Coaching is a booming business these days. Stella Kanatouri, the Digital Coach, suggests that the need for coaching is higher today than ever before. With the changing needs of the world, people have to constantly reskill themselves and find newer directions. Just like everyone else, coaches too can fall into a rut and need a bit of guidance from time to time. If you are someone who is struggling to get more coaching clients for your online coaching business, then this guide is for you.
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Coaching is a special partnership between a mentor and students that helps them navigate through their issues. It is about applying a problem-solving approach for continuous self-growth. You can either conduct this as one-on-one sessions or in the form of cohorts. It really depends on what suits you and your clients.
With the world becoming more global and accessible due to technology, the scaling opportunities for online coaching businesses are amazing. You can manage to get clients from all over the world. While it is a great opportunity, it also presents the challenge of dealing with the growing competition and getting your business noticed.
Proven models to get more coaching clients
It is important to know which coaching model fits your business and your clients. Having the right model inevitably determines the success of your coaching programs. If you are into offering personalized coaching, then private sessions will suit you best. On the other hand, if you want to offer more general coaching, then cohort sessions will work perfectly fine for you.
Here are some popular coaching models that veteran coaches swear by.
Cohort Coaching
If you are facing the issue where your clients drop out from the programs then you should try cohorts. It is proven that when working together with others, people are more motivated to complete the programs. This is also a great way of managing multiple clients at once.
In the cohort model, you will teach live online. You can also provide supplemental recordings for when clients are absent so they can keep up with the progress. Ideally, such a model works best for more general guidance. Moreover, once you are done with the cohort program, you can also sell the recordings as a self-coaching program.
Blended Coaching
The blended model integrates live training with videos and group forums. It is the best of both worlds. While a lot of the instructing part is done on videos, the actual learning takes place on discussion forums. Since it offers greater flexibility, it is also more sustainable than cohorts.
Private Coaching
If you are looking to get more coaching clients for personalized guidance, then the private model is the best for you. It is also the closest to the traditional coaching style. Here you meet on private Zoom calls and try to achieve the goals collaboratively. Since it is more time taking, it works best for more complex matters.
Self-coaching
If your target audience is looking for self-paced guidance and likes to work independently, then you should give self-coaching a go. It requires less input from the coach. All the resources are made available to the clients. They also have the opportunity to reach out to you if there is something they need help with. But mostly, they navigate through the challenges on their own.
Tips to get more coaching clients
1. Appear credible to attract clients
To attract the right clients, you will have to let your work speak for itself. It needs to appear credible and professional. You can do this by ensuring that your website appears proper and has all the details in place. Make sure to introduce yourself and your workstyle well on your webpage. You can even make a short video for an added personal touch. Besides the details, make sure that the landing pages have the proper places to sign up.
You can either build your website from scratch or use a course hosting platform that does it for you. Teachfloor offers its users all the features that they require to run their online coaching business. You no longer have to worry about email automation, keeping track of the progress, and managing the payments as Teachfloor offers solutions for all of these problems.
2. Be unique
When you run a business, you need to start thinking from the perspective of your brand. What it is about, what is its essence, its story, and what makes it unique? These questions all help in giving your brand a personalized touch that will help it stand out. Uniqueness also has to do with why should the clients avail of your services instead of others.
To be able to answer these points, build your story and present it in front of the world. Try to touch your audience with it. Furthermore, post testimonials and transformations from your previous clients. Focus on your success rate to convince the audience of your expertise.
3. Build your presence
You will need to establish your online presence if you wish to get more coaching clients. Share your expertise online and let them know what you have to offer. For this, you will need to maintain a consistent social media presence. Reach out to your target audience and interact with them. The best platforms for B2B are Twitter and LinkedIn, and for B2C are Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Know what your business strategy is and choose the social media platforms accordingly.
To hold on to your existing clients, do regular Q&A sessions, and online meets. You can even reach out to them via email marketing. Make sure to keep your existing clients in the loop while also focusing on the new ones.
4. Gain exposure
To get on top of the google search page, you need to learn about online trends and tricks. You will have to get your presence on high-traffic websites for your target audience. Besides this, collaboration is a great way to get noticed. Reach out to fellow coaches or online creators and request to appear on their podcasts, or speaking events, or write on their blog channel as guests. Collaborations are a great way to get more coaching clients.
5. Offer free strategy sessions
Consistent communication is key to retaining clients. Having short strategy sessions regularly - whether on a weekly or monthly basis - lets your clients know that you care for them. Moreover, it is also a great way of welcoming potential clients by letting them see how you work. Provide solutions to their concerns and gain their trust. At the end of these sessions, you can give a CTA for your coaching program for newcomers.
6. Offer free resources
Everyone likes free gifts. This is why offering free resources to your audience works well for attracting clients. You can offer free tutorials, ebooks, or guidance newsletters to people. These are also great for building trust with your clients. They can see for themselves how well-suited your services are for them and then make a decision without any risk.
Running an online coaching business is no easy job. One has to make a constant effort of retaining clients while also reaching out to newer ones. With these 6 simple tips, you can get more coaching clients and grow your online coaching business exponentially.