instead of waiting until the next session. This way, you’ll be able to nip the issue in the bud; meanwhile, the client has a pre-planned strategy to prevent another “lost week.”

Occasionally missing an assignment doesn’t necessarily mean a total loss. However, having a specific “safety net” in place can mean the difference between timely insight and an unnecessarily long learning-arc. Perhaps most importantly, if you’ve discussed how to handle this situation in advance, it’s clear to the client that the choice is always theirs.

So, when you’re tempted to get discouraged by a client who claims to have a house full of famished pooches, remember that yours is a designed alliance. Not only do you get to name counterproductive patterns as they emerge, but you have every right to renegotiate how you will best work together going forward. The result is an improved coach-client partnership and a client who’s accelerating toward his goals – a success by anyone’s definition!

*For most clients, there’s a big difference between “What got in the way?” and “What happened?” The first invites an exploration of obstacles, while the second frequently draws “story” or defensiveness.

Choosing a Location

No, I’m not talking about renting office space in the back of your local beauty parlor. A Coaching Salon is a marketing event where one or more coaches collaborate to offer prospects sample coaching. Salons are hosted at any of a variety of locations that might share a target market with a coach, in exchange for increased walk-in traffic.

One of the biggest perks you get from these events is a steady stream of potential clients (where else can a coach get “walk-ins?”). Additionally, your credibility gets a boost, based on the participant’s existing relationship with the host.

Potential hosts could include, for example:

• a bookstore
• a coffee shop
• a community center
• a library

Getting Ready for Your Event

Once you’ve secured a venue, it’s time to get the word out. This is a great place to remember to ask for help. Remember, your presence can potentially help the business hosting you. Don’t be afraid to ask if they might be willing to post signs or advertise the event to their mailing list, for example. Also, consider having participating coaches promote the event on their websites and mailing lists.

On the day of the event, provide an easel with a poster promoting the event, or ask the host if they are willing to do so. Also, have forms available for people to join your mailing list. And don’t ignore the potential for cross-promotions between your business and the host, for example:

• at a bookstore – ask the host to create a display of coaching or self-help related titles near the signs that advertise your event, or make a short presentation based on a pre-selected book they’ll display at the event
• at a coffee shop – offer to have take-out menus or business cards at your table, and ask if you can put your brochures or cards near the register
• for a non-profit host (like a community center or library) – offer to take donations at or near your table

Structuring Your Salon

If it’s well-planned, this kind of event can be a win-win-win: the host gets increased traffic and business, the coaches get increased exposure and the prospective clients get a sample of your services.

Consider structuring the event so that participants are coached in front of other participants and an audience. While this requires the volunteer to be willing to be coached “publicly,” it also gives you the chance to host a discussion about the coaching process after each demonstration finishes. This is an opportunity to address questions, concerns or even fears about the coaching process. And even though not every person who stops by will get a chance to be coached, don’t forget that “spectators” can sign up for your mailing list or request a sample session of their own!

At times, marketing can feel like a uphill climb, especially for a solopreneur. Consider banding together with like-minded coaches to offer a Coaching Salon. Chances are you’ll leave the event with a boost of confidence in your skills as a coach, new energy for your marketing efforts and, perhaps most exciting of all, a long list of warm leads!

Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common experience for coaches. The good news is that it’s easily addressed. First, “cover your bases” by making sure all of your clients know:

1. why completing a prep form is crucial to the coaching process, and
2. that they’ll get much more from the call if they arrive with a topic in mind.

Once you’ve covered these fundamentals, it’s time to dig a little deeper. When a client shows up unprepared, try the following “catalysts:”

• “So, it sounds like there aren’t any areas in your life you’d like to improve right now. What’s it like to have everything in your life feel PERFECT?” When you ask this question genuinely, it can help a client see which areas of his life could use a shift – at which point, productive coaching can begin.
• “So, it sounds like everything in your life is just the way you want it. How could it be even better?” Maybe they’d benefit from fewer work hours, more pay, more vacation or more time with family. Helping a client see how life could go from good to great can be an ideal place to launch the coaching.
• “So, it sounds like you’re at a really great place in your life right now. How did you get here? Let’s celebrate that!” Once a client traces the path they traveled, they can begin to see what “conditions for success” they created. Acknowledging a client’s role in their own success boosts confidence in his or her ability to realize future goals, as well.

While there are valid reasons a client might occasionally come to a session under-prepared, this is hardly a reason to end the session. Instead, offer yourself a tiny perspective shift: create an opportunity to ratchet up what’s working for your client and celebrate their journey!

And although there are several communication channels you could pursue in addition to the ones I’ve mentioned, most marketing experts will tell you that:

1. Writing, speaking and networking are the “Big Three.”
2. The bottom-line success of your business depends on your ability to tap into the ones that play to your strengths.
3. The more communications vehicles you weave together effectively, the greater the chance of your business succeeding.

As you consider how to make the best use of this information, here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• Which of the three gives me the most pleasure – writing, speaking or networking?
• Which has garnered me the most recognition in the past (whether in terms of business success, or even in school)?
• Which is most likely to put me in “flow,” where I could get completely lost in the moment, and hours might pass unnoticed?
• Which are already showing promise in the marketing success of my business?
• Which makes me want to crawl out of my skin?
• Which areas am I most passionate about improving?

Based on your responses, you might already see a pattern emerging. If so, these may be great areas on which to focus your marketing plan. And if you’re still struggling to respond to these questions, you might benefit from making this the first order of business with your coach!

That said, once you’ve identified where to focus your marketing energy, you’re ready to flesh out the details and decide on some next steps. If your individual “magic marketing formula” is built on speaking and networking, don’t be afraid to leave the writing to others. If you’re most passionate about internet marketing and prefer to reach your audience through the written word, release yourself from the shackles of “having to speak or network to get anywhere.” Among these three superstars, there aren’t any “wrong choices.”

The fact is that there are coaches who succeed by consistently leveraging a single type of marketing campaign, and there are also those who make great strides by “reaching out” to potential clients in a variety of ways. It all depends on your level of comfort and effectiveness in the areas you choose. Your task is to identify what areas work best for you and funnel your energy into the activities that leverage your strengths and passion. Happy Marketing!

1. They’re lost or don’t understand the question.
2. They’re overwhelmed by the number of answers that occur to them.
3. They’re afraid to acknowledge the truths that surface (for example, they might not trust they have the resources to handle “going there”).

As a coach, the first two items are fairly straightforward to address. You can:

1. Ask where they got lost, and if necessary, repeat, paraphrase or dismantle the question.
2. Invite them to sit with the uncomfortable feeling and notice what comes up. Reflect and validate what surfaces; then help them lean into the wisdom of higher self or a series of perspectives. This often provides enough clarity and insight to reveal best next steps.

The third situation, however, can feel murkier. The client might express their resistance in ways that are tricky to recognize. This might involve subtle subject-shifting, question-dodging, or even a “full ground stop” (where they’re unwilling to entertain the question at all).

Whatever the root cause, beneath a client’s sense of “Can’t sit with that” lies a knowing. This deep inner wisdom is not only able to provide “solutions,” but also tremendous value, simply by highlighting those questions they would rather not face (and would therefore be most fruitful to explore).

At these times, it’s helpful to sidestep the voice of the saboteur and request access to your client’s “internal GPS.” Having requested that they tap into their “wise self,” you could ask the following:

1. If you did know, what would you know?
2. What don’t you know?
3. What do you know?
4. What is it to know?
5. How would you know that you know (or what has you sure you don’t know)?*

These questions offer a chance to eliminate whatever roadblock the client is experiencing. Depending on the clarity of his or her responses, it might even unlock a whole new “lead” for you to “follow curiously.”

As you can see, there’s no need to dread this common situation. Rest assured that, using some simple questions, you can unlock the “I don’t know” door – and with your client, walk right through.

*Borrowed from Kathy Loh, CPCC, PCC, MA

Do you have a topic in mind that would compel a
small group to get together and address it?

Do you know a virtual or physical “place” your ideal clients spend
time, where you could mention a group you’re starting?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could start your own group coaching program today.

When I first mention group programs, many coaches are intimidated. But group coaching doesn’t have to be complicated or scary. Here are a few tidbits I share with clients, as they begin to plan for their first group:

• You can start small. A “group” can consist of any number of people greater than two. It’s easy to get stuck waiting to start until two or three more people sign up, but this is unnecessary – just forge ahead. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with starting another group before the first one concludes!
• Group coaching is schedule-friendly. You can book group coaching around your individual client schedule. Meetings can be held at a participant’s home, a centralized location (like a library), or over the phone.
• Planning weekly group sessions need not consume your life.In fact, you might be surprised how little “lecture-style” content is necessary for a 50, 60 or even 70-minute session that’s value-packed. For the sample agenda below, note how few of the segments require advance prep:
  1. Introduction (1st wk) or debrief (all sessions going forward)
  2. Content Presentation
  3. Partner exercise or relevant group activity
  4. Demo coaching, followed by debrief with the group
  5. Assignment (or some other way to forward goals before the next session)
  6. Q&A
  7. Synthesis and review
• Participants benefit from each other. Because you are serving as facilitator, not presenter, leadership responsibility can be shared and leveraged among the group.
• Group coaching is cost-effective for the client. The group is sharing your time, so most coaches charge about half their 1-1 rate. This lowers the “barrier to entry” for a new client and also allows additional people to benefit from your coaching, even if they can’t afford to work with you individually.
• Combining different coaching formats can make for a great “hybrid” offering. Consider scheduling your group every other week and add dyad work or individual laser-coaching in the off weeks. If you offer individual work, you can either factor this into your pricing or offer it as an optional add-on.
• Filling a group roster doesn’t have to be a chore. If you enroll just one or two people, they can often fill a group for you, especially if you offer discounted membership in exchange for referring other participants.
• Group clients can become individual clients. It’s not uncommon for participants to pursue 1-1 coaching with the facilitator, in order to accelerate their progress. Some coaches find this to be such a great marketing technique that it’s a substantial part of their client acquisition strategy.
• Content can be repurposed. The time you invest creating a program will pay dividends when you re-use the material for subsequent groups.

When you consider the benefits of including group coaching as one of your “products on the store shelf,” there’s hardly a reason not to offer it. Determine what burning issues your audience would love to have addressed and get cracking. To get started:

1. Consult your audience to learn what challenges they’re facing and tailor your topics to address these issues.
2. Spread the word, wherever you can – on bulletin boards in your community or workplace (ask first!), or on social media sites like Facebook or meetup.com. Advertise wherever your prospects hang out.
3. As we said before, don’t be afraid to run your first group with only a few people; they will help you fill future groups.

So, pick an issue and start recruiting. Facilitating a successful group coaching program is within your reach. Add it to your marketing strategy, and you might just find that it helps fill your client pipeline for years to come!

What’s the best way to deal with this issue?

If we re-evaluate how we structure a sample session, in most cases, we can avoid the issue altogether.

The Hidden Message

Most of the time, “I can’t afford it” means “I don’t value this enough,” or “I don’t want to make this a priority right now.” So, if they say it, should you refer them on? Maybe, if it’s not a great fit otherwise. But what if it is? What if you know you can provide value to the client, but they’re not quite ready to make the investment?

It’s possible you haven’t fully convinced them about the value of your services. Without getting on the convey-benefits-not-features soapbox, it’s critical that your potential client get a profound sense of what’s in it for them.

Conveying the Benefits of Coaching

No matter what else you include in your sample session, make sure to provide the prospect an opportunity to articulate:

1. what results they wish to achieve through coaching,
2. how these results will benefit them,
3. what success will mean for them, and
4. how they will feel as a result.

Clients usually come to coaching – even the sample session – knowing what they want to accomplish. They probably even understand how these changes would benefit them. But they can’t always imagine how achieving these results will change their lives.

Taking the extra time to explore the impact they will feel can make a big difference in the client’s enthusiasm for, and commitment to, change. Exploring the impact can work wonders in promoting your program as an ideal way to achieve these changes.

To review, the process boils down to the following questions:

1. What do you want?
2. What’s the payoff?
3. What will it mean?
4. How will you feel?

An Example

Let’s say your prospect wants career coaching because he’s stagnating in his current position.

When you ask him what he’s looking for (#1), he’s clear about his job requirements: at least 10% more income, work that’s meaningful and a position that has opportunities for future growth.

Then you ask him what benefits he’ll see as a result of these changes (#2). This will probably inspire a host of responses, such as:

• He can become a primary wage earner again
• He can more adequately fund his retirement
• He’ll be more enthusiastic about going to work

When you go a step further and ask what these benefits will mean in his life (#3), you can get at the more visceral impact. He might:

• feel more relaxed,
• sleep more soundly, and
• feel like a better father and husband.

Asking him to describe how these benefits will feel (#4) gives him an opportunity to experience, in advance, what success will be like.

Why This Is Important

In the end, people buy coaching because of how they anticipate they’ll feel once they achieve their goals. Asking a prospect to visualize the impact of change lets them experience how it will feel to succeed, which is a powerful motivator.

For a potential client, this experience illustrates the true value of a coaching program. It helps them distinguish between “I can’t afford it” and “I don’t want to prioritize it.”

Most of the time, money isn’t the obstacle, it’s a symptom. “I can’t afford it” usually means “I don’t see how this investment will pay off.” Structuring your sample sessions to focus on what success will be like gives them a clear idea of what they’re buying. After all, the ultimate value of coaching lies not in what the client will achieve but how it will make them feel.

• The more exposure you get, the more relationships you forge. The more relationships you forge, the more people get to know, like and trust you.
• A potential client who comes to know, like and trust you has just become a qualified prospect.

Why do we hear this over and over? Because many coaches get too little exposure to effectively fill their marketing pipelines. And that directly affects their bottom line. In fact, the most common complaint I hear from my clients is that they have to spend way too much time and money on marketing just to maintain a steady stream of prospects (let alone actual paying clients!).

It’s fair to assume coaches have to spend *some* of their resources on marketing efforts, but if it gets to be “too much,” it’s probably a sign that the ways you’re marketing aren’t efficient enough – that is, they have too high a cost for each lead they bring in.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way.

About Lunch-and-Learns

Also known as “Brown Bags,” or “Noontime Academies,” Lunch-and-Learns are short, easy, get-your-foot-in-the-door presentations you offer inside the four walls of a target organization. You make a brief, lunchtime presentation to the people you hope to work with, based on topics that address their core concerns.

The goal of the presentation, which you’d typically give for free (or nearly free), is to inspire enthusiasm for your services from inside the organization’s ranks. Since you provide value directly to your potential clients, the company benefits by getting a small (but meaningful) sample of your services at little to no cost.

Here are some tips for making your sessions most effective:

1. Do your homework – before pitching a session to an organization, make sure they’re a good fit for your niche and that you understand what issues your audience wants to address.
2. Think carefully about the title of your session – it’s a great opportunity to generate momentum and has a huge impact on how many people show up on the big day (more on titling sessions here).
3. Keep it brief – aim for a 30 – 50 minute session, so it fits into a “lunch hour,” preferably with time to spare.
4. Bring your best content, not the less valuable material you’re more comfortable “giving away.”
5. At the same time, don’t give away the farm – be prepared to give only a taste of each tool or technique (in other words, share the what, not the how).
6. Budget time for Q&A – this helps tailor the content to their specific needs, makes you seem more accessible and makes the presentation feel more interactive.
7. Display business cards and brochures in an area away from the podium – some might prefer taking home a brochure to approaching you directly.
8. Distribute an evaluation form at the beginning of the session, and let participants know you’ll collect them at the end. Ask a few very brief feedback questions then give them an opportunity to join your mailing list. Also, consider including a check box to request an initial consult. Note: if you don’t ask people to hand the evaluations directly to you, it’s a good idea to choose a container that protects participants’ privacy.
9. Review their biggest takeaways, to leave them remembering the most important points in your presentation.
10. Follow up with every lead, promptly – not only does this make you look more professional, but it capitalizes on the enthusiasm they felt during your session (which tends to fade fairly quickly after they leave the room, no matter how fantastic the session was!).

Don’t Panic

Lunch-and-Learn sessions don’t have to be a ton of work to prepare. You only really need 10 – 15 minutes of lecture-type content to fill this time, once you account for all of the “overhead” involved, including:

• introductions and background
• some sort of icebreaker and time to “settle in”
• discussion and questions throughout the presentation
• Q&A following your presentation
• your summary and synthesis
• an opportunity to mingle and for participants to approach you individually, pick up a brochure, take (or give) a card, etc.

If you’ve done thorough research, the good news is that Lunch-and-Learns can be really effective – so much so, some coaches rely on them almost exclusively.

And don’t forget that these sessions can be repurposed with only a few tweaks, especially if you stay within a well-defined niche. In some cases, you can even expand them into more complete offerings, like half-day or full-day seminars, down the road.

As a bonus, these miniature presentations are great practice for longer seminars and workshops. It’s not only an ideal place to try out “new material,” but it also helps you shore up your presentation skills along the way. Once you get the hang of it, Lunch-and-Learns can help make marketing-pipeline woes a thing of the past!